What is workers’ compensation insurance?
Workers Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance provides coverage for medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries and illnesses. In most states, workers compensation insurance is required businesses that have employees.
Does your small business need workers’
compensation protection?
The answer is “yes” for nearly all businesses in the United States. You state likely mandates workers compensation insurance, so you can’t consider this coverage as optional.
Each state will have their own workers’ comp laws and regulations, and they do vary by state, but a small business typically needs a policy in place as soon as they hire their first employee. This is universally true.
Even when not required by law, a comp policy provides important protections for your business against medical expenses and employee lawsuits related to injuries that happen at the workplace.
As a business owners, you should rely on workers’ comp if an employee needs medical care or time off due to a workplace injury – or if an injured employee sues you for failing to prevent an accident.
What if you elect to not buy workers comp? Well, your business will be responsible for any medical bills and legal fees. More importantly, most states levy costly penalties for noncompliance, so workers compensation is a vital coverage to protect your business and bottom line.
Workers’ comp is essential to small businesses for three reasons:
- Your state’s regulations likely require workers’ comp coverage.
- It protects your business from unexpected medical expenses and partial lost wages due to a workplace injury.
- With the right policy, you can also get protection from employee lawsuits resulting from workplace injuries.
Why is workers compensation coverage
important?
Many small businesses cannot afford to pay for unexpected medical or legal expenses associated with a workplace injury. If your business had to pay out of pocket for injuries like carpel tunnel syndrome or a broken leg, it could be financially devastating.
Without workers’ comp coverage protection, both the business owner and employees are put potentially difficult situations.
Does workers’ comp protect against employee lawsuits?
Workers comp does help with lawsuits in most states. In fact, most workers’ compensation policies include employer’s liability insurance providing additional protection for your business if an injured worker files a lawsuit against your business for not reasonably preventing a workplace accident.
If an employee sues for employment negligence, your insurance company will pay for:
- Attorney’s fees
- Court and legal expenses
- Settlements or judgments
Business owners in Washington do not have employer’s liability insurance included in workers’ comp.
In these state like Washington, workers’ comp policies are purchased from a monopolistic state fund, which does not offer this for of coverage. Insurance companies sell stop gap coverage to protect you from employee lawsuits in monopolistic states.
Does workers’ compensation help cover fatal accidents?
Yes, most workers’ compensation policies include death benefits. These help a deceased employee’s loved ones pay funeral and burial costs after a fatal workplace accident.
In many instances, workers’ comp can also provide financial assistance for the deceased employee’s family.
Does workers’ compensation cover employees who
contract COVID-19?
It typically depends on where an employee contracted COVID-19 (the coronavirus).
Workers’ comp insurance protects employees from on-the-job injuries and illnesses. If an employee contracts the coronavirus while working, then this policy should provide coverage.
For example, a nurse caring for sick patients or a grocery store worker who deals directly with the public would both have a stronger claim than an office worker. Workers’ comp doesn’t cover diseases unrelated to employment.
Your state’s laws could potentially help cover costs related to COVID-19. If you think you might be eligible for a claim, contact your insurance company’s claims department.
How much does workers’ compensation insurance cost?
Your work comp cost is based on a number of factors, including:
- Employee Payroll
- Location
- Number of employees
- Industry and risk factors
- Coverage limits
- Claims history
Workers’ compensation insurance for smaller businesses have a median cost of $47 per month. Many small businesses with just small staffs can pay as low as $35 per month, but larger companies can expect to pay more.
Where is workers’ compensation insurance
required by law?
Each state has unique laws and penalties for workers’ comp. In most states, workers’ comp is required as soon as a business hires its first employee.
Other states don’t mandate coverage until a business has two, three, four, or more employees. Texas is the lone state where business owners are never required to purchase workers’ comp.
All other states impose penalties for not carrying workers’ compensation. These can range from fines to jail time – or both.
Do self-employed business owners need
workers’ compensation insurance?
Typically not by law. States generally require businesses with employees to purchase workers’ compensation insurance.
But sole proprietors, independent contractors, and other self-employed business owners may buy this policy to fulfill the terms of a contract or to protect their income.
Most health insurance policies exclude coverage for work-related injuries and illnesses. If you carry workers’ comp as an independent contractor, your medical bills will be covered when you’re injured on the job.
Workers’ comp can also partially replace wages lost while taking time off to recover from a work-related injury.
Why do certain clients require you to carry
workers’ comp?
workers’ comp?
If you contract with your clients, they don’t want hassel of expenses that get created after workplace injuries. This is why you clients might require their contractors to carry their own business insurance, including workers compensation.
When your clients require workers comp insurance be carried by your business, they are limiting their own legal liability. When a business owner has their own insurance, they are more likely to seek payment from their own insurance (instead of the client) in the event of a workplace or project related injury.