INScompanies Blog

October 30, 2006

BOSTON - Human resource and employee benefits managers can now better understand the significant impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) thanks to findings from the 2006 FMLA Leadership Series, a joint initiative of Liberty Mutual and the Disability Management Employer Coalition.
 
The 2006 FMLA Leadership Series brought together human resource and employee benefits professionals in four regional meetings to discuss the top challenges of FMLA.  These challenges include consistently applying eligibility rules throughout a company, tracking employee leave, and meeting complex federal and state regulations.  A white paper based on the Series’ findings, “2006 FMLA Leadership Series: Best Practices for Administration and Compliance,” highlights the 10 best practices for managing FMLA and details how employer panelists meet these challenges at their respective companies.
 
“Human resource managers no longer have to reinvent the FMLA wheel,” notes Helen Sidney, Director of Integrated Disability Management Marketing at Liberty Mutual, which offers FMLA administration services.  “Now, a single source details the steps their peers found most helpful in managing the complexities and costs of FMLA administration.”
 
And these costs are significant.  The Employment Policy Foundation’s 2005 study, “The Cost and Characteristics of Family and Medical Leave,” found that companies with employees who took FMLA leave in 2004 spent up to $21 billion on direct costs, like overtime and lost productivity.  Indirect costs, like administering the program, add even more to an employer’s total FMLA burden. 
 
Findings from the 2006 FMLA Leadership Series are available at www.mylibertyconnection.com and www.dmec.org, and include these tips:

Craft an FMLA policy tailored to your organization — One size does not fit all.  So take the FMLA framework provided by the Department of Labor as a starting point.  Where allowed, customize it so that your guidelines on who can take leave, how individuals apply, and what benefits employees receive fit your company’s needs and operations.  

Find the right administrative option – Here, too, there is no single solution.  Employers may outsource FMLA administration or manage it themselves.  In deciding the best approach, human resource managers must determine how to best accomplish their benefit objectives given available resources. 

Define how FMLA integrates with other benefits – FMLA is but one reason an employee may be away from work.  So any FMLA program must work closely with other benefits – like sick and vacation time – if the company is to manage the cost of employee absences.  And coordination is key.  For example, it may be possible to run FMLA leave at the same time as short-term disability, simultaneously accounting for both benefits.

Know how you’ll track intermittent leave – In the regional meetings, many employers said it was harder to track one or two days off than bigger blocks of FMLA time.  These brief FMLA leaves can have a huge impact on a department’s productivity, since they typically arise with little warning.  So setting clear guidelines for requesting and tracking this time is key to managing that impact.   

Joe Wozniak, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration of the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC), concludes that the value of the findings stems from their source.  “Who better to spot the best ways for managing FMLA than the people in the trenches, who do it day in and day out?  That’s why we brought HR and benefit managers together in regional meetings to learn their top FMLA issues and how to overcome them.”
 
About the DMEC:

The Disability Management Employer Coalition, Inc. (DMEC) is a non-profit, employer-focused professional association founded in 1992 to advance the development of integrated disability management processes in all disability-related employer programs.  The coalition encourages employers, health and disability providers and the government to support the concept of integrating disability, benefits and absence management programs.
 
About Liberty Mutual Group (LMG)

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (LMG) is a leading global insurer and sixth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. whose largest line of business is private passenger automobile based on 2005 direct written premium.  As of December 31, 2005, LMG had $21.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.  The Company ranks 102nd on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the United States based on 2005 revenue.
 
LMG offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.
 
LMG (www.libertymutual.com) employs over 39,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

October 6, 2006

As Fire Prevention Week begins October 8, a new national study reveals that for most Americans, home fires rank highest on the list of top disaster concerns, along with terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

The “2006 Fire Safety Census,” released today by Liberty Mutual and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), reports that 75 percent of those polled are concerned about fire in the home, 60 percent about terrorist attacks, 51 percent about tornados, 34 percent about hurricanes, 33 percent about earthquakes and 33 percent about floods. The telephone survey interviewed more than 1,000 Americans 25 years old and older during August 2006. The results are profiled online at www.befiresmart.com, Liberty Mutual’s new interactive fire safety and prevention website.

