Insurance Initiative A Boon For The Future

Following the rule that the greatest savings in insurance costs is secured through group rates, OSM recently entered into discussions with Winnipeg-based Federated Insurance to investigate a group insurance package for OSM members.  If its initiative is successful, OSM member contractors will be able to secure two types of insurance: commercial property and commercial liability.  The insurance package includes property (building and contents), crime, business interruption and commercial general liability.  

After comparing a number of companies, OSM determined that the Federated offers an more cohesive package than the other firms reviewed.  Further, Federated is familiar with the needs and conditions of the construction industry.  It partners with such construction industry associations as the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada and several provincial MCA groups (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick); the Association of Canada Electrical Contractors and its provincial units in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick) and the Ontario Electrical League.

OSM is also investigating group insurance for health and safety issues, namely life, disability and critical illness.  This is particularly attractive for OSM member firms since it would allow individual employers to cover its non-union employees as well as its unionized force.  The idea behind this is to extend benefits to office staff and others who might have no other access to group insurance.  Not only would this strengthen the ability of a company to retain quality personnel, it promotes ethical employment practices, a desirable standard in the ranks of industry.    

What this all means is a win-win scenario.  Individual sheet metal contractors paying individual company rates can look forward to more comprehensive coverage at a lower rate.  Members currently without existing insurance would, obviously, be positioned as more robust enterprises.  From an overall perspective, this signals a higher calibre of business in the unionized sheet metal sector.