SafeMark Research
The Insurance Case for Workplace Safety
Your insurance carrier already rewards safety investment. The problem is, most businesses don't know how. This report breaks down the carrier programs, state discounts, and published evidence that connect safety to your bottom line.
The Opportunity You're Probably Missing
Insurance companies reward businesses that invest in safety. That's not marketing — it's how underwriting works. The problem is that the mechanisms are implicit, carrier-discretionary, and rarely explained to the businesses that could benefit most.
If you're a small or mid-size business owner, you probably don't know that your workers' comp premium is directly tied to a formula called the Experience Modification Rate (EMR) — and that reducing your injury rate directly reduces what you pay. You probably don't know that at least 10 states mandate premium discounts for businesses with formal safety programs. And you almost certainly don't know that published research shows formal safety programs reduce workers' comp costs by up to 81%.
This report lays out what the insurance industry actually does, what the evidence actually shows, and what you can do about it.
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What Insurance Carriers Actually Do
FM Global — Up to 10% Premium Credit
FM Global's Resilience Credit — expanded in November 2025 — provides up to 10% of eligible premium to businesses that act on loss-prevention recommendations. They've allocated over $1 billion since 2022. FM assigns engineers to visit your site, score your risk, and recommend improvements. Businesses that implement those recommendations earn better terms.
Travelers — Up to 35% Stacked Discounts
Travelers' BOP 2.0 platform for small commercial businesses offers up to 35% in stacked discounts across multiple risk management behaviors. Their Risk Control division explicitly recommends fire department pre-planning sessions as a property loss prevention best practice.
Zurich — AI-Scored Property Data in Underwriting
In 2025, Zurich integrated AI-enhanced property scoring directly into their middle-market underwriting platform. This signals the industry's direction: third-party data influencing your premium is not theoretical — it's already happening.
Cincinnati Financial, Selective, Nationwide
All three provide dedicated loss control consultants to policyholders. Safety investment improves your underwriting profile at renewal. The mechanisms are relationship-driven and qualitative — your carrier's consultant documents your improvements, and your renewal reflects them.
What the Research Actually Shows
Wurzelbacher, Bertke & Lampl (2014) — American Journal of Industrial Medicine
A peer-reviewed study of 468 employers using an insurer-supported safety engineering program over six years found:
66%
Reduction in workers' comp claim frequency
78%
Reduction in lost-time claims
81%
Reduction in paid costs per employee
OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP)
Businesses recognized by OSHA's VPP achieve injury rates 52% below their industry average and lost workday rates at least 50% below. VPP sites routinely report 30-60% reductions in workers' comp costs.
Massachusetts State Study
After implementing a formal workplace safety management system, workers' comp claims fell 12.2% — a 27% greater reduction than the control group. The state concluded that "public as well as private employers should consider implementation of a workplace safety and health management system."
OSHA On-Site Consultation Program
OSHA's free consultation program for small and medium businesses generates approximately $1.3–1.5 billion in annual economic benefits nationally by preventing injuries and the costs associated with them.
State Programs That Mandate Discounts
At least 10 states require insurers to provide workers' comp premium discounts to employers with approved safety programs. Here are the most developed programs.
| State | Program | Discount | What Qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | Health & Safety Consultation Discount | 3–10% | OSHA consultation or approved third-party consultant visit |
| Pennsylvania | Certified Safety Committee | 5% | Employer-certified safety committee |
| Florida | Safety Program Premium Credit | Up to 2% | Written qualified safety program |
| Florida | Drug-Free Workplace Program | 5% | Certified DFWP program |
| Delaware | Workplace Safety Program | Varies | $118.8M in confirmed savings since 1989 |
| Colorado, Hawaii, NH, ND, Ohio, WV | Mandated discounts | 2–25% | Written safety and health program |
| Louisiana, MA, NY, Oklahoma | Available discounts | Varies | High-EMR employers who establish safety programs |
Wyoming's program is the most relevant precedent: it explicitly credits third-party consultant safety surveys — not just OSHA-administered ones — at 3-10% by tier.
The Gap — and Where SafeMark Fits
After exhaustive research across carrier programs, state filings, and published underwriting guidelines, here's what does not exist yet:
- • No carrier offers a published premium credit for businesses that voluntarily share pre-incident planning data with their local fire department.
- • No carrier has a discount tied to a named third-party safety assessment platform.
- • No carrier explicitly prices in documented safety improvement trajectory over time — separate from the EMR.
The evidence is clear. The carrier appetite is documented. The state-level precedent exists. What's missing is a standardized, carrier-recognized third-party scoring mechanism that packages all of this into something a business owner can act on and an underwriter can use.
That's SafeMark.
Get the Full Report
Download the complete research as a PDF — carrier breakdowns, state programs, and the full actuarial evidence.
Downloading your report...
Sources
Wurzelbacher SJ, Bertke SJ, Lampl MP. "Workers' Compensation Claim Frequency and Costs." American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2014. PMCID: PMC4504420.
OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) data. U.S. Department of Labor.
Massachusetts Executive Order 511 study. MA Department of Labor.
OSHA On-Site Consultation Program economic analysis, 2023 update.
FM Global Resilience Credit program documentation, November 2025 expansion.
State workers' compensation discount programs: Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Florida, Delaware, and others per OSHA national analysis.
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