Business Insurance Trends Show Increase in Workers Compensation Rates

Workers compensation insurance is designed to protect both business owners and employees in the event of a workplace accident. Without this important coverage, business owners take the chance of being sued and perhaps losing their assets because of an employee injury. Employees would also be put at risk by not having proper protection against accidents happening in the workplace.   One thing that you may not realize is that the trend for workers compensation is higher premium prices. Top workers compensation carriers are raising premiums, including Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. According to a 2012 second quarter Liberty Mutual conference call, the company raised workers compensation premiums 12.1% per policy on average.   The workers compensation market is highly cyclic. There are "hard-market" conditions as well as "soft-market" trends within the market. During a hard market, fewer carriers are offering coverage and are tightening underwriting guidelines. On the other hand, soft market conditions show that more carriers are competing for business, underwriting guidelines are loosened, and there is an overall decrease in the price of coverage. Currently, the market conditions are trending toward a harder market which makes the premiums you pay for workers' compensation insurance increase.   So do you really even need <a title="Workers' Compensation Insurance" href="http://businessinsure.about.com/od/workerscompensation/a/workcomp.htm">workers compensation insurance</a>? Business owners are well advised to carry some type of workers compensation protection for workers. State requirements for workers compensation vary from state to state. In some states, the requirements depend upon how many employees you have. In other states, workers compensation is mandatory in all cases.   Some states are monopolistic, meaning that your must purchase coverage from a workers compensation fund administered by the state. In other states, you can obtain coverage from a private insurer. As of this writing,Texasis the only state that does not require its employers to provide any type of workers compensation coverage for employees.   It is important for you, as a business owner, to know the unique legal requirements for your own state. You want to make sure you are protected and that your employees have proper medical care for any injuries suffered at the workplace. Knowing the <a title="FAQ about Workers' Compensation" href="http://businessinsure.about.com/od/workerscompensation/f/workcompfaq.htm">FAQ about Workers' Compensation</a> will help you make sure you are meeting all the requirements for workers compensation in your state.