Are Employers Required to Carry Workers Comp Insurance?

Q: Are all companies required to have insurance for workers compensation? Which types of companies are required and which are not?

A: Excellent question. Workers compensation is a form of insurance that provides wage replacement as well as medical benefits to employees injured while on the job. This is not the same as punitive or general damages for injury caused by negligence. Workers compensation laws vary by state. Maryland was the first state to require employers to cover workers compensation in 1902. By 1949, all 50 states had a form of law requiring workers to carry it. Texas is the only state where employers can opt out of workers comp insurance. In all other states, employers can face harsh penalties if they do not carry the required insurance. Many states have public uninsured employer funds available to injured workers whose employers were not covered. Workers comp insurance generally gives employers immunity from other damages, unless the act which causes injury proves to be intentionally or grossly negligent.

-John Larrimer

Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus Workers Comp Attorneys