OCIP implementation has no real effect on a contractor's safety processes. Contractors in today's market must be very safety conscious. Aside from the moral obligation to provide a safe working environment the cost of insurance makes safety a bottom line issue for contractors. In a competitive environment such as we have here in Florida a contractor cannot afford to pay an added premium in the form of an experience modifier in excess of 1.0. Actually he needs to gain every possible advantage by keeping his modifier as low as possible.
Contractors recognize that a safe workplace is a potential profit center.
An OCIP actually takes away a great deal of this profit incentive. The taxpayers will benefit through lower bid prices and the benefit flows directly to the citizens. Many smaller contractors and subcontractors rely on the same insurance broker to provide both insurance coverage and performance and payment bonds. A contractor has a unique and important relationship with his insurance provider. A contractor not purchasing all of his General Liability and Workers' Compensation coverage from a broker may have more difficulty getting a bond.