Painters Workers Compensation Insurance – How To File A Workers Compensation Claim

If you are a NC painting contractor with any employees at all, there is no question that you should purchase a workers compensation policy. If you don’t and you are paying someone to work for you, whether you consider them a subcontractor or not, then you shouldn’t go a day more without a policy. To learn more about the NC rules on who must buy a policy and who can go bare, click here. But assuming you already have a workers compensation policy, how exactly do you file a claim?

Filing a workers compensation claim is really pretty simple. You should be sure to move quickly and file the claim as soon as possible after the employee is injured. In NC the claim form states that you must file the claim within 5 days of the injury. So, to file the claim you must complete a Form 19 claim form and mail, fax, or email it to your insurance company claims department. The Form 19 is a standardized claim form to be used for all workers compensation claims in North Carolina. The reason for this is that the policy and claims payments are all overseen by the NC Industrial Commission.

If you don’t have a form 19 on hand, check your policy as most insurance companies will insert a few blank ones in the policy that they send to you. It’s ok to make copies of this form when you run out. You can also get one in pdf form from the NC Industrial Commission website.

The Form 19 will ask for contact information for you and for your injured employee. They will also need to know the details of the injury, how and when and where it occurred. This information usually comes from the injured employee’s supervisor. Also, you will need to fill in the occupation of injured person and information about how many hours they work each week and what their wagers are per hour and per day. This information will help settle the disability portion of the claim.

The rules require that you provide a copy of the completed Form 19 to the injured employee or the employee’s representative (read lawyer) at the same time that the Form 19 is submitted to the insurance company. Last of all, you must give your injured employee a blank Form 18 which is a form they can use should they wish to contest the claim settlement. You can obtain blank Form 18 copies the same way you got the form 19, by clicking here, or you may call the NC Industrial Commission at 800-688-8349.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help our clients be informed insurance consumers. As a painting contractor it is important for you to know in advance just how to properly file a workers compensation claim. Trying to figure all of this out after an employee is injured will just slow things down for you and downtime can only cost your company money.

Should you need help with your painters insurance policies, from workers compensation to your general liability, commercial auto and equipment insurance, please consider us as we specialize in insuring painting companies of all types and sizes all across North Carolina and South Carolina. We can put our extensive knowledge to work for you with one quick phone call. Call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.LowRatesForPainters.com.

The source information for this article was pulled from articles which can be found in their entirety at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Painting Contractor’s Insurance – Don’t Forget The Workers Compensation Policy

NC Painter’s insurance plans can be found in many different forms. One coverage that every painting company with employees should have is workers compensation. In North Carolina, the law states that if you have fewer than 3 employees you don’t have to purchase workers compensation insurance. But what this rule doesn’t tell you is that not buying a policy could wipe you out.

In NC, the workers compensation rules and regulations are controlled by the NC Rate Bureau. And the rules do give you an out when it comes to buying a workers compensation insurance policy if you have less than 3 employees. In fact, there are no real teeth in the law that will catch and find employers who have 3 or more employees who also don’t purchase a workers compensation insurance policy. So, yeah, you could go years without purchasing a workers compensation policy for your painting business. But that would be a very dangerous choice. Here’s why:

Although the law may not require that you actually purchase a workers compensation insurance policy, it will require that you pay all of the claims yourself just as if you were the insurance company. Workers compensation benefits in North Carolina are statutory and claims are governed by the NC Industrial Commission. That means that exactly how much gets paid for each type of illness or injury has already been determined by state law. Therefore, if you are paying out of your own pocket for a claim, you will not have the opportunity to determine how much you are going to pay. And in the case of a long term disability the amount you might have to pay out is staggering.

So, using the loophole in the law to avoid buying a workers compensation policy only gets you out of paying the policy premium. In fact, it puts you in the unenviable position of being the insurance company and on the hook for all claims. And these claim costs can be enormous. Imagine coming up with $100,000 to pay for injuries that resulted in permanent disability, then paying disability payments for years after that for one of your employees. Pretty scary huh? So even if work comp insurance seems expensive, you should realize that purchasing it is a no brainer because going bare means you are pretending to have the assets of an insurance company. For most painters, that just isn’t the case.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping painters with their insurance needs. If you have any questions about your general liability insurance, your workers compensation insurance, your business auto insurance or any other insurance policies, please call us toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.LowRatesForPainters.com.

The source information for this blog can be found in articles located at the blog found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.