Pinnacol Assurance is committed to providing our policyholders with state-of-the-art safety training, tools and resources designed to help employees stay safe on the job every day. One way we make this happen is by offering an exclusive safety group program that’s designed to reduce workers’ compensation costs by promoting safety and claims management in the workplace.
One of the safety group program’s requirements involves presenting approved training to your members. Below you’ll find an overview of the training requirements and the process to get your training pre-approved by Pinnacol.
What are the minimum training requirements?
Minimum requirements for all safety groups include:
- Offer two training sessions per group year
- Training must be pre-approved by Pinnacol
- Training must be specific to and offered by the safety group
- Training must address specific risk management issues within your industry
Please note: You determine the total number of safety trainings you will present to your members. The guidelines above are the minimum training requirements.
What Pinnacol-provided training is considered “approved” for safety groups?
Pinnacol has created a list of pre-approved risk management training courses that are available to you on Pinnacol.com. These courses are presented by members of Pinnacol’s staff and address risk management issues specific to the industry safety group or hazard groupings of the general safety group.
- A member of the safety services team will conduct this training at the safety group’s location. Safety services requires:
- 45-days’ notice, and
- Expectation of 10 or more members/policyholders in attendance.
- Please request this training by contacting your safety consultant.
- In the case of low enrollment (fewer than 10 attendees), training will be cancelled.
How will Pinnacol pre-approve our risk management training session(s) that are not delivered by Pinnacol’s staff?
Any training session not delivered by Pinnacol Assurance must tie to risk management topics such as: claims management, workplace safety, return to work, best practices for hiring and/or training new employees, provider relations, SIU, underwriting and OSHA standards. In addition, your training must meet the following requirements:
- Be a minimum of 30 minutes in length.
- Be completed in Colorado.
- Address the unique safety/risk management concerns of your industry safety group or hazard groupings for general safety groups.
Please complete and submit the safety group training approval form and course materials to your safety consultant at least 45 days in advance of the training session. Your safety consultant or agency relationship manager will respond to you within 10 business days to let you know if your course has been approved.
- The approval form must include the following information:
- Safety group name
- Instructor’s name
- Instructor’s bio
- Course description and length of presentation
- Copy of the presentation and any handouts
- Date of training
Please note, Safety Group Training Approval Requests should be received no less than 45 days prior to the training. Any requests received after the training was held will not be approved.
How many safety group credits is my training course worth?
All pre-approved OSHA 10 or 30-hour courses are worth 2 safety group credits. All other approved courses are worth only 1 safety group credit.
If my training is approved by Pinnacol, how long is the training approval valid for?
As long as the components on the original request form do not change (e.g., presentation topic, presenter, etc.) from the time it was approved, it is valid until the next group renewal date.
If a training topic is not approved by Pinnacol, will I be given feedback on why it was denied?
Yes. Pinnacol’s training team will provide you with specific feedback if your training request has not been approved. In addition, one of Pinnacol’s safety consultants will work with you to determine what topic or changes to your presentation might better address some of the risk management concerns for the group.
Is there a specific way that I need to track participation at our safety group training sessions?
Yes. You are responsible for tracking member participation for Pinnacol and non-Pinnacol provided safety group training sessions. You can either use the Pinnacol-approved attendance template document (Excel spreadsheet) or one that collects the same data. Tracking sheet must be submitted to Pinnacol electronically within five business days of training completion.
Required attendance form data:
- First and Last Name
- Email Address
- Title
- Policy Number
- Company Name
- Course Date
- Name of Course
- Participant's Signature
Can two or more safety groups join together to conduct training for their members?
Yes, as long as the risk management training topic applies to the members in both safety groups. You will want to follow the same process in order to get the training pre-approved, and the tracking process will also remain the same.
Can Pinnacol provide me with a list of my members who have attended training sessions?
Yes. If you have provided Pinnacol with the correct tracking documentation from each group-sponsored training event, we are able to generate an attendance report. Individual member training completed through a Pinnacol-sponsored training event (e.g., online training, risk management symposium, etc.) will also be included in that report. You can request this report on a quarterly basis by contacting your agency relationship manager.
How do the safety group renewal date and the individual member renewal date impact the training requirements?
Individual policyholder training requirements must be met during the member’s policy period. Safety group training requirements must be met during the safety group’s policy period.
What are the training requirements for our individual members?
Minimum requirements for safety group members:
Attend any two Pinnacol-approved training sessions per policy period, including:
- Trainings that are offered by the safety group.
- Training offered by Pinnacol Assurance. Examples of training opportunities are listed below.
- Pre-approved safety training offered by your agency.
There are a variety of risk management training courses that are offered by Pinnacol throughout the year that fulfill safety group training requirements:
Approved classroom training
There are a variety of risk management training courses that are offered by Pinnacol throughout the year that fulfill safety group training requirements: These include:
- Pinnacol’s multi-day OSHA 10 or 30-Hour Trainings
Please note: Completion of a multi-day OSHA 10 or 30-Hour Training satisfies both safety group training requirements.
- Pinnacol's Technical Safety Trainings
- Virtual webinar training opportunities
For the most up-to-date classroom training information, visit our Events page.
Online training
- J.J. Keller Online Training
Please note: J.J. Keller’s Video on Demand materials do not meet the training requirements because Pinnacol is unable to evaluate the registrant participation.
- These trainings are provided by J.J. Keller, a nationally recognized organization specializing in safety and compliance training.
- To receive a safety group credit, attendees must receive a 90 percent pass rate.
- Training(s) must be a minimum of 30 minutes in length.
- Training(s) should address hazards present in your operations.
- Completion of J.J. Keller’s online OSHA 10/30 Hour Construction/General Industry training courses will satisfy both safety group training requirements.
To sign up, contact Pinnacol’s Safety On Call at safetyoncall@pinnacol.com. These trainings must be requested two business days in advance and they will be assigned and approved by a safety professional.
Does a risk management training class conducted by a third party (e.g., a Red Rocks Community College safety class) count toward fulfilling one of the individual member training requirements?
Unfortunately, Pinnacol cannot review and approve all the risk management training classes offered throughout the state that could be completed by a safety group member. Pinnacol will only review and preapprove training submitted by the safety group for group training sessions.
Do I need to save the training certificates that are generated when I complete my J. J. Keller Online Training courses?
Yes, you should save your certificates of completion until after your policy period expires. While Pinnacol tracks completion of these courses, there can be a lag time of up to 30 days from the time the course is completed until we receive the results from our external vendor. Your Pinnacol underwriter may ask you for your completion certificate to verify that the training was completed.
For questions not answered in this FAQ, please send and email to our Safety on Call Hotline. safetyoncall@pinnacol.com.