Know What Your Workers Compensation Insurance Covers
Whether you are a thriving business or an established brand, it’s crucial that you understand the importance of workplace safety. As an employer, you must have taken steps to make the workplace safe for your employees. However, in spite of taking every reasonable safety measure, accidents can happen.
Since your employees can become sick or injured in several ways, your business needs Workers Compensation insurance. Workers Compensation Insurance is designed as no-fault insurance, limiting employer’s risk of workplace fines or lawsuits while providing workers or employees with the support they need to recover. Insurance like these provides protection to employers from any liability if their employees are injured in the workplace. .
As an employer, you may understand that Workmen Compensation insurance is intended to protect you financially against your liability towards the employees in the event of a job-related illness or injury. As complicated as the definition may sound, here’s what it really covers.
Disability Due to an Accident At Work
Some work-related injuries can be extreme to the point that the employee may never be able to return to work. In some cases, he/she may be able to return to work, however, not in the same capacity.
For such employees, Workers Compensation insurance can provide a partial replacement of income lost when they are unable to work because of work-related disability. The disability may be permanent or temporary, and total or partial.
Lost Wages Due to Occupational Illness
Workers Compensation insurance provides wages to employees who are unable to work while recovering from a work-related illness or injury. However, for employers, this can mean weeks of pay and additional costs of finding, and paying for a temporary replacement worker.
Workers Compensation insurance can cover these lost wages and reduce employers’ financial burden. Most Workers Compensation insurance policies offer the choice to employers to have the workers’ compensation coverage as a percentage of employees’ lost income or a fixed amount.
Death Due to a Workplace Accident
In the unfortunate occurrence of the employee’s demise due to a work-related injury or illness, the Workers’ Compensation insurance can provide benefits to the employee’s family.
This can be a huge relief to the deceased employee’s dear ones in their time of grief. The financial support is usually offered as a percentage of the employee’s wages.
Other Legal Liability
If an employee is injured at work and believes that the employer company is to blame, the employer may face a lawsuit, which can cost them a hefty amount.
But the good news is, Workers Compensation insurance can cover the legal costs if an employee sues the employer for the injury. It can help pay for legal expenses, attorney fees, and settlements or judgments.
Medical Expenditure
In spite of businesses taking every practical measure to prevent worksite illnesses and injuries, accidents can happen. For instance, an employee slipping on a wet floor and breaking their arm or a mistake made at the construction site leading to an injury.
That said, an injured employee needs immediate medical attention, and the employer is usually responsible for covering that cost. In such a case, Workers Compensation insurance can prove beneficial as it pays for:
- Emergency room visits
- Ambulance rides and
- Medical bills
Besides providing coverage for bodily injury caused due to a work-related accident, it also covers bodily injury caused due to diseases or aggravated by conditions of the workplace environment. Meaning, it also provides coverage for occupational diseases.
These are the major benefits that Workers Compensation insurance offers. It provides critical financial protection for every type of business. In fact, it’s so imperative that most business owners must have it the moment they hire their first employee.
Today, many reputable insurance brokers like SecureNow offer comprehensive workers compensation policies in addition to benefits like competitive prices and claim assistance. So, consider your budget, compare quotes and buy one at the earliest!
