Workplace Safety Program

Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development DIVISION OF INSURANCE 550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1560 Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3567 Main: 907.269.7900 TDD: 907.465.5437 Fax: 907.269.7910 BULLETIN B 13-04 TO: INSURERS AUTHORIZED TO WRITE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE IN THE STATE OF ALASKA AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES RE: WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAM Alaska Statute (AS) 21.96.015 requires an insurer that provides workers’ compensation insurance to establish and maintain a workplace safety rate reduction program. This rate reduction program must be filed with and approved by the division. This bulletin is to remind insurers and their underwriters 1) to review their rating plans to ensure that they have an approved workplace safety rate reduction program, and 2) to apply credits under this program to all employers that meet an insurer’s workplace safety criteria. Each insurer develops its own workplace safety criteria, which may include its own safety and loss prevention programs and standards or rely upon safety and loss prevention programs developed by others. The workplace safety criteria and associated rate credit should be submitted to the division for review and approval following the standard rate filing procedures under AS 21.39.041 and 3 AAC 31.205 – 3 AAC 31.230. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (department) and the division have joined together to promote workplace safety. A free consultation service provided by the department, the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH) Consultation and Training program, is available to employers to assist the employer in improving workplace safety and health performance. This program requires that an employer make a request for the consultation service and commit to correcting any identified hazards. The services provided by the AKOSH Consultation and Training program include • Review of required OSHA programs and training; • Tools to help employers develop written programs; • Answers to record keeping questions; • Worksite inspections and work practices review; and • Monitoring of noise, vapors, fumes, and particulates. Upon completion of a comprehensive visit, the employer receives a detailed report regarding identified hazards and abatement requirements, written programs, and the effectiveness of the employer’s safety and health programs. These reports are confidential, but the employer could share the report with an insurer if the insurer chooses to include participation in the AKOSH Consultation and Training program as part of the insurer’s workplace safety rate reduction program. For more information on the AKOSH Consultation and Training Program contact Krystyna Markiewicz at 907-269-4955 or visit their website at http://labor.alaska.gov/lss/forms/consultation_training_form.pdf For questions on the workplace safety rate reduction program, contact the Division of Insurance, P.O. Box 110805, Juneau, AK 99811-0805; (907) 465-2515; or via electronic mail at insurance@alaska.gov Dated: March 14, 2013 _________________________________ Bret S. Kolb Director lb