The Ins & Outs of Worker’s Compensation

Insurance exists to protect our homes, belongings, and ourselves. There’s a lot of different types of personal and commercial insurance policies out there:

· Renter’s or Rental insurance
· Homeowner’s policies
· Medical insurance
· Health insurance
· Car and truck insurance
· Worker’s Compensation
· Builder’s Insurance
· Cyber Insurance
· Umbrella Policies
· Flood Insurance

With so many types of insurances out there, which are best for you and your business?

In addition, do you fully understand your policies and what they cover?

Especially as a business owner, it’s also important to understand your insurance rates, premiums, and deductibles.

Bosworth & Associates insurance agency, in Tyler, Texas, understands it can be confusing to know what you need for both yourself and your business.

It’s not just about low insurance rates—it’s also necessary to be financially covered in case of any issue that might arise.

This is why worker’s compensation is important to understand and have if you’re a business owner. No matter what business you’re in, worker’s compensation insurance is crucial.

Worker’s compensation protects you and your business if one of your employees gets injured at work.

Suppose you don’t have yourself covered and an accident happens. In that case, you and your business could be held financially liable for medical expenses. Lawsuits might occur as a result, as well as paying for the employee’s time away from work.

Texas is one of the only states that doesn’t require a business to carry worker’s compensation insurance.

If Texas doesn’t require your business to have worker’s compensation insurance, then why do you need it?

Here are the Ins and Out of Worker’s Compensation Insurance, and why you shouldn’t be without it.

Worker’s compensation insurance is also called Worker’s Comp or Workman’s Comp Insurance.

While Texas law does not require your business to have this type of insurance, not having it can leave you and your company vulnerable to personal injury lawsuits from employees who have become injured or ill on the job.

Each state has different rules when it comes to worker’s compensation insurance. Therefore, it’s important to know and research how your state handles it.

So what is Worker’s Comp, exactly?

Worker’s compensation covers injuries or illnesses that occur or are related to the job. In many cases, this also applies to counseling/rehabilitation and disability benefits that cover lost wages in addition to the medical and drug coverage that are covered by most policies. Some insurance even covers death benefits from the dependents of the worker. Especially for more physical jobs, worker’s compensation often covers long-term injuries or illnesses that might occur over time due to work. (For example, lung injuries incurred working in a mining environment, hearing injuries from a loud environment, etc.).

Long-term physical work can often cause painful leg, neck, back, and arm injuries over time. Additionally, hazardous environments can sometimes lead to cancer or illnesses years later.

Worker’s comp insurance ensures that both the company and the employee are covered financially, whether it’s an immediate injury or more long-term need.

The benefits paid out to an injured or sick employee are dependent on a couple of things: what policy does the company have and the individual state requirements.

Again, we can’t stress how important it is for a business to have worker’s compensation insurance.

If an employee gets sick or hurt, you will most likely be held financially liable to cover the costs, which could potentially become a financial black hole.

The scenarios are endless, but even a simple injury such as a broken leg could incur thousands of dollars in costs: cost of an ambulance ride, cost of hospital bills and later doctor visits; costs of potential surgery; medications; rehabilitation costs; lost wages; and maybe more.

If you have to cover all of these costs out of pocket, it could ruin you financially, as well as your business.

As a business owner who has worker’s compensation insurance, it’s important to note that it’s the employee’s responsibility to report an injury or illness and make a claim within a certain time frame. Usually 30-90 days. Waiting too long might mean lost benefits.

From there, it’s your responsibility as the employer and business owner to report it to your state’s agency responsible for processing worker’s comp claims.

In Texas, this would be the Texas Department of Insurance or the Division of Worker’s Compensation.

The good thing about this type of insurance is that it’s there to help out both the employer and employee. Worker’s comp ensures everyone is covered and gets what they need, financially and otherwise.

As a trusted local East Texas insurance agency, Bosworth & Associates wants to ensure that you and your business are fully covered and prepared for whatever might come your way.

Call today to find out what insurance coverage is right for you and your business.