What is Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Workers’ Compensation Insurance (workers' comp insurance) can help protect employees from the serious costs of work-related injuries while also helping shield employers from claim costs that could put their business operations at risk.

Did you know a worker is injured on the job every seven seconds? That equates to 4.6 million workplace injuries each year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates employers pay nearly $1 billion per week in workers’ compensation costs.

In addition to covering medical benefits and wage replacement for employees injured on the job, workers' comp insurance can provide benefits to dependents of employees fatally impacted by work-related incidents and help mitigate litigation, including civil suits brought against employers by injured workers.



Types of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Most workers’ compensation insurance policies actually provide two types of coverage:

Workers’ Compensation Coverage

This type of insurance provides benefits for injured workers as required by state law regardless of who is at fault for the job-related injury or illness. In other words, whatever benefits your state requires, your workers’ compensation policy would provide.

Employers Liability Coverage

This additional coverage protects employers if they are sued for damages arising from employment-related accidents or diseases. However, to collect benefits provided by employers liability coverage, the employee, as well as anyone else not covered by workers’ compensation laws (i.e., spouses and dependents), would have to prove that the employer was legally responsible for the employee’s injury or disease.