Gaines Works Safer – Is Safer – With National Contractors Insurance
Gaines and Company’s Safety Director Dominic Pope (left) and Safety Manager Tommy Trent (right) at NCI’s Fall 2024 Risk Control Workshop in Chicago.
Gaines and Company’s comprehensive safety program paired with diligent and attentive employees protects employees from health and safety incidents. But company safety is more than that – and Gaines knows it. Thanks to its excellent safety record (5-year average .79 EMR) and forward-thinking safety culture, Gaines and Company protects itself and employees with insurance captive National Contractors Insurance Ltd. (NCI).
What is a Captive?
NCI is an insurance captive.
Ummm… an insurance what?
“With traditional insurance, companies pay a premium every year for incident protection. If the policy is not used throughout the year, the money is lost,” said Gaines’s Safety Director Dominic Pope. “A captive consists of a group of member companies – in our case, we are all contractors. A certain amount of each member’s premium goes to operating costs. The rest goes into a fund. Whatever money isn’t used over the year goes back to the captive fund and is invested and distributed to member companies.”
NCI not only offers member companies insurance, but it also provides safety-enhancing opportunities throughout the year. After all, the safer member companies are, the more successful the captive is.
It’s a win-win. Captives protect employees’ safety while saving the company money. That doesn’t happen in the traditional insurance market.
What is National Contractors Insurance (NCI)?
NCI was started in 1997 by just a few members wanting to build a contractor-based insurance captive to ensure insurance coverage at a more affordable cost. The heterogeneous captive now consists of over 280 members across a diverse platform of contractors – including gas and pipeline, excavating, and grading.
The member companies – which must all meet the highest standards of excellence – all have differing levels of risk. After being invested in the captive for five years, member companies get portions reimbursed.
“In order for the captive to be successful, member companies must be safe. If they are safe and do well, then everyone succeeds – from the companies to the employees,” said Dominic.
How Does NCI Benefit Gaines Employees?
Gaines and Company has been a member of NCI since 2010. Gaines has not only maintained the necessary level of excellence to remain in the captive, but Gaines has also taken advantage of member benefits. These benefits include participating in safety-enhancing programs, webinars, conferences, speakers, trainings, meetings, and risk control seminars.
In addition to virtual NCI events, Gaines is invited to NCI’s in-person risk control workshops twice a year.
“We get so much out of NCI’s safety trainings and meetings that we bring back to our employees, keeping our employees safer each day,” said Tommy. “Being part of NCI has really benefitted our company as a whole.”
Gaines and Company Site Development is a full-service site development company specializing in underground utilities, grading, excavating, erosion controls, and road work. With 70 years of experience, the organization serves home builders and developers, general contractors, and military installations, as well as state, federal and municipal authorities, throughout Maryland, North Carolina, Washington D.C., and Delaware.
