Workers Compensation
Coverage
The workplace is an
extremely common place for a person to be injured. The Workers Compensation And Employers Liability Insurance Policy is used to provide
insurance coverage for a company's statutory liability (coverage responsibility)
under a Workers Compensation Act. It usually involves paying for medical
treatment and disability. It also handles lawsuits from injured workers that
fall outside of the Acts.
A workers compensation
policy responds to accidental injury that occurs during work with mandatory
benefits. However, besides taking place at work, an injury must also be related
to the injured person’s duties. Further, the policy also covers costs
associated with disease or death that may be the ultimate result of the accident.
If the employee’s injury does not qualify for compensation under the Workers
Compensation Acts (or Occupational Disease Acts, if separate) the policy will
respond to an employee who sues his or her employer, alleging negligence.
The type of business that
can be insured with a workers comp policy may be an individual, partnership,
joint venture, corporation, association, fiduciary, or other entity. A typical
policy lists the locations of the workplaces that are covered. The policy is
designed to handle work-related accidents as well as diseases. The amounts that
must be paid are defined by the state or jurisdiction where a covered incident
occurs. The policy usually lists the other types of costs and expenses that are
eligible for payment under the policy.
In other respects, a
workers compensation policy is similar to other kinds of insurance. The policy
benefits include being provided a legal defense against certain types of
lawsuits. The policy explains that, when other sources of loss payment are available,
the policy will begin any payment once the other source has paid its
obligation. However, the policy will not pay for any amounts that exceed stated
benefit amounts. The insurance coverage may be expanded, restricted, or made to
comply with specific state requirements through the use of endorsements.
Generally the insurer that
provides coverage acquires the covered company's legal right to pursue payment
from a party that may have been responsible for a workplace injury.
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