By CEO John O'Donnell
This week, on Colorado Day, August 1, Pinnacol Assurance celebrated 108 years of protecting and caring for Colorado workers and their families. Over the last century, as the state's workforce has grown and evolved, Pinnacol has adapted to meet the challenges faced by Colorado employers while ensuring workers have access to the best care.
Colorado became one of the first states in the nation to establish a formal workers' compensation system when the state was just 39 years old. Pinnacol was created to protect the state's workers, especially those employed in risky jobs critical to the economy, like miners. Our charter was designed to uphold the state's goal of providing high-quality coverage, a mission we continue to embrace today. Some of our current customers have been with us since the beginning, protecting their workers with Pinnacol for over 100 years.
Today, we operate as a competitive and market-leading carrier. Over the past few decades, we have reinvested nearly $1 billion back into workplaces through partnerships with policyholders, community, and workforce leaders. While we continue to cover miners, our coverage now extends to a diverse range of occupations, including computer programmers, cannabis budtenders, and restaurant cliff divers—jobs that would have been unimaginable to the lawmakers who created Pinnacol in 1915. Fast forward a hundred years after weathering the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1917, our team has adapted to the significant changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recent changes in the workforce have been historic and will continue to evolve. A new study shows that more than one-third of workers now work from home on an average day. Colorado workers and employers will continue to adapt to the demands of the post-pandemic modern workforce. As a state-chartered insurer with a priority of keeping workers safe, we have made significant investments in safety training for our policyholders and even for non-policyholding Colorado employers.
Additionally, as the state's workers' compensation insurer of last resort, we cover new and emerging industries that drive economic growth but are not traditionally covered by workers' compensation companies.
At Pinnacol, our guiding principle is simple: providing the best possible care and coverage for Colorado workers and employers. As we celebrate our anniversary on this Colorado Day, that focus remains unchanged.
Pinnacol Assurance assumes no responsibility for management or control of customer safety activities. Please ensure your business meets the requirements of all federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances related to workplace safety.
