According to recent reports, health and safety in the motor vehicle repair industry is an increasing concern—a concern that could be deadly if the proper precautions aren’t considered.
The industry, which employs 200,000 people across the UK, has seen a marked increase in injuries over the past number of years. Injuries have increased so much, in fact, that the fatality rate in the motor vehicle repair industry is nearly as high as it is in construction.
The latest data indicates that, over a five-year period, 7,000 injuries were reported to the HSE and local authorities. Most of these injuries were serious and often the result of easily preventable low-speed collisions between vehicles, buildings and equipment.
While collisions are often low-cost claims for garages, injuries to employees or the public can be much more damaging from an insurance perspective. To prevent such losses, consider doing the following:
- Have a safe system of work procedure in place, which helps reduce the risk of accidents when car engines are on or employees are working under moveable vehicles.
- Enforce speed limits on marked traffic routes.
- Ensure adequate spacing between vehicles to lower the risk of accidently trapping employees.
- Make sure your equipment is serviced and subject to engineering inspection.
Experts in motor trade insurance and risk management
Bollington are one of the UK's leading names in motor trade insurance, so we have specialist knowledge of the motor vehicle repair industry and can offer the right insurance to meet your needs. We provide insurance for your road risks, premises, employers' liability and public liability together in a traders combined policy.
Pauline Brookes, UK Motor Trade Manager at Bollington, says: "Bollington offers policies from a wide range of insurers to cover vehicle repairers, protecting your business should the worst happen. However, we go further than most brokers by also offering a bespoke, in-house risk management service.
"Our aim is to encourage vehicle repairers to work more safely, going against the rising tide of reported Health and Safety incidents in this sector. Our risk management team can help you in producing safe systems of work procedures, for example, while we also offer engineering inspections. And while claims will happen, we are on-hand to get them resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible."
Talk to Bollington about how our traders combined insurance and risk management can help your business. Call 01625 854443 to find out more.
