Running a small business means wearing several hats throughout each and every workday.
You’ve built your company on the expertise that you have with its products and services. However, you may be completely unfamiliar with certain aspects of running the company.
Rest assured, you’re not alone.
Most business owners are completely unaware of the legal obligations that come with owning a business.
Some pieces of the legal side are preventative, such as workers comp insurance for small business. It ensures safety for you and your employees in case of injury.
Read on for several tips on getting worker’s comp for your company.
1. You’re (More than Likely) Required to Have It
Whether you realized it or not, most states have laws in place that require you to have worker’s compensation insurance if you have more than 2 or 3 employees.
These laws aren’t just to protect the employee, they also protect you as the employer.
If an injury was to take place while your worker is on the job, you become responsible for covering the damage. Without insurance, you’d be burdened with reaching a legal settlement with your employee.
Not only can that tarnish a relationship, but it may also lead your company to bankruptcy. Worker’s comp settlements can range anywhere between $2,000-$40,000.
2. What It Doesn’t Cover
It’s just as important to know what worker’s comp covers as it is to know what it does not cover.
Keep yourself informed so that you can identify when an employee qualifies for your worker’s compensation, and when it doesn’t. Having a trusted insurance company can also help you navigate when an employee’s claim isn’t covered.
Worker’s comp doesn’t cover injuries that either happened outside of their job or ones that were self-inflicted.
Just because your employee has been injured, doesn’t mean your place of business is liable for it. They need to provide significant evidence to support any claim of a work-related injury.
Fortunately, that’s not for you to decide. Having an insurance company will leave them to decide what is and isn’t a legitimate at-work injury.
3. Protects the Relationship Between You and Your Employees
The worst-case scenario of a worker’s comp claim is the tension it can cause between you and your employees.
As much as you care for each other, both sides have their respective lives to protect at this time. Your employee is trying to secure their family longterm, and you’re attempting to protect your company.
Not having a worker’s comp insurance company will lead you to fight it out with your employee by yourself. If they don’t a respectable settlement or lose their case, they may quit out of spite for you or your company.
That means your most talented workers could be walking out the door based on an event that wasn’t your fault.
Having an insurance company gives a third party that your employee and their attorney will deal with directly. That removes you almost entirely from the situation, which will mend the relationship with your staff, regardless of the outcome!
4. Where to Get Worker’s Comp Insurance
It’s best to find an insurance company with a proven track record of success in worker’s comp insurance dealings.
Some states require that it be acquired through a private company or by the state itself.
Better to have an insurance company on your side that knows the ins and outs of dealing with worker’s comp claims. You can build a relationship with that insurance company for years to come.
They’ll be there as you continue to grow, and always provide helpful feedback on your operations along the way.
5. What is the Cost?
There are several different ways to pay for worker’s comp insurance, and it varies by the route you take in choosing a provider.
However, the primary factors of your insurance costs will be 1) the headcount of your staff 2) the industry you’re in and 3) the risk factor of your labor needs.
It’s no different than getting car insurance, where things like your car’s size, miles per gallon, and age will determine the cost.
From there, you can choose avenues such as paying upfront or monthly payment to set yourself up with worker’s comp insurance.
6. Find an All-Encompassing Coverage for Your Workers
Depending on how detrimental the injury is to your worker, there may be aspects to their recovery process you’ve never considered.
Things like mental health, violence at work, and proper rehabilitation all need to be weighed out in your employee’s best interest.
You care about your workers, the last thing you want to see is the longterm effects of an injury they suffered. Find an insurance company that covers everything they could possibly need if an at-work incident were to happen.
7. The Accidents Aren’t Always Someone’s Fault
You always think injuries won’t happen to my staff, but the realization is that they’re unforeseeable.
Sometimes all the safety training in the world isn’t enough to prevent things out of your control. A sudden leak in your air-conditioning unit could create a puddle on the floor that your worker slips on.
While that’s absolutely no one’s fault, your employee still needs coverage for the injuries they sustained.
If your state laws aren’t enough to convince you of worker’s comp, then maybe the statistics of annual at-work injuries will.
Worker’s Comp Insurance for Small Business: A Must Have
Now that you’ve read up on the useful tips of worker’s comp insurance for small business, it’s time to find a company that has your best interests in mind.
Be sure to read this article on why worker’s compensation is mandatory for more information on its purpose for your business.
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