As the owner of an assisted living facility or its administrator, you may be wondering why you need worker’s compensation insurance. There are many reasons. Here are just a few.
Good for Your Employees.
Your employees are wonderful, caring people. That’s why you hired them to be caregivers. But this kind of work can really take a toll on the caregiver’s health. Having worker’s comp insurance helps them to get medical coverage for injuries that they might sustain while on the job. Plus, knowing that you have provided for them in the event of an injury goes a long way toward keeping morale high and stress low in the workplace. By providing worker’s comp insurance, you are showing your assisted living employees that you care about them. It also makes it easy for them to get the care that they need and get back to work, which is what they really want.
Good for Business.
Worker’s comp insurance protects your facility from lawsuit and potential ruin. Before the advent of Worker’s Compensation Insurance, an employee could sue his employer for injuries or illnesses incurred as a result of working for you. Many times, the courts awarded employees medical costs and punitive damages. This could spell the end of your business. By carrying workers comp insurance, your employees can focus on caring for their clients and remain as productive as possible, even if they might have to see a doctor for an injury. If there is an injury, there is no animosity generated between you because of the expense of having to pay for the medical treatment.
It’s required.
Some states require that businesses that do not carry worker’s comp be fined for noncompliance and forced to pay for their employee’s medical expenses out of pocket. It’s just smarter to carry insurance, rather than risking having to pay for an unforeseen medical expense.
Today’s worker’s comp insurance is a no-fault system. It does not require that the business be shown to be negligent in the resulting injury in order for the employee to receive benefits. This makes it much easier for your employees to get the help that they need and return to caring for their patients. Having worker’s compensation insurance takes the stress and worry about on-the-job injuries off of your plate and lets you get back to doing what you really love to do, care for people.
