Workplace mistakes are all too common. If your business doesn’t have workers’ compensation insurance, you can be held legally responsible for one accident that will cost you a lot of money. Therefore, if you have workers, workers’ compensation insurance verification should be an important part of your business insurance plan. To help you, we reviewed a few insurers in accordance with the laws to find the best workers’ compensation insurance for employers in Georgia.
Overview
As a leader in advanced manufacturing, Georgia has outpaced the U.S. in 10-year GDP growth in making tools, electrical equipment and parts, and fabricated metals. Because the economy is doing so well, Georgia expects the number of building jobs to grow by 7.2% by 2029, which is faster than the average for all jobs in Georgia.
Despite the optimistic predictions, Georgia, like all other states, has a hard time finding workers in these hot fields. This is because heavy-duty industries like manufacturing and building are having trouble finding workers, which drives up the cost of workers’ compensation for employers and stresses the importance of strong safety procedures and practices.
Best Worker’s Compensation Georgia
The best workers’ compensation protects both workers and businesses. This means if you get hurt on the job in Georgia, Workers’ Comp insurance will pay for your medical bills, therapy, and lost wages. These benefits will make your recovery and return to work easier.
Best Worker’s Compensation Georgia: How To Obtain
To get the best workers’ compensation insurance for your business, follow these steps.
#1. Find Out What the State Requires
Many states require workers’ compensation insurance for businesses with employees, even if they work in a generally safe field. Verify that your business follows the workers’ compensation rules in your state.
#2. Check Out Different Insurance Companies
Additionally, your state chooses whether to sell and manage workers’ compensation insurance policies through a state-run body, private insurance companies, or the state itself. You might have to buy workers’ compensation insurance from the state fund if your business has staff or sends workers to one of these monopolistic states.
#3. Hire An Agent
You can get quotes from different insurance companies in places that let you buy workers’ compensation insurance from a private company. For your information, these quotes might change after the insurance companies look more closely at your business’s risk factors.
#4. Lower Your Risk to Reduce the Fee
Keeping the workplace safe will help you get lower workers’ compensation rates. A discount might be available if you hire a safety manager, hold regular safety meetings, and make sure your buildings and tools are up to code.
Best Worker’s Compensation Georgia: Examples
Some of the best workers’ compensation insurance companies in the U.S. include Zurich, Hiscox, and Travelers. Here are a few more that are best for Georgia.
#1. BIBERK
biBERK has been providing insurance for small businesses since 2015. AM Best gives Biberk a strong financial stability grade of A++, which means that businesses in Georgia can trust it. The Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group is backing it. The NAIC also says that the company doesn’t get many customer complaints, which means that it provides good ongoing customer care. It can take up to two and a half minutes to get a quote, which is longer than many other insurance companies. Monthly payments are about $148 each.
#2. Nationwide
This is the best for Georgia’s medium-sized businesses. Nationwide charges $391 a month, or $4,691 a year, for businesses with 100 employees and $6,250,000 in yearly payroll costs. So, if you’re a midsize business, Pie Insurance is the cheapest choice. However, Nationwide got the top spot because of its high scores for customer happiness and financial stability. On the other hand, Nationwide takes longer to get online quotes than the other companies on our list.
#3. Farmers
Farmers Insurance protects your business from danger and helps workers get better after getting hurt on the job. They have staff who work for them to handle claims quickly and correctly. Farmers help people get back to work, either at the same job or a different one. They also have a wide range of business insurance plans to help them focus on what they do best. Farmers get a B++ rating from AM Best, a global credit rating company that focuses on the insurance business. It gets an A+ from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
#4. Travelers
They offer workers’ compensation insurance to small companies, the oil and gas industry, and public entities across the country through a network of local offices. Travelers help your workers and keep your business safe. Its main goal is to stop accidents from happening by having companies create a culture of safety and wellness and give workers training. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave Travelers an A+ rating and AM Best an A++ rating.
#5. Chubb
Chubb knows that the best thing about a business is its workers. That is true whether you have one employee or a thousand, and those workers are in the same state, country, or even another country. It doesn’t matter to Chubb what size or place it is. Small, medium, and big businesses can get workers’ compensation insurance from them. Chubb’s main goal is to help companies make their workplaces safer. If there is an accident, they handle claims in a fair and clear way so that workers can get back to work. They also offer help with managing costs.
Best Worker’s Compensation Georgia: Cost
While the national average is $168 per month, workers’ compensation insurance in Georgia costs $158 per month for companies with 20 employees. Below are a few factors affecting Georgia Workers’ Compensation costs,
#1. Payroll Cost
Insurance companies usually charge a set amount for every $100 of payroll. The state sets the rate, depending on the business. Some businesses will pay less for insurance than others, but companies with higher payroll costs will probably pay more.
#2. Employee ID number
The class code of an employee reveals whatever work they do, such as consulting or construction. According to this rule, the fee that is due for every $100 of payroll is set. Some jobs have higher rates of injuries than others, like construction. Your rates are probably higher in construction than in advising.
