Claims Activity

In the 35 years that we have been specializing in insuring service stations, every so often we run into
a period where claims activity significantly increases.

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES.

WORKERS COMPENSATION:

Within the last month, we have had two cashiers shot and killed at service stations we insure. In both of these
very unfortunate situations, they were family men with children.   Both very tragic and devastating losses.

While many of these types of claims are sadly unavoidable, it is crucial to do your part and have the proper
protection in place, such as utilizing the cash drawers for the night shift, teach your employees to always be aware of their surroundings, never confront or follow a thief,  call the police, panic button , etc

This will help provide added safety to your employees, as well as keep your Workers Compensation cost down.

In addition, when you have these serious workers compensation claims involving a death, or hospitalization,
you MUST inform OSHA within 24 hours of that incident.  If you fail to do so, you can be subject to hefty fines. We recommend for you to visit “Calosh.org “ and
get familiar with the Laws, Penalty’s and Fines . Plus they have very useful articles and examples.

LIABILITY (SLIP/FALLS):

Unfortunately we are currently seeing a rise in the slip/fall claims and of course the claim payouts have significantly increased.  
In most cases these type of claims are difficult for the insurance company to defend without adequate evidence, pictures, witnesses, video’s, etc.

Again, many of these claims are also unavoidable, so here are some important suggestions to highly consider;

•    Document regular facility inspections (through-out the day) to immediately clean up any slip/fall hazards
such as oil/gasoline spills that may have been left by a previous customer car.
•    Right away take pictures of where the customer alleges they fell
•    Keep the video of the incident. In the State of California, an individual has up to 2 years to file a law suit for bodily injury. Therefore, keep a copy of that video incident in your files for at least the 2 years.
•    Immediately patch up any pot holes and large cracks to prevent claims.

Thank you for your continuing business