Workers insurance protects the employer if an employee has been injured on the job. It provides coverage for health expenses in addition to reimbursement for salary loss to the employee when the employee has been hurt while working. Workers insurance is a “no-fault” method. This means that no matter whose fault was it that the worker was injured, whether the worker’s, employer’s or a co-worker’s, the employee gets compensated for being injured at work. Companies can reduce the expenses incurred by workers insurance by adhering to safety procedures.
Features
The important features of workers insurance include the employee being able to choose the doctor for treatment and the insurance company having to pay the employee disability benefits if the employee’s doctor has taken him/her off from the job for more than five days. The insurance company also has to pay the injured worker’s travel costs to and from doctors.
Moreover, if the company fails to obtain workers insurance for any reason, company assets maybe endangered in case injury occurs.
What Is Reimbursed
Workers insurance can be divided into two kinds, one being workers’ compensation and the other employer’s liability. The workers’ compensation section of workers insurance reimburses the medical bills and expenses of the employee that the employee has asked for in case of an injury while at work. The second element of workers insurance is employer’s liability and it includes lawsuit expenses that are incurred on the firm if the employee or the employee’s family decides to sue the firm.
Who Is Eligible
Although, as mentioned before, workers insurance is a “no-fault” program meaning that it does not take into account as to who was responsible for the injury but provides reimbursement anyway, there are some exceptions to this rule. The exceptions include employees who have injured themselves on account of irresponsible attitude or drug or alcohol abuse at work. Moreover, employees who have hurt themselves intentionally or while not on duty or while committing a crime, are not reimbursed for their injuries. Additionally, differences exist in states regarding what type of activities is covered in workers insurance.
There are also different laws in different states regarding the kinds of employees who are eligible for workers insurance. Some states do not include volunteers, household staff, farmers, contractors and consultants in the list of workers who qualify for workers insurance.
How to Calculate
The premiums paid for workers compensation depends upon the nature of the industry, nature of job, and the time spent at work. Each kind of job is classified and given a code in accordance to the job type, industry type and time spent on the job. When an employee is injured at work, a workers’ compensation claim is filed with the insurance company that will inform the concerned state organization subsequently. If the claim is considered valid by the state agency, the loss will be compensated by the insurance carrier. This is done as to minimize insurance scams and maintain complete records of workplace injuries and reimbursement claims.