“It is clear from the survey that Americans are concerned about any type of disaster affecting them and their families, but it’s interesting to see that home fires soar to the top of that list,” says Paul Condrin, Liberty Mutual president, Personal Markets. “That high level of concern is certainly validated. Home fires do indeed cause more deaths than all natural disasters combined, and, according to the IAFF, last year 82 percent of the 3,675 fire-related deaths were caused by home fires.”

Despite this high anxiety around home fires, the survey further reveals that many Americans are dangerously negligent when it comes to taking fire precautions and are largely uninformed about what to do if a fire occurs - steps that can dramatically impact their chances of surviving a fire.

Additionally, most Americans are not spending the time to educate those most vulnerable to fires: their children. Eighty-four (84) percent of parents polled admitted that they do not frequently discuss fire safety with their children, even though seven in 10 parents also report their children are less than fully prepared to escape and survive a fire. Statistics show that the fire death risk for children under age 5 is nearly double the risk of the average population, and that children make up 15 to 20 percent of fire-related deaths.

“All too often, our members see the tragedies that result from home fires that could have been avoided by taking simple fire safety measures,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “There is more we all can be doing to protect our homes and families from a fire. This survey identifies some areas where we can improve our chances of preventing fires and surviving them, should they occur.”

Risky Behaviors Are Widespread

More than 90 percent of the people surveyed conceded that having a smoke alarm, fire extinguisher and fire escape plan are all important. However, many are still not putting even these bottom-line safety measures into practice:

20 percent of Americans do not own a fire extinguisher; and
27 percent of Americans do not have a fire escape plan.
The leading reason as to why: They haven’t thought about it.

Additionally, many survey respondents admitted to engaging in risky behaviors that could increase their risk of home fires. While 85 percent of those polled answered correctly that more fires start in the kitchen than any other part of home, 26 percent acknowledged they have left food cooking on a stove top or in the oven unattended, and disturbingly, 16 percent reported that they have disabled a smoke alarm while cooking.

Respondents also divulged other risky behaviors around the house:

41 percent reported leaving the clothes dryer running when not at home;
32 percent reported leaving holiday lights on when not at home; and
12 percent admitted to leaving burning candles unattended

“These results show that most people have a minimal understanding of fire safety precautions, and that this understanding is limited to smoke alarms and fire extinguishers,” adds Condrin. “But, fire safety includes so much more — more that we should be doing, and shouldn’t be doing — to survive home fires and, more importantly, to prevent home fires.”

Deep Knowledge Gaps Exist

The Liberty Mutual/IAFF 2006 Fire Safety Census found that many of those surveyed simply do not know about the fire safety measures they should be practicing:

Nearly half of those surveyed (44 percent) wrongly believe that power strips protect against electrical fires (in fact, when overloaded, power strips can cause electrical fires);

One in four (24 percent) consider space heaters to be “safe” (they are actually a leading cause of home fires in December, January and February);

15 percent mistakenly believe that any type of fire extinguisher can put out a fire (there are different classes of extinguishers for different types of fires);

Only 6 percent of those surveyed know that having working smoke alarms in the home can more than double their chances of surviving a fire; and

Only three in 10 adults (30 percent) would evacuate their house first before calling the fire department.

“It’s clear that everyone should be taking more time to learn about fire safety,” says Schaitberger. “There are fundamental safety measures that everyone should be practicing. These precautions really can prevent tragedies, and they’re not difficult to do at all.”

Top Fire Safety Tips

Based on the survey results, Liberty Mutual and the IAFF have developed fire safety recommendations for families to stay safe and be prepared. Top tips are:

- Test smoke alarms once a month.
- Change smoke alarm batteries once a year - at an easy-to-remember time, such as when clocks are changed.
- Replace a smoke alarm that’s more than 10 years old
- Buy a fire extinguisher, mount it, and learn how to use it. Revisit the instructions every six months.
- Never leave burning candles unattended or near combustible materials - home fires caused by candles have doubled in the past decade.
- If a fire alarm sounds, or smoke is visible, evacuate first and then call the fire department.
- Close doors behind you when leaving the room and building to slow the spread of fire and smoke.
- Plan an escape route that shows two ways out of each room.
- Identify a meeting place near the home.
- Practice an escape plan - during the day and night - at least twice a year.
- Talk to children frequently about preventing fires and escaping fires.
- Do not leave a dryer on unattended.
- Do not leave a stove or oven on unattended.
- Keep portable heaters at least three feet away from all combustible materials and never leave them on unattended.
- Never disable a smoke alarm.
- Do not overload power strips.
- Turn holiday lights off when not at home.

