Workers compensation: What you need to know

By Victoria Heckstall

Most people think that if they are hurt at work that they are covered by workers compensation automatically. However this is not the case because workers compensation is paid to the employee by the insurance company, and it is not easy getting them to pay for injuries. Workers compensation was made to avoid, or reduce the personal injury lawsuits between the employee and the employer. Here is what you need to know about workers compensation.

Benefits of workers compensation and are you really covered?

Workers compensation will provide wage replacement if you are injured at work. It will cover you, but it is covered by your employer who holds the policy for the insurance. It is there for protection for the employer to make sure you don’t sue them for your injuries. Before workers compensation coverage can work for you, it will have to be proven that the relationship does exist between the employee and the employer and that the injury did indeed happen while you were at work. If, however, you were injured while driving to work then you are not covered by workers compensation.

How to get medical care and other benefits

In order to get your benefits through workers compensation you will need to report the injury to your employer. You will also have to do everything that needs to be done in order to qualify. This means cooperating with all parties involved with the claim. Once the injury is reported, your employer should have everything in place already including a plan and an insurance policy for these things. However, you will need to report the injury immediately or you will lose out on it. Delaying things could hurt you with your workers compensation claim.

You will also be asked to let them know everything about what happened leading up to the injury. This is to ensure you were not using drugs or alcohol beforehand, and to ensure that the injury was legitimate and was caused by work.

If you need to go to the hospital, let your employer know about it. You will probably need to visit the insurer’s doctor in order to qualify for workers compensation. However, if the care their doctors are giving you is not working, you will be allowed to see another doctor. In order to have those medical bills covered, you will have to provide information as to why the workers compensation doctors did not help you and why the new doctor did.

You will also have to fill out some forms. You will need to read everything carefully and submit them right away. Make sure to keep all appointments through the workers compensation insurers or things could be delayed or your claim could even be denied.

Do you need an attorney?

You can see an attorney, but may not need to do so in every single case. You should at least contact one and get information about workers compensation from them and then go from there to consider hiring one. There is nothing preventing you from talking to an attorney, so things might be easier and go faster if you do. 

This guest post comes from freelance writer Victoria Heckstall. She writes on a variety of topics including PEO Services.

Income protection insurance for unstable times

By Tracey Garrow

In these economically tumultuous times, there are some people who find it hard to justify making certain purchases that they deem to be of negligible importance. Yet for some reason, this distinction does not extend to things like fashionable bags or the latest in smartphone technology. But in so far as not to deny people the luxury of such things though, it would only make sense that the protection of their income using Income Protection Insurance should take precedence before everything else. Income is what allows them to enjoy such luxuries after all, among other things.

Income protection insurance

Above all else, the purpose of income protection insurance is to make sure that you will not suffer financially should your income stop flowing due to redundancy or illness. Your income is the most important asset you have since it allows you to feed your family, to pay for the bills, and to settle whatever financial obligations you may have. Without it, you will find it very hard to take care of your family where food, clothes and shelter are concerned.

• If you have income protection when you lose your main source of income due to illness or injury, you will then be able to claim the benefits from the policy which grants you up to 75% of your previous income, depending on the company. That might force some changes in your budget, but having 75% of your total income is a lot more preferable than having to dig into your savings in order to survive.

Qualifying for income protection

You have to understand though that there are certain things which will render you unqualified to get income protection or that could lead to the nullification of your benefits. For one thing, being made redundant through your own dubious actions can cause you to be denied a claim.

The same goes for when you are found to use illegal drugs for recreational purposes or if you were to be found participating in dangerous activities. Suffice it to say, getting an income protection policy requires you to stick with a safe life.

The right kind of protection

You should also be aware that not all providers of income protection are going to be the same in service and policies. Some will offer some pretty lenient guidelines as to the claim while others require a little negotiation. Needless to say, shopping around to make sure that you don’t get the wrong policy for yourself would be a very wise thing to do.

If you find the task of looking for the right kind of policy too difficult, consulting with an independent agent would be of immense help. The knowledgeable ones will be able to tell you which companies would fit your best while the experienced ones will be able to tell you exactly what you need to do to get the best deals.

Waiting time

Something you should consider before finalizing an income protection policy by the way is the waiting period for the claim. Most companies offer as little as two weeks before you can enjoy the payout, but longer options can mean cheaper premiums to pay for.