What is Worker’s Compensation Insurance?
Your staff aren’t just hired help – they’re family
We all want to make sure our family is taken care of when things go wrong. Worker’s compensation insurance – or Work Comp – can help bring peace of mind in the event of work-related injuries or illnesses, helping your business provide employees with lost wages, medical expenses, ongoing care, and even funeral costs.
What Does Worker’s Comp Cover?
Work Comp benefits can help with many of the costs that come up if an employee suffers an injury or illness at work. Policies can be customized to include different options, but most policies cover:
Lost Wages
Worker’s comp can help cover your employee’s lost income if they need to take time off due to an injury or illness at work. If, for example, one of your line cooks accidentally slices her hand open cutting onions, she may need to take a week or two off while it heals. The right insurance can help replace some of the income she would lose over that time.
Medical Expenses
If one of your employees has an injury or illness on the job that requires medical attention, worker’s comp insurance can help cover the cost of their expenses. Coverage can also include ER visits, prescriptions, and surgery, if necessary.
Ongoing Care Costs
Not all work-related injuries and illnesses heal quickly; sometimes they might require care over time. For example, if one of your mechanics strains their back while pulling a motor out of a car and needs to go through physical therapy to get back to 100 percent, worker’s comp insurance can help cover the cost for over a predetermined term.
Funeral Costs
If the unthinkable happens and an employee passes away due to an accident at work, worker’s comp coverage can help their beneficiaries with funeral costs, and even provide death benefits.
Disability
If a work injury is serious enough to temporarily or permanently disable one of your employees, worker’s comp can help with their treatment costs and some of their missed wages.
What Doesn’t Worker’s Comp Cover?
There are a few types of injuries and illnesses that worker’s comp insurance doesn’t cover. State laws vary, but generally plans don’t cover:
- accidents that happen to intoxicated employees
- intentional injuries
- injuries as a result of a fight started by the employee
- injuries that happen on the way to work
- emotional trauma.
Worker’s comp also doesn’t protect your business from employee lawsuits for discrimination, wrongful termination, or gross negligence. In situations like these, employment practices liability insurance can help you with legal costs.
Does Worker’s Comp Insurance Protect My Business?
The business benefits of Worker’s Compensation insurance go far beyond the peace of mind it offers employees. It can:
- Reduce your business’ liability in employee lawsuits for work-related injury or illness.
- Help your employees get back to work.
- Help cover the cost of hiring employees who may have an ongoing injury or illness from a previous job.
- Keep your business in line with your state’s laws for worker’s compensation.
Of course, there are some exceptions. While worker’s comp generally allows injured or ill employees to receive compensation in exchange for losing their right to sue their employer, policies do not cover intentional harm to your employees through fraud, assault, defamation, or emotional distress.
Who Is Required to Carry Worker’s Comp Insurance?
Every state in the Union except Texas requires most businesses to carry some form of worker’s compensation insurance. You should check your state’s laws for exemptions, but some common examples include:
- Volunteers
- People who work in exchange for aid or food
- Jurors
- Part-time employees
- Some real-estate agents
- Employees who work on commission
- Temporary workers
It’s best to know the laws in your state, but Our experienced agents can help make sure your coverage is in line with your local regs, and can also help in the event you need coverage for multiple states or for employees who travel between states.