The regulatory landscape is shifting under your clients’ feet. Between 2024 and 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) introduced and proposed some of the most significant changes in years. For employers, these moves often feel like just another compliance headache. But for forward-thinking brokers, they represent a massive opportunity.
By pivoting from a transactional relationship to a consultative partnership, brokers can become “OSHA change advisors.” This isn’t just about selling a policy; it’s about actively helping clients navigate new liabilities. Here is how you can guide your clients through the latest regulatory waves, and how products like Active Commercial Insurance can turn you into their most valuable asset.
- Navigating the “Walkaround” Rule
One of the most discussed changes of 2024 is the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process final rule. Effective May 2024, this rule allows employees to designate a third-party representative, such as a union representative, community activist, or safety expert, to accompany OSHA inspectors during site visits.
Tip: Clients may be worried about the implications of non-employees inspecting their worksites. You can help them prepare by ensuring they have their own designation processes in place. Remind them that safety culture is their best defense. If their safety protocols are visible and robust, a third-party observer becomes less of a threat and more of a witness to their compliance.
- Turning Up the Heat on Compliance
With rising global temperatures, OSHA is prioritizing heat-related hazards. In August 2024, OSHA published a proposed rule for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. This rule would require employers to create comprehensive heat illness prevention plans, monitor heat metrics, and provide mandatory breaks and hydration.
Tip: Don’t wait for the final rule to go into effect. Advise your clients, particularly in manufacturing, construction, and warehousing, to audit their heat mitigation strategies now. This is wheremore advanced technology shines. AI-powered platforms can identify environmental risks and ensure that protocols, like hydration breaks, are actually being followed on the floor, not just on paper.
- The Era of Electronic Transparency
As of January 2024, OSHA expanded its requirements for electronic recordkeeping. Establishments with 100 or more employees in designated high-hazard industries must now electronically submit detailed information from their OSHA Forms 300 and 301.
Tip: Data transparency means OSHA can more easily identify patterns of injury and target inspections. Your clients need to know that their data is now a billboard of their safety record. Brokers should advise clients to focus on accuracy and prevention. The goal is to stop the accident before it becomes a line item on Form 300. By using tools that analyze workplace video to detect hazards, like ergonomic risks or struck-by hazards, clients can reduce the incidents they have to report in the first place.
Becoming the Active Partner
The days of “bind and forget” are over. Clients need a broker who understands that safety is insurability. By staying ahead of these OSHA changes, you position yourself as a strategic partner who protects their bottom line.
At CompScience, we believe in Active Commercial Insurance, bundling workers’ comp coverage with safety analytics to lower risk. When you bring this level of insight to your clients, you aren’t just an insurance agent; you are the change advisor they can’t afford to lose.
