What near-miss reporting can teach us — if we’re paying attention

A closer look at how near-miss reporting drives smarter risk management, better safety outcomes and stronger insurance conversations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Near misses offer early warning signs. Reporting these close calls can reveal hidden risks and help businesses act before injuries, claims or losses occur.
Many go unreported due to fear, confusion or unclear processes. Without leadership support and a culture of trust, near-miss reporting often falls through the cracks.
A strong near-miss reporting program turns insight into action. When near misses are tracked and reviewed, they become valuable tools for improving safety, reducing costs and strengthening risk conversations with insurers.

A worker steps onto a slick patch of floor near a production line. They stumble, catch themselves on a railing and keep walking. No report is made. No one else sees it. Just another close call in the middle of a busy shift.

But what happens the next time — when there’s no railing to grab?

Near-miss incidents like this are easy to overlook. Nothing happened, after all. However, these close calls offer something rare in safety and risk management: a warning without a consequence. They’re not just lucky breaks; they’re data points.

One well-known safety model — Heinrich’s Safety Triangle — illustrates this idea clearly, suggesting that for every serious injury, there are dozens of minor injuries and hundreds of near misses leading up to it. While the model has its critics and isn’t predictive in a strict sense, its value lies in the pattern it highlights: serious incidents are rarely isolated. They’re often preceded by patterns of smaller, ignored warning signs.

Related: Fall protection mistakes that could cost your clients

Catching what’s slipping through the cracks

If near-misses can offer so much insight, why are they so often ignored?

It usually comes down to culture and communication. Many workers don’t report close calls because they don’t believe anything will come of it — or worse, they fear being blamed. In some environments, reporting is seen as “making trouble.” In others, the process is so tedious or unclear that it hardly seems worth the effort.

Sometimes, it’s not even clear what counts as a near miss. Is it worth reporting if someone caught their balance? If a falling tool missed an employee by inches? If a forklift came around the corner too fast? Without clear definitions, visible leadership support and a process that people trust, these moments often slip by undocumented and unaddressed.

But what goes unreported goes unmeasured. And what goes unmeasured can’t be improved. Every near miss is an opportunity — not just to reduce injuries, but to increase insight. Organizations that create a true reporting culture empower their teams to speak up early, spot patterns before they escalate and stay ahead of risk instead of reacting to it.

Designing a near-miss program that works

There’s no need for a complicated system, just a meaningful one. The strongest programs aren’t focused on compliance for compliance’s sake. They’re built to earn trust, surface risk early and turn everyday observations into real improvements.

What does that look like in practice?

Clear definitions. Employees should understand what constitutes a near miss and feel confident it’s worth reporting, even if no harm occurred.
Low-friction reporting. Keep forms simple and access easy. Near miss reporting should take less time than grabbing a cup of coffee.
Anonymity options. Fear of blame is real. Offering anonymous reporting — especially during early adoption — can increase participation and build confidence.
Visible follow-through. If reports go into a void, the system breaks down. Looping back with employees — even just to acknowledge patterns or share safety tips — proves the process has value.
Leadership modeling. When supervisors share their own close calls or encourage discussion without judgement, it creates a culture where reporting feels safe and smart, not risky.
Cross-departmental learning. Sharing lessons across teams helps avoid siloed improvements. One team’s close call can be another’s prevention strategy.

For insurance professionals, a strong program also offers a broader advantage. Near-miss data provides insight into how actively a business manages risk — insight that can support more informed underwriting decisions, more targeted loss control strategies and even better claim outcomes over time. When near misses are tracked and addressed, the result is a safer workplace, a more proactive risk culture and a clearer path to reducing both incidents and costs.

Related: A practical guide to reducing on-the-job injuries

Turning close calls into clear signals

The question isn’t whether near misses are happening — they are. It’s whether anyone is paying attention.

Every close call is a data point. Not a statistic to bury in a spreadsheet, but a chance to learn something before a claim, an injury or a serious loss brings it to the surface. And in risk management, that’s where the leverage is — not in reacting after the fact, but in identifying the patterns early enough to change the outcome.

For organizations, near-miss reporting can shift a safety culture from silence to insight. For agents and carriers, it offers a clearer view of how risk is managed day by day, not just on paper. And for everyone involved, it’s a reminder that prevention isn’t passive; it’s powered by the questions we ask, the reports we build and the actions we take next.

If you’re looking to help your clients strengthen their safety programs and minimize work comp claims, near-miss reporting is a great place to start. Add even more value by exploring our Workers’ Compensation Program!

This material has been prepared for general informational purposes only, is intended to apply generally rather than to any specific company and presumes appropriate discretion will be exercised regarding any particular situation.