Since 1955, the FRSA Self Insurers Fund has been providing Workers’ Compensation insurance for the Florida roofing, sheet metal and air conditioning industries with quality services not found anywhere else in the industry. Four basic concepts set them apart from other insurance carriers – Underwriting Standards, Subcontractor Verification Services, Safety and Loss Control and Claims Reporting
and Services.
Underwriting is the review of proposed new members and the continuing review of existing members to assure that they meet the mandated standards. The Board of Trustees of the FRSA Self Insurers Fund establish underwriting guidelines and standards for membership participation. Basic underwriting criteria for new membership include:
■ Must be or become a member of FRSA (www.floridaroof.com) or the FRACCA Association (www.fracca.org).
■ Minimum annual payroll in a governing class code of $75,000 and at least five full-time employees with at least one employee trained and responsible for safety at each jobsite.
■ If a contractor, must be Florida State certified or registered.
■ Must consent to a pre-acceptance loss control inspection.
■ Provide at least 3 years’ prior loss experience.
Underwriting specifically reviews qualifications and compliance for:
■ Premium payments
■ Drug Free Workplace
■ Safety and loss control
■ Claims cooperation
■ Auditing
■ Other areas of ongoing compliance
As you should know, all subcontractors who fail to obtain or maintain Workers’ Compensation coverage automatically become your responsibility for premium charges and potential Workers’ Compensation exposures under Florida Law.
■ You should protect your business by requiring a new certificate of insurance from each subcontractor made out to your business as certificate holder prior to their doing any work for you.
■ You should then contact the Florida Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Compliance at (850) 488-2333 to verify that coverage does indeed exist. Verification with the issuing insurance agency or carrier may also be necessary.
■ As a final safeguard, you should record your subcontractor’s insurance certificate for periodic verification (perhaps quarterly) to assure that coverage continues to remain in force. Be advised that there is no guarantee or current legal requirement that the agency or carrier who issues you a certificate will notify you if the subcontractor’s coverage is subsequently cancelled.
■ If a subcontractor provides you with evidence of coverage provided through a PEO or leasing arrangement, you may have additional exposures. How FRSA Self Insurers Fund can assist you:
■ At no expense to you, the FRSA-SIF staff will assist you in verifying certificates of insurance on your subcontractors.
■ You can fax (407-671-2520) or email (underwriting@frsasif.com) your subcontractor’s certificates to them and they will provide prompt return service of their findings to you (usually same or next day). Merely email or fax the certificates to the “SIF Coverage Verification Department” along with a cover memo with your company name and a return contact name.
■ FRSA-SIF offers this service to encourage their members to be proactive, to help avoid audit pitfalls of additional premium billings and to assist members with proper compliance of the law.
The FRSA Self Insurers Fund has four full-time Loss Control Representatives dedicated to assisting members in reducing and preventing injuries. Each representative has a low number of designated members to service, providing the necessary time to accomplish each company’s safety and loss control goals. Some of the services provided include:
■ Provide safety meetings, job site inspections, shop inspections, and construction pre-inspections with the goal of preventing workplace injuries.
■ Assist members in investigating any injuries that may occur to analyze what may have gone wrong to help prevent a recurrence in the future.
■ FRSA-SIF Loss Control Representatives are trained in all aspects of OSHA and other safety regulations.
■ Provide a comprehensive Loss Control Manual free of charge that can serve as the member’s adopted written safety program.
■ Assist members in establishing training for a Florida Qualified Drug Free Workplace and will even share in the cost of setup and administration with you.
■ FRSA-SIF believes in providing safety as a service, helping you and your employees by preventing injuries in the workplace.
The FRSA Self Insurers Fund has a dedicated claims staff ready to serve you. When you become a member of the FRSA Self Insurers Fund, you are important to our collective success. Our relationship can best be described as a partnership formed to reduce costs. Our goals are:
■ To provide the most effective medical benefit delivery system to covered injured employees.
■ To provide the best possible service to members.
■ Keep the total injury related expenses as low as possible to reduce your overall workers’ compensation costs.
As an active participant in achieving these goals, your role will be to:
■ Maintain a safe and hazard free workplace for your employees.
■ Cooperate with the FRSA Self Insurers Fund Loss Control Representatives who will help you prevent employee injuries.
■ Immediately notify the FRSA Self Insurers Fund Claims Department of an employee injury at 844-677-3772, ext. 200.
As an employer, you are able to provide authorization for initial medical treatment for your injured employee. Remember that any injured employee must have a post-accident drug test.
Early medical intervention and expert administrative assistance combined with aggressive return to work and safety programs is a winning strategy to reduce the frequency and severity of workplace accidents.
Through these proactive steps, members can reap the benefits of a safe workplace in the form of dividends; money distributed back to FRSA-SIF member companies each year. Over the past 20 years, the FRSA-SIF had redistributed over $100 million back to its members. FRSA-SIF members will be able to pick up their dividend checks at the FRSA Convention during the Welcome Reception on
Thursday night or on Friday and Saturday at their booth in the Expo. Not getting a dividend back for your current insurance company? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your options.
For more information on the FRSA Self Insurers Fund, please call 800-767-3772 ext. 222 or visit, www.frsasif.com.
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