Springfield, MA Workers' Compensation Insurance

From its renowned medical centers to its manufacturing firms, the city of Springfield, MA is home to a wide variety of businesses. If you're among this city’s employers, it's your duty to provide your workers with a safe and healthy work environment. Still, accidents sometimes happen, which is why workers’ compensation insurance is so important. If you're looking for a reliable and affordable workers’ compensation policy, you can benefit from contacting an independent insurance agent with an office in or near Springfield. Find a local insurance agent to learn more and get started.

Do Businesses in Springfield Need to Have Workers’ Comp Insurance?

In Springfield, all businesses with at least one employee are required to carry workers' compensation insurance in order to remain in compliance with Massachusetts state law. There are a few exceptions.  You don't need to cover salespeople who work on commission, domestic workers who work fewer than 16 hours a week, or workers who engage in international or interstate commerce. Additionally, it's not necessary to purchase coverage for partners, sole proprietors, or LLC members, but you can include them in your policy if you want to. To learn more about the requirements for your business, you can talk to a local insurance agent.

How Much Does Worker’s Compensation Insurance Cost in Springfield, MA?

Your cost for coverage will be based on your company’s overall payroll and the types of jobs your employees do. The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau routinely analyze risks and set rates for thousands of different job classifications. Insurance companies covering Springfield businesses must use these rates when calculating your cost for coverage. However, these private insurers may offer discounts and incentives at their discretion, so it often pays to shop around for the best price. To get an idea of what your costs may be, let’s look at the average rates paid per every $100,000 in employee payroll for three of the most common business industries in Springfield, MA:

• Manufacturing: $3,090 a year
• Retail Trade: $800 a year
• Healthcare & Social Assistance: $1,320 a year

Of course, costs can vary within each of these industries. When it comes to manufacturing, employees who produce machine components are more likely to sustain injuries than those who produce board games. Talk to a local independent insurance agent to find out how much workers’ compensation will cost for your particular business.

Springfield Workers’ Comp Covers Medical Care for Worker Injuries

Your employees could be hurt while doing their jobs or suffer an occupational illness due to exposure to toxic substances in the workplace. If this happens, these workers will need to seek medical attention. Workers’ compensation for Springfield businesses is designed to cover the cost of any necessary medical treatment, follow-up care, and associated prescription medications. 

To ensure that medical treatment does not place any undue financial burden on injured employees, workers’ compensation will also reimburse them for miles driven to and from their medical appointments. In Massachusetts, employers may designate a physician to perform the initial evaluation of the injury, and this physician may perform periodic update examinations. However, for all other care, employees may choose their own doctors.

Springfield Employees Get Disability Coverage through Workers’ Comp

Temporary disability coverage is designed to replace lost wages if an employee must take more than five days off work to recuperate from a job-related injury or illness. This can provide your employees with 60% of their average weekly earnings for the duration of their recovery time. If an employee is released by the treating physician to return to work but with significant work restrictions, the employee may experience a significant pay drop. Workers’ compensation can bridge the pay gap so that the employee is making 75% of their previous wages.

Finally, if an employee suffers a serious injury and becomes permanently disabled, they may be eligible for long-term disability pay. The amount paid out is 2/3 of the employee’s average previous earnings and is subject to regular cost-of-living increases. This coverage continues as long as the employee is disabled.

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Workers' Compensation Compensates for Scarring and Disfigurement

If a Springfield employee is left with permanent scarring to the face, neck or hands, or suffers another bodily disfigurement due to a workplace accident, workers' compensation can compensate them with a one-time award of up to $15,000, depending on the severity of the disfigurement.

Springfield Workers' Compensation Covers Job-Related Fatalities

Sadly, workplace injuries sometimes result in fatalities. If an employee dies as the result of a job-related illness or injury, your workers’ compensation policy can provide survivor benefits to the employee’s spouse and dependent children. This insurance will assist with the cost of burial expenses. Afterward, it will provide weekly compensation to the employee’s spouse at a rate of 50% of the employee’s average earnings. This benefit will be subject to periodic cost-of-living increases.

Survivor benefits to the spouse will continue indefinitely or until they remarry. If the spouse remarries, the deceased employee’s dependent children can collect a benefit of $60 a week for as long as they are considered dependents. Talk to your local independent insurance agent for more information about what workers’ compensation can provide.

Find the Best Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Springfield, MA

If you're shopping for workers’ compensation insurance for your Springfield business, you can be sure you are getting a great policy at a competitive price by working with a local independent insurance agent. These agents can help you get matched up with a reliable insurance company that specializes in covering businesses like yours.

Contact an insurance agent in or near Springfield to learn more and start comparing workers’ comp insurance rates.