Ecclesiastical Insurance offers risk management advice for winter conditions

To help commercial insurance clients deal with the “unique hazards” resulting from Canada’s winter season, Ecclesiastical Insurance has shared several of its risk management materials as reference for winter weather safety and best practices.

“At this time of year, it is important to be aware of the potential risk of personal injury or damage to property that can happen as a result of winter weather,” said Ecclesiastical chief underwriting officer and vice president of risk control Colin Robertson.

The following resources have been prepared by Ecclesiastical’s risk control specialists, for commercial clients and businesses to refer to:

• Averting Some Common Winter-Related Losses – This bulletin outlines best practices for snow and ice removal, to reduce the risk of personal injury or damage to property.
• Prepare for Winter, Protect your Property – A bulletin containing advice on how to protect properties from major winter risks such as ruptured pipes, ice dams, roof failure, and hazards on the ground.
• Avoiding Freeze-Ups & Malfunctions of Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems – This bulletin outlines common issues with sprinkler systems and how to mitigate possible loss or damage.
• Make Sure That Your Snow/Ice Removal is on “par” – This describes best practices that organizations must adopt to ensure they manage their risks related to snow and ice removal. Solutions prescribed include establishing a maintenance committee, some snow and ice removal tips, and the importance of keeping an incident log.
• Cold Weather Slip and Fall Prevention – This shows how to develop a snow and ice clearing program and offers tips to ensure a property is a safe place for staff and visitors.

In addition to extensive library of risk materials, The Ecclesiastical Specialist School offers several training modules, including Slips, Trips and Falls, and Best Practices on Flood Protection, Prevention & Mitigation. All these materials provide useful tips and information to protect people, and properties and can be found at ecclesiastical.ca.

Last week, Ecclesiastical Insurance invited the public to vote for a national heritage site of their choice in the National Trust for Canada’s “Next Great Save” competition. The winner of the competition will receive $50,000 from Ecclesiastical, to help in the heritage site’s conservation.