A historic agreement between OSHA and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) was signed Tuesday, marking the first time a national property casualty insurance trade group and a federal agency have a formal, written agreement to promote workplace safety.

The essence of the Alliance Agreement commits PCI resources to partner with OSHA's Philadelphia Region and the Consultation Programs to reach small businesses with safety training and education, including conducting safety seminars.

"Together OSHA and PCI will pool their expertise to provide solid practical training and education to PCI's members and their policyholders by conducting seminars that will help small business owners create and sustain effective workplace safety programs," said PCI President Jack Ramirez. "This alliance is a 'win-win' approach for everyone involved and shows what can be accomplished when groups share a common goal."

The alliance is the result of several years of work together between OSHA and PCI in hosting workplace safety seminars called "Safety at Work: Risk Management Techniques for Small Business." PCI member companies and their policyholders have attended and participated in many of the programs.

Ramirez outlined the goals of the formal program as a continuing effort to interact with PCI’s members' small business policyholders, foster good customer relations and bring substantive safety information that could save lives and result in fewer claims.

PCI consists of more than 1,000 member companies, which write $173.6 billion in annual premium.