Are You Covered in Other States?
Employers in most states face an unknown, and in many cases, uncovered losses under workers' compensation.
While "other states" coverage was once provided routinely for "all states" except the monopolistic states, today "other states" coverage is either very limited or nonexistent.
Consider the following example:
An Arizona employer who only has workplaces in Arizona, permits an employee to travel to a convention in Texas. The employer has workers' comp insurance through the state's assigned risk plan.
During the convention, the employee is injured in an auto accident. The injury is reported to the employer, who promptly reports it to his workers' comp insurer. The insurer accepts coverage and begins to pay Arizona benefits in accordance with the state law. The employee then hires a lawyer who points out that Texas benefits are higher than Arizona benefits, and under Arizona law, the employee is entitled to seek benefits in either state. The employee, of course, seeks the higher benefits.
The workers' comp insurer alerts the employer that the insurance policy excludes coverage in the state of injury and ceases paying benefits. The employer is now faced with paying those benefits himself.
Each state has its own workers' comp law. While this is not a new concept, the workers' comp crisis of the last ten years has dramatically changed the way in which we operate.
With such upward mobility, you may need more information on out-of-state workers' comp exposures. Please call us at (626) 839-6061 with any questions or concerns.
We are pleased to provide this "Bulletin" as a service to you. While this information was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed. It does not change or alter insurance contracts or coverages.
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