Carbon County is working to keep its employees safe on the job.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board voted 3-0 to ratify the proposal from the Housing and Redevelopment Insurance Exchange for workers' compensation insurance for 2016. The total premium payment is $353,627, a decrease of $44,702 from 2015.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said it's a continuous struggle to reduce costs while keeping employees safe, but the county is making progress.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that through a concerted effort, including a number of actions by the county safety committee, chaired by Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard, the county has been able to cut the claims significantly.In 2015, a total of 28 claims were reported and a total of $52,000 was paid out through workers' compensation. That is significantly lower than years before the sale of the county nursing home Weatherwood in 2010, when claims averaged 103 annually and the premium for this insurance was over $1 million annually.The 2016 premium is based on the number of claims and the amounts paid out in the years 2012 through 2014.O'Gurek said that in those years, the number of claims totaled 108, down significantly 2007 and 2008, when 160 claims were filed each year."We strive every day to try and make things better, but it certainly is a team effort," Gerhard said.The price tag seems like a significant amount of money for workers' compensation insurance, but in 2008, the county was paying $1,360,000 to the Pennsylvania Counties Workers' Compensation Trust.At that time, officials decided to accept proposals from other insurance providers.The county received 13 proposals and interviewed five companies about their policies on claims handling, loss control, risk management and assessment and return to work policies before choosing HARIE on Dec. 12, 2008.