For more information on the survey and fire safety tips go to www.befiresmart.com. The site has four distinct sections for parents, children, educators and fire fighters, and includes fire safety tips and information, interactive lesson plans, and games.

Survey Methodology

Liberty Mutual and IAFF commissioned KRC Research to conduct a quantitative survey with a random sample of adults aged 25 and older nationwide. KRC conducted 1005 phone interviews from August 7-16, 2006. The statistical significant differences are computed at a 95% confidence interval with a +/- 3.1% error margin. Percentages in the report may add to more or less than 100% due to rounding error or occasions when multiple response answers were accepted.

About IAFF

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 275,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who provide emergency medical response to 80 percent of the population in the United States and Canada.
 
About Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutual.com) is a leading multi-line insurer in the U.S. whose largest line of business is personal auto based on 2005 direct written premium. A top ten provider of auto and home insurance to individuals, Liberty Mutual is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering its personal lines products to employees and members of more than 9,000 companies, credit unions, and alumni and professional associations. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 102nd on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the United States. The company, headquartered in Boston, Mass., employs over 39,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
 
Contact:
Glenn Greenberg
glenn.greenberg@libertymutual.com
617-574-5874

September 19, 2006

BOSTON– One in five teens are still drinking and driving, and one in nearly eight teens are still using marijuana and driving.  That’s according to the seventh annual Teens Today driving study just released by Liberty Mutual and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions).  But parents who set clear consequences – and follow through on them – significantly reduce the likelihood that their teen will engage in these and other unsafe behaviors behind the wheel.
 
These driving results are part of Teens Today, an annual multi-part research study that reports on teens’ behaviors, attitudes and decision-making about such issues as driving, drinking, drug use, sexual activity and family/peer relationships.
 
Overall, 19 percent of teens report driving under the influence of alcohol, 15 percent report driving under the influence of marijuana, and 7 percent report driving under the influence of “other drugs.”  But teens say parents who set expectations with clear consequences for them about breaking the law while driving are less likely to have driven under the influence of alcohol (16 percent vs. 29 percent), marijuana (14 percent vs. 18 percent) or other drugs (6 percent vs. 11 percent) than teens whose parents do not set any consequences.
 
And further, teens who have never driven under the influence of any illegal substance are a third more likely to say their parents will follow through with those consequences than teens who have driven under the influence of either alcohol or marijuana (78 percent vs. 59 percent).

“It’s quite encouraging to see that parental involvement can significantly improve teen driving statistics, a mission we’ve been committed to for some time now,” said Paul Condrin, Liberty Mutual president, Personal Market.  “And through this study, the type of parental involvement that works is clear - parents need to know the laws and teen-driving rules of their state, set clear expectations with their teens about what safe driving is, and establish and enforce those consequences should those laws be broken or expectations not be met.”
 
The study finds that setting expectations and following through on consequences may help prevent teens from getting into car crashes, which are the leading cause of death for American teens – more than drugs, guns or any disease combined.  Establishing consequences also cuts down on the number of teens who engage in other unsafe driving behaviors:

Teens whose parents establish clear consequences for breaking family driving rules are less likely to drive more than 5 mph over the speed limit (44 percent) than teens whose parents do not set consequences (56 percent).
Teens whose parents establish clear consequences for breaking family driving rules are less likely to drive with three or more passengers in a car (36 percent vs. 42 percent) or eat/drink while driving (31 percent vs. 40 percent) than their counterparts who do not have any clear consequences set.

Interestingly, simply establishing consequences about talking on the cell phone while driving does not significantly influence behavior.  However, teens who say their parents are likely to enforce any established consequences for breaking their family driving rule about cell phones are significantly less likely to talk on the cell phone while driving (37 percent) than teens who say their parents are unlikely to actually follow-through on any consequence (65 percent).

Parental Power: Study Shows Parents Holding Back on Guidance

In many instances, parents are actually present while teens engage in risky driving habits.  Even when adults are in the car with teens, the Liberty Mutual/SADD study shows that teens engage in bad driving choices such as speeding (almost 50 percent of the time), talking on their cell phones (about 20 percent of the time) and eating or drinking while driving (almost 20 percent of the time).
 
