Workers Comp Insurance
If you have any employees – even just one you are responsible for including workers compensation insurance (in most states) in your business insurance policy.
This coverage exists to protect you, your business, and your employees in case any of them get hurt or sick while working for you. Take a look at some of the specific types of coverage you can expect when you have workers comp for your business.
Medical Care Coverage
One of the benefits of workers comp insurance is that it pays for any legal costs that occur when an employee sues your business after becoming sick or injured on the job.
Of course, if you have workers comp, your employees should not have to sue you in order to get their medical care paid for. That’s because this coverage exists to pay any fees for an emergency room visit, ambulance ride, hospital stay, physical therapy, or rehabilitation.
Medical care coverage can also provide employees with compensation to make up for lost wages while they recover from an illness or injury received on the job.
Temporary Or Permanent Disability Coverage
If your employee cannot return to work for months or years, temporary disability coverage will pay for the lost wages and any necessary medical care. In addition, if your employee can never return to work after being injured or becoming ill on the job, permanent disability coverage will provide him or her with compensation for medical bills and lost wages.
Such coverage is usually available for years, but there is a limit on the number of years employees can get compensated for a permanent disability. That limit is decided by workers comp laws, which change over time.
Other Benefits And Coverage
Employees who have been injured or have become sick due to work cannot perform their job anymore once they start getting temporary or permanent disability. But this does not necessarily mean they cannot work at all. If the employee can perform a different job, workers compensation insurance will pay to train him or her for another career.
Additionally, if an employee is killed on the job, workers comp will compensate the family with death benefits.
Employer Regulations
Not only is workers compensation insurance helpful, but it’s also required by law. If you do not add it to your business insurance policy, you can expect to be fined or even jailed.
The consequences vary by state, but no matter where you live, you do not want to risk being penalized for not having workers comp insurance.
Employer Benefits
Even if it were not required by law to have workers comp insurance, you would likely appreciate having it for your business. Without it, you would be responsible for paying for the medical bills and lost wages of employees who are injured at work.
No matter how much attention you pay to safety on the job, there is always a chance employees will become sick or injured, and their medical care could cost thousands of dollars. If you do not pay, you could face lawsuits, which may result in you losing your business.
Workers comp insurance can help you avoid these consequences and ensure that employees are taken care of on the job.