Comp insurer walks the talk, in cleats

If it’s one organization in the blustery, snow-laden North that knows well a slip and fall on ice is a painful, costly affair, it’s a workers compensation insurer.

 

Portland, Maine-based MEMIC Group announced Friday it will provide every employee with a pair of K1 Ice Cleats to help prevent slips, trips and falls.

 

“We recommend this cleat to our policyholders as the easiest and most effective tool to prevent slips, trips and falls during the winter months. We decided we ought to be safely ‘walking the walk’ ourselves so we have offered a pair of cleats to everyone at MEMIC,” Karl Siegfried, senior vice president of loss control at the workers compensation insurance company, said in a statement. “We want to protect our team members from injuries just as much as the employees of our policyholders.”

 

MEMIC has nearly 500 employees and currently covers an estimated 200,000 employees of more than 18,000 employers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, where icy conditions are a major contributor to work-related injuries, according to the statement.

 

“Parking lots, brick sidewalks and outdoor stairways are particularly hazardous and often don’t reveal their icy conditions until you’ve slipped,” Mr. Siegfried said. “A slip, whether you actually fall or not, can result in sprains, strains and torn tissue. These injuries often result in lost time from work.”