The beauty of living in a free market economy is competition. This is crucial because it always keeps manufacturers, retailers and service providers on their toes. If they snooze, they lose. After all, consumers are always looking for cheaper, higher-quality products that are best designed to meet their needs and expectations. In the services sector, insurance companies are always trying to outdo each other. For instance, there are many firms that have developed workers comp alternatives, like this one, that are either at par with the traditional work comp insurance scheme, or better in one way or another.
Choosing a Workers Comp Alternative
As you may already know, work comp benefits both the employer and worker. It benefits workers in that they get guaranteed benefits whenever they get hurt at the workplace, or while on duty. On the other hand, it benefits employers in that they are assured of not getting sued for injuries sustained by workers or any illnesses that workers may develop due to their work environment. That said, the insurance scheme is designed to improve safety because each incident must be investigated and measures put in place to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The main benefits offered by workers compensation are medical benefits and disability benefits. This means that injured workers do not need to worry about their medical bills as the work comp insurance will pay for all their medical bills. Secondly, injured workers who have to stay out of work for over a week can be assured of getting paid between two thirds and three quarters of their average weekly wages.
Factors to Consider When Looking for a Workers Comp Alternative
1. Premiums
This is perhaps the most crucial factor for any employer. The lower the premiums, the better the alternative. However, premiums cannot be compared alone; other factors, such as benefits, must also be considered. After all, there is no need of buying a cheap policy if the benefits you will get are insufficient. It’s better to pay a few extra dollars in premiums to get better benefits than what workers comp is offering.
2. Benefits
It is imperative you do some research on the benefits that come with each workers comp alternative. As noted above, work comp offers medical and disability benefits. However, it also offers permanent disability, death and burial benefits among others. When comparing alternatives, be sure to check the types of benefits they offer as well as their respective values. This will help you to make the right decision.
3. Processing Speed
When a worker gets injured, they want to get the benefits that are due to them as soon as possible and in full. When comparing alternatives, therefore, the claim processing speeds of the shortlisted programs must be compared. The success rates of claims must also be compared. This will help you make an informed decision.
4. Reputation
The reputation an injury benefits program has developed with workers from different companies as well as their employers must be taken into consideration. If workers do not like a given program, then it’s probably not good for workers like you. Therefore, you have to read reviews and check online ratings before you make a decision.