An Excerpt From My Book, Simmonds on Workers' Compensation Insurance
When the topic of workers' compensation is discussed, the conversation usually concerns state mandated benefits for medical expenses and lost wages. There is a second, less well known, part of the policy – employers' liability.
When a worker is injured, workers' compensation pays the medical bills and lost wages. How about the affect the injury has on the employee's family?
Examples:
--A wife watches her husband fall from a roof to his death. She is emotionally devastated and sues the employer for the horrific scene she witnessed due to the employer's negligence.
--The family of a vibrant man who is now a quadriplegic after a workplace accident sues for loss of support and companionship.
--A worker in a boat yard comes home each day with clothing covered in dust and chemicals. The family's clothing is contaminated, causing the children to become sick.
The above are all real claims made against employers. Each is excluded from coverage under the general liability policy's provisions removing coverage for incidents arising out of the employment relationship.
Employers' liability is the answer. It's included in part two of the workers' compensation policy.
Claims are rare (though growing less so). Workers' compensation policies usually include limits for each accident, disease total limit, and disease for each employee.
Typical Limits for Employers' Liability:
Each Accident $100,000
Disease – Policy Limit $500,000
Disease – Each Employee $100,000.
Some umbrella insurers require higher limits of coverage:
Each Accident $500,000
Disease – Policy Limit $500,000
Disease – Each Employee $500,000
When the topic of workers' compensation is discussed, the conversation usually concerns state mandated benefits for medical expenses and lost wages. There is a second, less well known, part of the policy – employers' liability.
When a worker is injured, workers' compensation pays the medical bills and lost wages. How about the affect the injury has on the employee's family?
Examples:
--A wife watches her husband fall from a roof to his death. She is emotionally devastated and sues the employer for the horrific scene she witnessed due to the employer's negligence.
--The family of a vibrant man who is now a quadriplegic after a workplace accident sues for loss of support and companionship.
--A worker in a boat yard comes home each day with clothing covered in dust and chemicals. The family's clothing is contaminated, causing the children to become sick.
The above are all real claims made against employers. Each is excluded from coverage under the general liability policy's provisions removing coverage for incidents arising out of the employment relationship.
Employers' liability is the answer. It's included in part two of the workers' compensation policy.
Claims are rare (though growing less so). Workers' compensation policies usually include limits for each accident, disease total limit, and disease for each employee.
Typical Limits for Employers' Liability:
Each Accident $100,000
Disease – Policy Limit $500,000
Disease – Each Employee $100,000.
Some umbrella insurers require higher limits of coverage:
Each Accident $500,000
Disease – Policy Limit $500,000
Disease – Each Employee $500,000
No comments:
Post a Comment