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What Are Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Workers’ compensation insurance provides benefits to your employees if they get hurt or sick from their job. Keep in mind that workers’ compensation laws and benefits vary by state, but most do require that companies with employees carry coverage.
This insurance not only helps employees, but reduces your liability for work-related injuries and illnesses. To learn more, visit our workers’ compensation benefits by state page.
What Are the 5 Types of State Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
If your employee suffers a work-related injury or illness, workers’ comp benefits can help cover:
- Medical expenses to treat their injury.
- Ongoing care to help them recover from their injury and return to work.
- Death and funeral expenses if they pass away.
- Lost wage replacement if they take recovery time away from work.
- Disability benefits if your employees get fully or partially disabled working on the job.
Keep in mind that workers’ compensation benefits aren’t available for employees if they:
- Get hurt or injured outside of work.
- Are intoxicated during an accident.
- Intentionally injure themselves.
Medical Expenses
If your workers are injured on the job, workers’ compensation can help cover their medical treatment. For example, if your employees keep developing carpal tunnel and need medical care, they’ll be covered by workers' compensation coverage.
Lost Wages
If you have a worker that gets injured or ill on the job and can’t return to work right away, workers’ compensation can help pay their lost wages during this time. These payments will be a percentage of your employee’s average weekly wage.
Ongoing Care
Your employees can easily develop repetitive stress injuries, like carpal tunnel or bursitis from sitting at a computer all day. Workers’ compensation can help pay for their ongoing medical care, like physical therapy.
Death Benefits
If your employee loses their life on the job, workers’ compensation can help pay death benefits to their family, including funeral costs.
Disability Benefits
Workers’ compensation can help pay disability benefits to employees with a full or partial disability that results from their job.
How Much Do You Get from Workers’ Comp Benefits?
Your employees can receive workers’ comp benefits immediately following their accident. The exact benefits they receive will depend on:
- The size of your business. Payroll plays a role in your coverage. The more employees working for your business, the more coverage you’ll need.
- Risks your employees face, because working in an industry that has more risks can mean having to carry more coverage. For example, construction workers, roofers and steelworkers have higher-risk jobs than retail workers, sales associates and teachers.
- The state your business is in since each one has different regulations. Some state laws require companies to carry a certain amount of coverage.
These factors affect small businesses differently. Our insurance specialists can help you figure out how much coverage you need to help protect your employees. We’re here to answer any workers’ comp questions you may have.
Get a quote today and learn more about how we can help protect you and your employees.
Requirements to Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
In order to receive workers’ compensation benefits, there are certain steps employers and employees will need to take to file a claim. Keep in mind that the federal government doesn’t oversee workers’ compensation requirements, individual states do. This means the steps you should take can vary depending on your area.
Generally, the sooner you file your claim, the faster your benefits will begin. It’s also important to note that some states require businesses to pay benefits before claims get processed. So, the longer you take to file a claim, the longer you’re responsible for your sick or injured workers’ coverage.
That’s why it’s important to know how to file a workers’ comp claim and do it right away. Knowing how to file these claims can help you save time and money. Some information you’ll need to file a claim includes your:
- Business name
- Policy number
- Account number
- Location code
Your injured employee’s personal information like their:
- Social Security number
- Birthday
- Address
- Marital status
- Age
- Gender
- Hire date
- Years in current position
- Wage information
Incident details, such as the:
- Date
- Address
- Type of injury
- Estimated days of recovery
- Body part injured
- Reasons the injury might be questioned
- Witnesses
If one of your employees is in a workplace accident or gets sick from their job, you can file a claim with The Hartford online or call us 800-327-3636.