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Friedlander Helps Brokers Shine

    As worker's compensation premium dollars continue to take a bigger bite out of business owner's revenue in New York, it is critical for agents to find their clients competitive and reasonably priced WC products.

    The Workers' Compensation Safety Groups, managed by the Friedlander Group and underwritten by the State Insurance Fund, provide a WC solution for your retail, wholesale, and restaurant-owner clients. There are a number of key features that set these Safety Groups apart from all others.

    High on the list, says Adam Friedlander, of the Friedlander Group, is the strong set of standards to which potential members of the Safety Group are evaluated. "We are looking for businesses with a proven safety track record," Friedlander says, noting that the Safety Groups are composed of low claim members. As a result, the loss experience of the group as a whole is low, and the dividend payments to individual members is high. In fact, in addition to providing members with 25 percent advance discounts off the manual rate, the groups, says Friedlander, boast a 35 percent dividend history on its retail and wholesale programs, and a 52.5 percent dividend history on its restaurant program.

    Yet while the Safety Groups seek out those members who recognize the importance of loss control and safety measures, they nevertheless play a proactive role in helping its members to enhance and improve upon work-place safety. On site visits, meetings with management and workers, and distribution of manuals and video's addressing a wide range of safety issues, are just a few of the services provided by the Safety Groups to their clients.

    In the claims area, continues Friedlander, the Safety Groups provide numerous services that will help to keep your clients' payments and administrative burdens to a minimum.

    Specifically, the Safety Groups handle all aspects of claims administration and reporting and provide detailed reserve and experience modification reviews, often resulting in a reduction of premium payments. As an example, Friedlander recalls a recent incident in which the Safety Groups' thorough experience modification analysis on behalf of a retailer client resulted in a savings of $40 thousand in WC premium. Not only was the retailer extremely grateful, but as Friedlander points out, the client's satisfaction will go a long way to ensure his loyalty to his agent.

    Another important service provided by the Safety Groups is the preparation of quarterly claim reports - an invaluable tool to help your client understand his company's loss trends and to pinpoint safety areas that warrant further attention.

    The Safety Groups also handle all billing, audit, and miscellaneous administrative functions, thereby freeing up your client to focus attention where it should be - on operating his business and maintaining a safe work-place environment.

    Agents who bring members into the Safety Groups are paid 20 percent of the fee, which translates into approximately two percent of the premium. We will also keep you current on your client's participation and performance in the Safety Groups through copies of renewals, audits and dividend checks.

    As an added benefit, we offer our agents a commissionable Disability Benefits Law (DBL) program that represents a significant source of additional revenues and a great opportunity to strengthen the agent-client relationship. This extremely competitive program - among the lowest rates in the state - is made available exclusively to members of the Worker's Compensation Safety Groups with under 50 employees at rates of $2.70 per month for men and $6.30 per month for women (through First Rehabilitation Company of America).

    The Friedlander Group supports and respects the agent-client relationship.

    Agents interested in marketing WC coverage through the WC Safety Groups will find it extremely easy and convenient both to obtain quotes and to service their customers. The WC Safety Groups guarantee same-day quotes, which will include a computer generated bar-chart illustration comparing our coverage to the coverage the client currently has.

    Friedlander is electronically linked to the State Insurance Fund, and can obtain any information from the Fund that the agent needs - quickly, easily, and avoiding red tape.

    The Worker's Compensation Safety Groups provide coverage and service that is tailor-made to the members in it. They are both agent and client-friendly and offer a great alternative to the often confusing and expensive WC coverage options now on the market.

    As Friedlander points out: "During a time when many businesses are fleeing New York in search of a more competitive worker's comp environment, our program represents an opportunity to help your clients address a critical coverage need easily, and cost effectively. We strongly believe it's an opportunity that the agent should not overlook."

    Your professional team at Friedlander is dedicated to the success of your business through smart insuring.

    We offer the best program for controlling and containing your Workers' Comp costs. Review our services carefully.

• REPORTS: We review all your Reports of Injury before they are submitted to the State Insurance Fund and the Workers' Compensation Board.

• INVESTIGATIONS: Where indicated, the Group makes its own investigations of a claim.

• HEARING: A Group representative attends hearings to represent you at the Workers' Compensation Board.

• THIRD PARTY RECOVERIES: We seek reimbursement from Third Parties that may have injured an employee of yours and caused a Workers' Compensation Claim to be made.

• SECOND INJURY FUND: We seek Second Injury Fund benefits to reduce the cost of a compensation claim.

• AUDITS: We review audits and advise on inaccuracies.

• CLASSIFICATION: We review your business operations to seek the most favorable classifications and the assignment of payroll to the proper, less costly classification.

• RESERVES: We review and negotiate for lower reserves on open cases. This keeps your rates lower since a reserve is counted the same as a loss in the determination of your individual rates.

• EXPERIENCE RATING: We pay close attention to changes in the cost of claims so that the annual reporting of your losses to the Rating Board are timely and in your favor.

• ACCIDENT PREVENTION: We assist in accident prevention by suggesting various safety measures in correcting conditions and training employees.

• PAYMENT OF BENEFITS: We will act as expediters in cases where an employee's benefits are delayed because or red tape, failure of a doctor to file medical reports, etc.