RecycleGuard Articles

A library of the latest industry articles authored by the RecycleGuard team.
scrap recycler

It is no secret that for over 25 years, the RecycleGuard insurance program has been the go-to solution to keep your scrap recycler clients properly protected.  We’re not just writing accounts, we are also keeping you and your recycling clients informed on the latest trends in the industry.  ReMA, the recycling industry’s most reputable trade association, regularly solicits the RecycleGuard team’s expertise to author timely and educational content for their members.  Below is a library of the latest articles authored by the RecycleGuard team.

How Financial Strength Can Affect Your Insurability
(12/2020)

Times are tough for many in the scrap industry.  The COVID-19 pandemic and the business closures and recession it has caused are affecting financial results in this industry and many other industries as well. These dynamics are leading insurance firms, lenders, and other financial service providers to look more closely at a company’s financial strength before offering any type of trade credit or loan. On the insurance side, RecycleGuard has seen a deterioration in financial scores across the board. This can create more work for insured companies or prospects and their agents, who have to submit financial statements to the insurers for credit review.

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Welding Safety Resource
(2/2020)

The need for welding can vary from scrapyard to scrapyard, and it’s typically less of a focus for environment, health, and safety professionals than its spiritual cousin, torchcutting. Though it achieves the opposite goal—reconstructing rather than deconstructing—welding falls into the same category of “hot work” and introduces many of the same risks to both the worker and the yard.

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Considering Demolition Risks
(2/2020)

Some scrap recycling companies offer demolition and dismantling services, while others may be considering that line of business. Demolition work has its own set of risks these companies must consider. Each demolition project and job site is unique. Even with thorough planning, demolition projects often bring unforeseen challenges.

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Timely Claims Reporting
(10/2019)

When you face a claim, your first instinct might be to fix the issue or hope the problem goes away on its own. You might be thinking that if the issue goes away, or the aggrieved party drops the claim, it won’t affect your insurance coverage and cost. Research has shown, however, that claims which are not reported in a timely fashion cost more to resolve. Insurance carriers that incur additional loss costs pass them on to policyholders as increased insurance premiums, which affect your bottom line.

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Today's Property Insurance Market & Surplus Lines Solutions
(6/2019)

Over the last several years, nontraditional capital has entered that marketplace, creating excess capacity and driving down prices. Then property insurance companies experienced several very large losses due to natural and manmade disasters. As insurers seek to improve their results, their appetite for risk changes.

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The Benefits of Making Safety a Core Value
(4/2019)

For years, ISRI has held safety as a core value and has captured that in the ISRI Environment, Health, and Safety motto “Safely, or Not at All.” Why is safety a core value? First, and most important, it’s the morally and ethically right thing to do—to make sure all the industry’s employees, customers, and the public we share the roads with go home safely to their families each day. Second, safety is good for business.

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The Safety and Economic Benefits of Telematics
(12/2018)

Telematics is the term for technologies that remotely monitor vehicle information from the engine control computer, GPS location tracking, and—in some systems—cameras. Commercial truck fleets tend to use systems with cameras, such as those from San Diego–based Lytx (formerly DriveCam), Orion Fleet Intelligence (Conshohocken, Pa.), and 3rd Eye (Katy, Texas). With the information telematics can provide, operators can better control their capital and human assets for better cost and safety outcomes.

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Good News from the Insurance Market
(10/2018)

In a challenging year for the scrap recycling industry (2018), one piece of good news comes from the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (Boca Raton, Fla.) annual State of the Line report. Expected worker’s compensation underwriting results are the best the insurance industry has seen in decades. With many scrap operations looking to renew their worker’s comp coverage Oct. 1, it’s a good time to examine the current worker’s comp market and how you can take advantage of current conditions when renewing.

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Managing the Risks of Temporary Workers
(8/2018)

Without proper safety training, temporary workers can injure themselves or others. The RecycleGuard program has seen a trend in related losses that include a leased worker killed while repairing a conveyor belt, a temporary staffer who broke his leg closing a stuck overhead door, and a temporary employee who directed a peddler to a restricted part of the yard, where the peddler was struck by a forklift. In addition to facing the human toll of these incidents, the yards that experienced them faced significant financial losses.

