Work Comp Insurance in California - Workers Compensation Insurance CA

The California Law requires business owners to carry Work Comp Insurance, even with one employee. Another way you can know this coverage is Workers Compensation Insurance.

What is Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you run, accidents can happen any time. Your employees can get hurt or get sick because of work. Here where Workers’ Compensation Insurance will help. It will give your employees the benefits they need if they have work related injury or illness.

Furthermore, Work Comp Insurance will protect your business and your employees by covering

Missed wages if your injured or ill worker needs time off from work while they recover.
Medical expenses to treat your injured or ill employee.
Vocational rehabilitation if your worker needs ongoing care to help them get back to work.
Death benefits, like funeral costs, if a worker passes away in a work-related incident.

Each state has its own Workers’ Compensation Insurance laws. Although there may be some similarities, it’s a good idea to make sure you know what your state requires for workers’ comp.

California law says every person and apprentice working for an employer must have workers’ comp. This includes employees with oral and written agreements. It also includes lawfully or unlawfully employed workers. California doesn’t require children and spouses to have coverage. It also doesn’t require coverage for:

Deputy sheriffs
Volunteers
Amateur sports officials
People working in exchange for aid or food

What Injuries will Workers’ Compensation Insurance Cover?

If your employee gets injured on the job, or while acting on your behalf, workers’ comp can help. For example, if they get in an accident while driving to make a delivery to your customer, workers’ comp can help pay their medical costs. Workers’ comp can also help cover injuries from work-related:

Violence
Terrorism
Natural disasters

About 30 percent of workers’ comp cases are sprains and strains. These usually happen while lifting something heavy. In most cases, these injuries take about 12 days before your employee can return to work. Jobs and activities that see the most sprains and strains include:

Labor
Freight
Stock
Material moving
Nursing assistants

The second highest percentage of workers’ comp cases are for falls, slips and trips. These make up 27 percent of claims.

Workers’ Comp doesn’t only include workplace injuries, either. It also helps cover employee illnesses, like someone getting sick from chemicals at work.

Which cases Workers’ Compensation Insurance will not cover?

Depending on your state laws, workers’ comp plans don’t usually cover an injury or illness that:

Happens in a fight your employee caused
Is intentionally caused by your employee
Happens to an employee who is intoxicated
Is emotional and has no physical trauma
Takes place during your employee’s commute

Workers’ Comp will also not help protect you if an employee sues your business for:

Gross negligence
Malicious intent
Discrimination
Failure to promote
Wrongful termination

For cases like these, Employment Practices Liability Insurance, also known as EPLI, can help cover your legal costs.

How Workers’ Compensation Insurance will protect my business?

Workers’ Compensation can help protect your business by:

Providing benefits to your employees that have work-related injuries or illnesses
Limiting your business’ liability in lawsuits for work-related injuries or illnesses
Making sure you’re following your state’s workers’ comp laws
Helping injured employees get back to work in their old role or a new one

The laws in your state will determine the details of your workers’ comp coverage, including:

The amount of benefits
Types of injuries that are covered
How benefits and care are provided

It’s important to know that some Workers’ Comp policies don’t provide coverage for multiple states, or for workers that travel to different states. Workers’ compensation coverage is essential for each state where your employees work.