As an employer, you have a legal obligation to take reasonable precautions to assure a safe and comfortable working environment for all your employees. Nevertheless, accidents can and do occur. When they do, a workers’ compensation policy keeps you and your employees protected.
WHAT IS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE?
Ideally, your employees will always stay safe on the job, but workplace injuries happen even on the safest of worksites. Even if you have provided health insurance coverage for your workers, you are still responsible for paying their medical costs if they suffer a job-related injury or illness. In addition, that worker is entitled to a percentage of their regular wages during the time they are unable to work due to their injury or illness.
Workers’ compensation insurance, commonly called workers’ comp, covers these costs. Workers receive benefits regardless of who was at fault in the accident. Coverage also includes death benefits for their dependents, as well as any rehabilitation necessary to help an employee regain their ability to work. If you don’t have insurance, you will have to pay these costs out of pocket, which can be financially ruinous for a small business owner.
An employee can only receive workers’ comp benefits if they sustain their injury or illness while fulfilling their normal job requirements. For example, workers’ comp insurance would cover injuries caused by working with high-voltage electricity or getting in a slip-and-fall accident. If an employee becomes injured outside the scope of their employment, such as spraining their ankle while playing soccer in the park after work, workers’ compensation insurance won’t cover them.
Each state has different regulations concerning workers’ compensation insurance. Some do not require business owners to provide workers’ compensation insurance to their employees, Contractors Mark strongly recommends an active workers’ compensation policy for all businesses, since choosing to forgo this coverage can jeopardize everything you have worked hard to build as a business owner -- your reputation, as well as your financial savings.
For contractors, there is a range of benefits to having this protection in place. If you and your employees are performing manual labor, obtaining workers’ compensation insurance is a proactive and intelligent choice. Employees in any career field can suffer injuries that cause them to miss work, but activities like operating heavy equipment increase the chances of an injury. You don’t want to be responsible for medical payments or death benefits, both of which could put your business at risk.
CONTRACTORS MARK: SERVING BUSINESS OWNERS LIKE YOU
You value the members of your team, so keeping them insured is a crucial part of the agreement you share with them. By protecting your employees with workers’ compensation insurance, you are also protecting your business. Having a policy in place provides a safety net for you when an employee makes a claim against your business for injuries, illness or death. You have the option to insure yourself as an employee too, so if you become injured on the job, you will have coverage as well.