If you are running a business, you are required by law to purchase workers compensation insurance, not only to protect your employees but also to protect yourself and your enterprise from serious financial peril in the event that someone is injured on the job. Workers compensation is a schedule of benefits paid to an employee and/or the relatives of that person to compensate for being hurt, disabled, dismembered or killed as a result of a hazard in one’s workplace. The payments, which provide wage replacement and medical benefits, are a liability on the part of the employer.
What is Workers Compensation Insurance?
Businesses of all types and sizes are required to purchase insurance policies that agree to pay the workers compensation benefits on their behalf in the event of a serious workplace injury sustained by one of their employees. It is an extremely important type of commercial insurance because it protects the business owner and the rest of his or her business from the risk of lawsuits and other claims resulting from workplace injuries. When the injured party receives workers compensation benefits from the employer’s insurance policy, they relinquish their right to sue the employer for negligence.
As with any type of business insurance, there are different types of workers compensation policies to choose from, and minimum coverage requirements differ from one jurisdiction to the next. These are a few of the benefits that a workers comp policy should cover:
- Benefits paid to dependants in cases of employee fatality
- Compensation for past and future economic losses
- Payments in place of lost wages
- Coverage for medical and injury-related expenses
This comprehensive type of insurance includes elements of life insurance, disability insurance and medical insurance. If you don’t already have it, get a workers compensation insurance quote today, and protect your business from a myriad of financial risks.
A schedule of benefits to an employee for injury, disability, dismemberment, or death as a result of occupational hazard. The payments are a liability of an employer. Insurance agreeing to pay the Workers Compensation benefits required by law on behalf of the employer.