#3. Number of workers
The number of employees you employ may have a significant impact on your insurance costs. Employers with a lot of workers are more likely to have workers get hurt or sick on the job. For workers’ compensation insurance, this higher risk can mean higher rates.
#4. Previous Statements
Insurance companies set rates by looking at past claims. Claims-heavy businesses are seen as more likely to make mistakes.
Workers’ Compensation Georgia Verification
Most Georgia companies with three or more workers must have workers’ compensation insurance or get permission from the State Board of Workers’ Compensation (SBWC) to cover their own workers’ injuries and illnesses at work. The goal of workers’ compensation insurance is to help an employee get back to work after getting hurt or sick at work.
With this, workers in Georgia will be able to receive email notifications from this new coverage verification enhancement system if an insurance policy for a particular employer receives a cancellation or subsequent reinstatement transaction during the policy period. There will be no charge to the user for utilizing the system.
In other words, workers’ compensation is the only legal option in Georgia for workers who want to get paid for an accident or injury at work. Like in civil cases for personal injuries, workers don’t have to show negligence to get benefits, and they can usually get them even if they hurt themselves by doing something (there are some exceptions).
Especially if you were hurt on the job recently and are counting on these benefits to help you get back to work, you need to ensure that your company has workers’ compensation insurance.
Workers’ Compensation Georgia Verification: Step-by-step Guide
To do this in Georgia, simply put your employer’s name or Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) into the SBWC’s Employer Workers’ Compensation Online Insurance Verification feature. The online tool includes information on employers who have standard workers’ compensation insurance as well as those who have coverage through a group fund or association or who have received SBWC approval to be self-insured.
The next step after determining whether your company has workers’ compensation coverage is to speak with an experienced Georgia workers’ compensation lawyer about the details and decide how to move forward. A legal counsel can assist you in reporting a company that doesn’t follow the rules, obtaining the benefits you require and are entitled to, and other tasks.
Georgia Workers’ Compensation Laws for Employers
The first law about workers’ compensation in Georgia was passed in 1920. This means there was no other way for an employee to receive compensation for a job injury before this law was made (aside from filing a lawsuit).
Also, before Georgia’s workers’ compensation laws, it was hard for employees to show they were hurt on the job and win a lawsuit. People who could show this, on the other hand, often get a significant amount of money from their boss. In some situations, a company would lose everything if one of their workers sued for injury and won.
This is why Georgia takes workers’ compensation very seriously. The state has set a lot of laws about how and when a business needs to have workers’ compensation insurance. Chapter 9 of Title 34 of the Georgia law code says that any business with three or more employees must provide insurance for those employees.
Georgia Workers’ Compensation Laws for Employers: Examples
Below are examples of laws made by Georgia workers’ compensation for employers for proper verification:
- By law, any employer in Georgia with three or more workers must have workers’ compensation insurance.
- You should report an incident at the workplace immediately. The injured employee should see an approved medical care provider. At a high level, workers’ compensation insurance covers
- You’re entitled to job retraining if your injury renders you incapable of doing your job, then you’re entitled to job retraining and help to get another job.
- Employers in Georgia who participate in the state’s drug-free workplace program must test employees after an accident that results in lost work time.
- You must make a claim for your injuries within 1 year from the date of injury or the date of the last remedial treatment or within 2 years after the date of the last payment of weekly benefits (§ 34-9-82(a))
- If you work for yourself, you are not required to have workers’ compensation insurance. The law indicates that sole proprietors and partners are employers, not employees.
Georgia Workers’ Compensation Laws for Employers: Penalties
In most jurisdictions, it is a misdemeanor for an employer to not provide workers’ compensation insurance. This could lead to legal complications and financial consequences, including
- A possible $10,000 in fines
- One year in prison
- A lawsuit filed by injured workers
- Including the injured worker’s attorney’s expenses, any civil fines, and an extra 10% in compensation.
In Georgia, the penalty and settlement fees associated with not carrying workers’ compensation insurance can easily exceed the cost of purchasing such coverage. In addition, your premiums for new coverage will likely be higher if you have coverage gaps.
What is the highest worker compensation settlement in Georgia?
T. Joseph “Joe” Boyd has settled a workers’ compensation claim for $4.5 million, making it possibly the largest workers’ compensation settlement in Georgia history.
How much does Georgia pay for workers’ compensation?
Although the rule is two-thirds of your regular weekly wage, benefits are capped at $675 per week, no matter how much more you made before you were injured.
What work injury pays the most?
The most costly lost-time workers’ compensation claims by nature of injury are those resulting from amputation. These injuries averaged $118,837 per workers’ compensation claim filed in 2019 and 2020.
Does surgery increase worker compensation in Georgia?
In most cases, a workplace injury that requires surgery will lead to an increase in your workers’ compensation settlement.
How long can you receive worker compensation in Georgia?
Depending on the details of your work injury, you may be able to receive wage benefits for up to 400 weeks.
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