“Parents can play an incredibly influential role in the driving behavior of their teens,” said Stephen Wallace, chairman and chief executive officer of the national SADD organization. “Perhaps most important is to set a good example for young drivers and to reinforce their good driving habits by praising what they are doing right behind the wheel.”
 
Paying Special Attention to Our Teenage Boys

The Liberty Mutual/SADD driving study also found that boys are more likely than girls to have driven under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs (32 percent vs. 25 percent) yet boys say their parents are less likely to speak to them about driving safely.  In addition, parents are establishing the least consequences for their teenage boys when it comes to this behavior.
 
“Older teen boys are more likely than girls to engage in bad driving choices while adults are present,” said Condrin.  “While it’s important to talk to both teenage girls and boys about safe driving, parents should remember that boys are more at risk these days for destructive driving.”
 
What Parents Can Do

“While young people across the country have done a remarkable job of helping to reduce alcohol-related crash deaths among their peers by almost 60 percent since 1981, this new data makes clear that their work is not done,” said Wallace. “Too many teens continue to drink and drug and drive, and parents must be relentless in talking to their teens about this important issue.”
 
The seventh annual Teens Today driving study builds upon six years of previous research. Experts on teen driving behaviors, Liberty Mutual and SADD offer these additional tips to help parents talk to their teens:

Know your state’s Graduated Driver License law, including restrictions on supervised driving, time of day, and passengers in the car and enforce them.

Set family rules about driving, outline clear consequences for breaking the rules and follow through. Some rules Liberty Mutual and SADD suggest, if not covered by your state laws are:

- No friends in the car without an adult
- No driving after 10 p.m.
- No use of alcohol or other drugs
- No distractions while driving including eating, changing CDs, handling iPods and putting on makeup
- No cell phone use including text messaging
- Start talking with children as young as 13 or 14 about driving and driving safety. From focus groups, Liberty and SADD have learned from parents of teen drivers that the best times to talk with teens about driving safety are during the 1-2 years before they get their license.
- Continue supervised driving once your child has received his or her license and reinforce the rules and safe driving habits.
- Don’t relent.  Parents should continue the dialogue with their teens and frequently reinforce the acute dangers of drinking and driving, or using drugs and driving.

Liberty Mutual also provides a practical tool for families to safely manage the formative teen driving process:  “The Road Ahead: Stay Safe at the Wheel.”  This kit, developed in cooperation with SADD and RADD – “The Entertainment Industry’s Voice for Road Safety” – and free to all families, includes a powerful video of teens discussing their driving attitudes and behaviors before and after viewing the HBO Family documentary, “Smashed: Toxic Tales of Teens and Alcohol.”  The kit also includes a guide with tips on how to foster a discussion with teens about staying safe at the wheel and a family safe driving pledge.
 
A free copy of “The Road Ahead” is available by calling 1-800-4-LIBERTY or any local Liberty Mutual office.
 
Methodology

Liberty Mutual and SADD commissioned Guideline to conduct a quantitative survey with high school students on a wide range of attitudes and behaviors relevant to teens.  An entire section of the survey was dedicated to teen driving. The driving report focuses exclusively on the responses of 903 teens with a driver’s license from a national sample of 26 high schools in April and May, 2006.  The relevant, driving-specific findings can be interpreted at a 95% confidence interval with a +/- 3.3% error margin.  Analysis of survey subgroups are subject to wider error margins.  Percentages in the report may add to more or less than 100% due to rounding error or occasions when multiple response answers were accepted.
 
Research Partners

Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutual.com) is a leading multi-line insurer in the U.S. whose largest line of business is personal auto based on 2005 direct written premium.  A top ten provider of auto and home insurance to individuals, Liberty Mutual is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering its personal lines products to employees and members of more than 9,000 companies, credit unions, and alumni and professional associations.  Liberty Mutual Group ranks 102nd on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the United States.  The company, headquartered in Boston, Mass., employs over 39,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
 
SADD, Inc. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) is the nation’s preeminent peer-to-peer youth education organization, with thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools, and colleges.  With a mission of preventing destructive behaviors and addressing attitudes that are harmful to young people, SADD sponsors programs that address issues such as underage drinking, substance abuse, impaired driving, and teen violence, depression, and suicide.

Contact: Jennifer Baylis (SADD)
jbaylis@sadd.org
1-877-SADD-INC
 
Glenn Greenberg (Liberty Mutual)
glenn.greenberg@libertymutual.com
617-574-5874