Employers are legally obligated to take reasonable care to assure that their workplaces are safe. Nevertheless, accidents happen. When they do, workers compensation insurance provides coverage.
Workers compensation insurance serves two purposes: It assures that injured workers get medical care and compensation for a portion of the income they lose while they are unable to return to work and it usually protects employers from lawsuits by workers injured while working.
Workers receive benefits regardless of who was at fault in the accident. If a worker is killed while working, workers comp (as it is often abbreviated) provides death benefits for the worker’s dependents.
Workers compensation systems are established by statutes in each state. State laws and court decisions control the program in that state and no two states have exactly the same laws and regulations.
States determine such features as the amount of benefits to which an employee is entitled, what impairments and injuries are covered, how impairments are to be evaluated and how medical care is to be delivered. In addition, states dictate whether workers compensation insurance is provided by state-run agencies and by private insurance companies or by the state alone. States also establish how claims are to be handled, how disputes are resolved and they may devise strategies, such as limits on chiropractic care, to control costs.
To learn about the requirements where you live, visit your state’s workers compensation department Web site.
Similar businesses in each state, that exhibit comparable workplace injury patterns and costs, are grouped into “classes.” Rates are determined for each class based on the prior five years of loss costs for all businesses within that class. This provides an equitable system where rates are charged commensurate with the actual loss experience of the class of business. Economic factors for each state are then overlaid onto this data to determine the rate for each class in a given state.
A system called “experience rating” allows for modification of the class rates based on the loss history of an individual business. This system provides business owners a significant amount of control over the cost of their workers’ compensation premium – safe businesses are rewarded with lower premiums and unsafe businesses are penalized with higher premiums.
All states, with a small number of exceptions, require businesses with employees who are not owners, to purchased workers’ compensation coverage for those employees.
Businesses that fail to provide workers’ compensation coverage can face severe and costly repercussions including payment of claims out of pocket, fines and possible imprisonment, as well as possibly losing the right to conduct business in the state.
The injured parties must visit a healthcare professional immediately so a doctor can provide medical reports to support any claims. Employees can then begin the claims filing process with Nationwide, being sure to include any state-mandated paperwork or forms. Once these claims are approved, the recipient will receive their compensation payments and can return to work when they feel they are ready.
Requirements for workers’ compensation vary from state to state, and not all employees are covered in some states. Some states, for example, exclude small businesses from the mandate for coverage. Others have different requirements for various industries. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) maintains a summary of each state’s worker compensation requirements.
Your workers comp policy covers claims made only in the states named in the policy "Declarations." If an employee is injured while working in another state, and that state has benefits more generous than the state(s) named in your policy, the employee could file a workers comp claim in the other state and it would not be covered by your policy.
The solution is in the "Other States" section of the policy, which allows you to list states where employees might work from time to time so there will be coverage for claims filed in those states.
The "Other States" portion of the policy cannot be used to cover claims in states where coverage must be obtained from the state workers compensation fund.
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