Workers compensation insurance is often mandatory for many businesses if they have employees, no matter what the job requires. It covers medical costs and a portion of lost wages for employees who become injured or ill on the job.
Workers compensation is like an airbag for your business. When trouble strikes, it deploys to help your employee get back to work as fast as possible, minimizing the damage to your business.
If that sounds like a luxury to you, keep in mind, it's probably a good thing for your business. Imagine having to pay for a slip-and-fall accident out of your business checking account.
Workers comp insurance may also protect you from being sued by employees for workplace conditions, when a court finds your company liable in causing an injury or illness to your employees.
Under normal circumstances, fault does not matter in a workers compensation claim. And each state has its own workers compensation system, which is a mandated program to compensate employees who are injured in a workplace accident or rendered ill because of the job.
It’s designed to ensure payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases, of occupational diseases, contracted by employees in the course of their work.
Since workers comp insurance typically only covers injuries or illnesses when they occur as a result of duties performed on the job or while at work, the scope of the coverage of the policy is limited to duties performed by employees.
Injuries that may be covered by workers comp insurance include lifting heavy equipment, slipping on a wet or oily surface, or sustaining injury, due to fires or explosions.
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While most insurance products are similar in price and function, insurance providers vary when it comes to structuring a policy tailored to you.
After all, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all insurance policy when it comes to your business.
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Employers are legally obligated to take reasonable care to assure that their workplaces are safe. Nevertheless, accidents happen. When they do, workers compensation insurance provides coverage.
Workers compensation insurance serves two purposes: It assures that injured workers get medical care and compensation for a portion of the income they lose while they are unable to return to work and it usually protects employers from lawsuits by workers injured while working.
Workers receive benefits regardless of who was at fault in the accident. If a worker is killed while working, workers comp (as it is often abbreviated) provides death benefits for the worker’s dependents.
Injuries employees sustain on the workplace premises or anywhere else while the employee is acting in the “course and scope” of employment are covered if their employer has workers comp insurance. For example, the leading cause of workers comp death claims is traffic accidents that occur when the employee is in a vehicle for work purposes, whether the trip is made in the company’s car or the employee’s own vehicle. Accidents driving to and from work are not covered.
In addition to injuries from accidents, workers comp covers injuries employees may sustain from other events that may occur while they are working, including workplace violence, terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
Workers comp insurance also covers certain illnesses and occupational diseases (defined in the state statutes) contracted as a result of employment. For example, employees who work with toxic chemicals can be made ill by exposure to the chemicals.
Even in the most well-run business enterprises, workers get injured – it’s just a fact of business life. Workers’ Compensation insurance provides coverage for medical expenses, lost wages, vocational rehabilitation, and death benefits when employees are injured, disabled or made ill as a result of work duties conducted on behalf of their employer.
