Program nails savings for roofers. (Property/Casualty).

Moody Insurance Agency found a way to combine lower workers' compensation premiums to contractors who specialize in roofing with a safer work environment. For the third year in a row, Denver-based Moody Insurance Agency has provided a dividend to members of its Colorado Roofing Association Workers' Compensation Program, offered through workers' comp writer Pinnacol Assurance. The average dividend received by the program's members is 40% of annual premiums, said Mike Roark, a risk-management manager with Moody Insurance Agency. Another sign of the program's success, according to Roark, is the lower loss ratio enjoyed by members. In a state where the average annual loss ratio in workers' comp is 70, the Colorado Roofing Association Workers' Compensation Program's loss ratio is 31.

To become part of the program, which currently has 21 members, contractors and suppliers of roofing in the state must meet strict criteria that include ongoing safety training seminars, a minimum deductible on the workers' comp policy, and participation in quarterly meetings to discuss safety topics and hear experts make presentations on return-to-work programs or OSHA requirements. Members must also agree to a post-accident drug screening program and be active in the Colorado Roofing Association Workers' Compensation Program's board or committees.