The idea of businesses insuring workers isn't new. Infact, in the modern world, it's pretty much a given that any company will have some kind of insurance policy in place to take care of things when an employee suffers some kind of injuury or misfortune. The Amtrust North America Workers' Compensation policy is just one example.
Amtrust Financial Services are a New York based insurance provider, specialising in the small to medium business market. Whilst operating under their own banner, they also own and operate a number of subsidiaries who also provide insurance services, but also operate in a wider sphere offering financial and administrative support. However, Amtrust are primarily focused in the 'small to medium' business sector.
Amtrust North America Workers' Compensation products are one of Amtrust's specialised products. The idea is as basic as it sounds. Quite simply, it protects the business should one of their employees need to claim against the company for any kind of misfortune injury instead of pursuing court action. This can be anything from a personal injury, work related accident, harassment or unfair treatment claim that the employee has taken against their employer. If the company is found to be liable for the cost, then provided the pre-arranged criteria have been met, the insurance policy kicks in and pays out.
The simple answer for this is to refer to the age old adage of "it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it". As Amtrust North America Workers' Compensation is geared towards the small to medium business, it's almost a certainty that most businesses within this bracket do not have a large amount of funds available to pay out aggrieved employees. If, for instance, a site worker loses an arm in accident that was not his fault, but falls back to the employer in terms of responsibility, that employee will be limited in their working capacity for the rest of their life. Any court in the land will almost certainly deem this worthy of compensation for the employee, in line with their projected loss of income over the years. For severe injuries, this could be six figures with not much of a stretch. Just that one payout could bankrupt a company. Yet, for a premium either monthly or annually, a pre-written set of circustances can be agreed between employer and insurer whereby the insurer will cover a payout in exchange for relinquishment of any legal recourse; put quite simply, if the employee takes a payout, they are unable to sue their employer any further. Therefore it makes perfect sense for any business to take this policy out where costs allow.
An important fact to remember is that most compensation policies will not offer any kind of payout in the case of employer negligence.
Besides mitigating costly lawsuits by way of Amtrust North America Workers' Compensation, there are 'knock on' positive effects for any business that has this kind of policy. They include, but are not limited to:
When companies are fighting for contracts, very often the company being courted will be interested to see what insurance policies their prospective companies have in place. If they do not have any kind of employee protection, the security of the company can be brought into question. It's important to remember that as little as one unfortunate incident can adversely affect a company; if that company has to close due to payouts of compensation and legal costs, the company being courter will not have their contract fulfilled. Amtrust North America Workers' Compensation at least ensures business can continue as usual and the contract can run largely unaffected.
The question must also be asked of how seriously a company expect to be taken if they have no insurance policy in place for their employees. Are they a 'fly by night' company? Do they have that little regard for employee welfare and indeed their legal responsibilities? Prospective employees may turn and run if looking for a job and seeing that their possible future employer has no safety net in place.
Employees working for any small to medium sized business will have the knowledge that their employer 'has their back', and should anything go wrong, a third party will ensure the employee is taken care of, and that the business will not face financial ruin as a result of court action.
Amtrust provide a wealth of tailored workers' compensation policies for most business sectors, including:
The above list, however, is by no means exhaustive. As Amtrust are one of the industry leaders, they can tailor an insurance policy to most types of businesses and companies under those banners. An added benefit is that one a prospective customer has registered on their site, the option to have quotes available online to compare premiums is there within a few short minutes.
Amtrust have a 24/7 dedicated sales line for any small to medium business wishing to sign up or just receive a quote. Furthermore, throughout the USA, Amtrust has a trusted list of local agents authorised to provide Amtrust Workers' Compensation on their behalf, meaning that for the true independent or family run business, the local insurance company on the same street may be able to help.
Workers' Compensation insurance is compulsory in most countries, so while a state sponsored fund may cover the shortfall for an employee where their employer has failed to purchase a policy, the legal ramifications for a company can be vast. Failing to take it out this insurance is often illegal, so finding a trusted company to take away the headache is a sensible step.