Workers Comp Insurance For New Jersey Contractors
Workers Compensation Insurance for contractors is a tremendously expensive proposition. Depending on
the specific nature of the construction business, rates in the range $10 to $13 per hundred of
payroll are commonplace. For contractors doing roofing, these rates move up and beyond the $30.00
range. That means on the low side 10% of your payroll goes to pay your workers compensation tab and
on the high side 30%.
The reason for this is workers compensation is considered a long tail claim. In other words, a claim
can take a long time to settle with both medical and loss of income going on indefinitely. Workers
compensation for contractors is so expensive due to the fact that for many insurance companies workers
compensation is a losing proposition.
Workers Compensation Insurance is considered an "Exclusive Remedy" for employees injured in the line
of your employment. This means that it doesn't matter whose fault it was to cause your employees
injury, workers compensation is the policy that will pay for the injury.
Workers Comp Bottom Line
This is good news, and totally straight-forward. The problem comes that all the defense that you as
the employer pick up through the advent of workers compensation go out the window if you, for whatever
reason, don't secure workers compensation insurance. In other words, if you decide not to purchase the
coverage or if your workers compensation insurance policy lapses, you have no defense. If your
employee is injured in the line of work, you still have to pay. Not only the medical and the lost
wages - you are now wide open for a lawsuit.
Bottom Line - it is just a very bad idea for you as a contractor in New Jersey not to have workers
compensation insurance. Think about it another way, many insurance companies are scared or at
least very conservative when it comes to workers compensation for contractors. Almost without
question, they have deeper pockets than you do. If a possible loss scares them, that same loss could
bankrupt you.
The Secrets of Workers Compensation for Contractors
Workers compensation is unlike any other form of insurance. Most insurance policies put a cap or
policy limit as to how much a claim could cost. With workers compensation there is absolutely no
limit. The next issue is that when you dig into the nuts and bolts of the workers compensation
policy you come to realize that for anything but very large claims - you as the employer are going
to not only pay for the claim over time, but you will actually finance that loss at a very high
interest rate.
The good news - by focusing on contractor's workers compensation we are uniquely positioned to help
you. There are a number of pitfalls that contractors face when it comes to workers compensation
insurance.
These include but are not limited to:
-
Hiring the wrong employee - workers compensation claims data shows that this is the
one of the key components in predicted and preventing losses
-
Not having a bulletproof audit package
-
Not properly securing Certificates of Insurance for subcontractors
-
Not having a Light Duty or Return to Work
-
Not Understanding the best ways to control and improve your experience modification
thus causing your business to grossly overspend year after year
Workers Compensation Experts For New Jersey Contractors
Many insurance agents will tell you that "Workers Compensation is Workers Compensation". In other
words, it is a vanilla coverage and that no differences exist. This is simply not true. It is
particularly not true for contractors of any type. Their lack of understanding of this critical
contractor's coverage can cost your business - thousands upon thousands of dollars - year after year.
For these reasons, you simply must deal with an agency that is expert in both New Jersey contractors
insurance and New Jersey contractors workers compensation insurance. It's your money, your company's
bottom line can be dramatically impacted by this critical line of insurance.
Call us at (908) 730-6443 or
contact us for answers to your New Jersey
Workers Compensation Insurance questions.
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