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Environmental Impairment Liability Coverage
(6/2018)

Given the complexity, number of options, and variability in EIL coverage agreements, it’s critical to understand what you’re buying and the details of the coverage offered. The good news is that EIL insurance currently is a vibrant marketplace, with an abundance of providers and capacity chasing business, which means competitive pricing, terms, and conditions for companies that wish to explore the market.

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Creating an Effective Insurance Submission
(4/2018)

Your recycling business insures its assets and operations in numerous ways, but did you take an active role in the insurance-buying process? Chances are you left the lion’s share of that work to your broker, but there are compelling reasons to manage your insurance submissions as you would any other important component of your business. With a better understanding of how underwriters assess risk when writing insurance policies, you can position your business to receive multiple insurance offers. You might even end up with insurers competing for your business, which could lower your premiums or improve your coverage terms.

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How a Minor Accident Becomes a Major Claim
(2/2018)

Even seemingly minor incidents can turn into nightmare claims with significant financial, reputational, and opportunity costs. Investigate and evaluate minor or near-miss incidents just as if they were serious accidents. The key takeaway is the importance of having a robust safety and risk-management program, including driver safety training.

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Preparing for Mother Nature’s Worst
(12/2017)

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria affected millions of individuals and businesses and had an estimated $500 billion in economic impact. These events reminded all of us of the need to plan for such catastrophes to protect people, prevent or minimize damage to property, transfer the financial risk of such damage, and prepare for recovery.  Is your business prepared should a catastrophe hit?

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The Dollars and Sense Behind Insurance to Value
(10/2017)

Insurance to value is insurance written in an amount approximating the value of the insured subject or that meets co-insurance requirements. Although this is a common term in the insurance industry, many insured companies— including recycling companies—might not fully understand why it’s important.

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The Fundamentals of Contractual Risk Transfer
(8/2017)

Contractual risk transfer is an essential risk management practice that companies often overlook, resulting in unnecessary loss retention.  In any owner/contractor, employer/employee, or principal/agent relationship, the principal can be found vicariously liable for the negligent actions or inactions of the agent.  Proactive contractual risk management practices can transfer exposures and prevent losses.  This article highlights two anecdotes that show how actual claims played out with and without CRT.

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The Risks of Employment Practices Liability
(4/2017)

Employment practices liability can pose a potentially significant risk exposure for you, your managers, and your business—and the risks have escalated in the past 10 years. During the 2008 recession, as layoffs and terminations increased, the frequency of such claims and suits increased in kind. The frequency could remain elevated as millennials become a larger part of the workforce and seek better work–life balance as well as quick advancement while generally showing lower loyalty to their employers. Employees and candidates also are more aware of employee rights and protections today. These factors should motivate you to understand EPL and identify how to protect yourself and your business.

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Protecting Against Fire and Other Property Losses
(10/2016)

Here’s some good news: RecycleGuard® program participants seem to be experiencing fewer property losses each year. For every $100 million of insured property value, the program experienced just over nine losses in 2012; in 2015 that fell to about five and a half losses. Unfortunately, at the same time the frequency of losses is falling, their severity seems to be increasing. In the past five years, the average cost per claim was lowest in 2013, at about $30,000, rising to more than $74,000 in 2014, then falling slightly to about $60,000 in 2015.

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Evaluating Your Insurance Team
(8/2016)

The recycling industry has unique exposures other business sectors rarely see, such as employees operating heavy equipment, customers and vendors visiting the work site, and a heavy volume of trucks transporting scrap on and off site.  That’s why it’s crucial to work with claims professionals who have firsthand experience with recycling operations, years of interaction with the industry, and the specialized knowledge to defend recyclers’ interests.  

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Safe Fleets Start With Safe Drivers
(12/2015)

Hiring, monitoring, and training acceptable drivers should be a priority for any operation managing a fleet of vehicles. Your drivers could have a major impact on your business if they damage your equipment or a customer’s property—or, worse, if they hurt themselves or someone else.

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