Workers' Compensation

Workers' compensation insurance is         state-mandated insurance that provides lost income, medical benefits, disability benefits, and rehabilitative services for workers injured on the job or while performing work-related duties. When an employee gets hurt on the job or has a work-related illness, only workers' compensation will cover them. Health insurance benefits will not provide coverage for on the job injuries.

Workers' Compensation Insurance premiums are computed as a direct result of your claims and payroll. The most effective method of reducing or managing Workers' Compensation claims is to have effective safety program and a "Return to Work Program".  Here are a few examples of what your safety rules might include:

1. Drug and alcohol rules.
2. Require safety equipment to be worn at all times.
3. Keep work areas clean.
4. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry around machinery.
5. Where required, you must wear protective equipment such as goggles, safety glasses, masks, gloves, hair nets, etc. appropriate to the task.
6. Safety equipment such as restraints, pull backs, and two-hand devices are designed for your protection. Be sure such equipment is adjusted for you.
7. Do not ever remove safety guards. Ever!
8. Develop a system for reporting unsafe practices.
9. Have monthly safety meetings that review safety issues and related topics.
10. Create accident investigation procedures that focus on prevention and change.

Stay Healthy.....By Lowering Your Cholesterol

If you are one of the nearly 100 million Americans struggling with high cholesterol, then continue reading to learn how to lower your cholesterol. According to many experts, there are many natural ways to reduce cholesterol without taking drugs.

The evidence is overwhelming that we should consume no more than 10 gm per day of saturated fat, which is a key strategy to help to maintain a total fasting blood cholesterol below 150 mg. According to Dr. William Castelli, no one with a cholesterol reading this low has ever had a heart attack since the inception of the Framingham Heart Study, which began in the 1950's.

Keep these tips in mind

• A reduced saturated-fat diet is low in dairy products and animal fats
• Switch from butter to margarine and change your milk to the skimmed variety
• Eat fruit rather than desserts
• Experts agree that oatmeal is one of the top cholesterol lowering foods available.
• Have plenty of whole grains, vegetables and vegetable juices on hand
• Eat more fish
• Improved health also can lower your life insurance premiums. Live healthy..stay healthy

Resources:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk

http://www.fitday.com

Heat Stress Prevention

Heat stress is a signal that says the body is having difficulty maintaining its narrow temperature range. The heart pumps faster, blood is diverted from internal organs to the skin, breathing rate increases, and sweating increases, all in an attempt to transfer more heat to the outside air and cool the skin by the evaporation of sweat. If the body can't keep up, then the person suffers effects ranging from heat cramps to heat exhaustion, and finally to heat stroke. Prevention Tips:

• Drink water frequently and moderately
• Rest frequently
• Eat lightly
• Doing more strenuous jobs during the cooler morning hours
• Utilize ventilation or fans in enclosed areas
• Remembering that it takes about 1-2 weeks for the body to adjust to the heat; this adaptation is quickly lost - so your body will need time to adjust after a vacation
• Avoid alcohol consumption. Many cases of heat exhaustion occur the day after a "night on the town"
• Wearing light-colored, cotton clothes and keeping your shirt on.  Desert nomads don't wear all those clothes for nothing.