What if one of your employees got injured on the job? Could your business afford to pay their medical bills, whatever damages were awarded by the courts, and the cost of their rehabilitation?
What if more than one worker was injured? Workers' Compensation insurance protects employers from claims resulting from injuries to employees. It protects your business from lawsuits and provides employees with compensation for on-the-job injuries.
All employers are required by the Province of BC to register and pay for WorkSafe BC
If you are building your own home or employing persons to work around your residence, you may be considered an employer for the purpose of worker’s compensation and safety.
If your business is located in B.C. and you have workers who work and reside outside of B.C., including those working from home outside of the province, those workers are not covered by WorkSafeBC coverage. This includes workers who may have previously been working in B.C. but now work and reside in another province due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will need to contact the workers’ compensation board where those workers reside and work to determine whether you need to register for coverage in those jurisdictions.
Generally, you need coverage if you:
- Employ and pay workers on a regular, casual, or contract basis
- As a homeowner, hire an individual to work in or around your home for a certain period of time (e.g., child care, lawn services)
- Come from another province or country to do work in B.C.
- Work in the commercial fishing or trucking industries
WorkSafeBC insurance provides protection for employers and benefits for workers who suffer a work-related injury or illness.
Upon registration, you pay premiums, and in return you're protected from potential lawsuits from workers who are injured or contract an occupational disease at work. By law, most businesses need coverage and if the business fails to register with WorkSafeBC when required, you could put yourself at considerable financial risk. Workers who get injured on the job are entitled to file a claim even if their employer is not registered as required.
If your business is located in B.C. and you have workers who work and reside outside of B.C., including those working from home outside of the province, those workers are not covered by WorkSafeBC coverage. This includes workers who may have previously been working in B.C. but now work and reside in another province due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will need to contact the workers’ compensation board where those workers reside and work to determine whether you need to register for coverage in those jurisdictions.
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Getting a policy that does not properly protect you can cause a significant financial loss, it is our job to make sure we serve you the right product based on your need.
When you register for WorkSafeBC insurance, you are assigned to a classification unit based on the products you produce, the services you provide, and the processes, technology, or materials you use.
Some classification units aren’t big enough for us to predict claim costs, so WorkSafeBC combines them with classification units of similar types of industries to form an industry group (for example, berry farms, vineyard and wineries). Some classification units are large enough to form their own industry group. There are about 230 industry groups.
WorkSafeBC determines the historical cost rate for each industry group by looking at the ratio of their claims costs to their payroll.
They use this formula to calculate your premium: (Industry’s base premium rate +/- your experience rating) x Your assessable payroll = Your total premiums.
So, if you are in a classification unit with a base premium rate of 3.00% and you’ve earned a 10% discount based on your claims history, your net premium rate will be 2.70%. If you have an annual assessable payroll of $100,000, you'll pay $2,700 in insurance premiums.
(3.00 – 10%) x $100,000 = $2,700
That's a savings of $300 due to your experience rating adjustment.
When employees become injured or sick because of their work, workers compensation insurance pays vital benefits to those employees. Workers compensation benefits include medical treatment and on-going care, payments to cover lost wages and even death benefits.