What is Work Comp Insurance?

Typically, the larger a business is, the more employees it has, and hence the more cases of work-related illnesses and injuries there are.

If your employees incur a work-related illness or injury, they can receive much-needed benefits in the form of Workers Comp Insurance.

This insurance provides protection to your employees and business by offering:

• Death benefits such as the costs of a funeral in case of an employee’s incidental, occupational fatality
• Vocational rehabilitation cost coverage in case your employee needs consistent support to return to work
• Medical bills that you’re sick or injured employees need to pay for their treatment
• Missed wages in the event that an employee becomes ill or injured and needs to take time off to recover.

There are specific injuries that get covered by Workers Compensation Insurance. If your employee was representing you in a professional capacity and got injured while performing official duties, the employee is entitled to workers’ compensation. An example of this would be an accident an employee underwent on the way to a customer for a delivery. The medical bills in this case would be paid off by this insurance.

A few examples of incidents that cause a work-related injury or death are natural disasters, terrorism, and violence.

Around 30% of work comp insurance claims involve strains and sprains. Normally, this happens when you lift something heavy.  Mostly, an employee needs at least 12 days of rest to be able to  return to work in a healthy state. Some types of activities and jobs that normally cause strains and sprains are

• Nursing Assistant
• Moving Materials
• Stock
• Freight
• Labor

The second most common type of workers comp claims are related to trips, slips, and falls, accounting for 27% of overall claims. Work Comp Insurance is not limited to injuries  that occur at the workplace only, but also outside the work premises. Furthermore, if an employee gets sick from exposure to chemicals  that’s part of their job, the resultant sickness will be  covered by this insurance type.

There are certain illnesses and injuries that Workers Compensation Insurance does not cover, such as:

• Those occurring on the commute to work
• Emotional trauma
• Conditions as a result of an addiction or another bad habit
• Self-inflicted injuries
• Injuries as a result of a fight or argument

No protection will be granted by Workers’ Comp Insurance if an employee sues a business for any of the following reasons:

• Unfair termination
• Failure to promote
• Discrimination
• Malicious intent
• Gross Negligence

. In such circumstances, you can have your legal bills covered by employment practices liability insurance.

Worker Compensation Insurance Law for Each State

The workers’ compensation insurance law differs for each state in the US. While there may be some similarities, it is important to understand your state’s particular workers’ compensation insurance regulations.

Every state in the US has a workers’ compensation program that it is responsible for. This means that depending on where your business is located, the state legislation for workers’ comp insurance may vary. Every state has designated benefits and amounts that it decides based on the risks its businesses entail, and the economy it has. For instance,Alaska has one of the highest average workers’ compensation insurance rates due to the prevalence of lumberjacking firms there. This is an occupation having a high risk.

In addition, the entities that are permitted to sell workers’ comp insurance policies are also decided by each state. These entities may include the state itself, private insurance firms, and governmental agencies.

Secondary injury funds are also set up by some states to support disabled employees in case they suffer a second injury while on duty, making it easier for employers to hire people who have had a work-related injury.

To understand this, consider the following scenario: you own a shipping yard and need to hire an ex-nurse who filed a workers’ compensation claim after suffering a back injury at work a few years ago.

. The previous injury must have increased the susceptibility to a second injury. In case a second injury does occur, a secondary injury fund covers its medical bills. However, if they have not set up any such fund, businesses may be reluctant to hire employees who have been injured previously.

Florida Workers Compensation Insurance Law

In Florida, every employee working for another firm, group, or employer is required by the law to have workers’ compensation insurance. This covers contractual workers, even those having implied contracts. It also covers minors as well as both legally and illegally employed immigrants. However, certain professionals are not obliged to have insurance in Florida, including:

• Most independent contractors, except construction staff
• Temporary workers
• Performers working in musical theaters
• Licensed realtors

However, a little bit of gray area exists for certain drivers, sports officials, and volunteers in Florida law.

How Workers Compensation Insurance Guards Your Business

This insurance can help your business by means of:

• Supporting injured employees to return to work on a new role or even the old one
• Ensuring compliance with all workers’ comp laws of your state
• Containing the liability of your business in work-related sickness and injury cases
• Offering benefits to employees who have developed a work-related sickness or injury

The details of the workers’ compensation insurance coverage you provide will be determined by your state. This includes the methods of care and benefits, the types of injuries that will be paid for, and the total number of benefits.

While some workers comp policies don’t offer coverage to workers travelling to a different US state, it is still important for your employees at their primary place of work.

If you deliberately harm an employee via any of the following means, coverage won’t be provided against their claims. :

• Emotional distress or any other tort
• Fraud
• Defamation
• Battery
• Assault

To discuss your workers’ compensation insurance claim with SFCINS today, call us at (305)819-8618 now!