When you’re a budding entrepreneur just starting out with his or her business, one of the most difficult things to navigate can be the world of insurance. Chances are, you’ve been bombarded by a hundred and one insurance salesmen that are advising you that you need to take out this policy and that policy.
It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, particularly if you have zero prior experience in commercial insurance (which is typical for more entrepreneurs).
One thing is for sure: if you live in Florida, then you’ve got to understand workers’ compensation Florida. Without a solid understanding of how it works, you won’t be able to take out the right policy. And if you’re ever audited and caught on the wrong side of the workers’ compensation requirements that the state holds all of its business entities too, then that could mean a long legal process for you.
In order to help you avoid such a situation, we’ve written up an article to inform you of what workers’ compensation requirements you have to adhere to as a business operating and hiring employees in the state of Florida.
What Type of Business Entity Are You?
The first step to understanding workers’ compensation requirements that you have to adhere to is understanding what legal entity your business is registered as. This is because the requirements can vary from legal entity to legal entity.
The principal special considerations that you should keep in mind are sole proprietorships and partnerships. If you fall in either category, then you’re good to go and are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
Obviously, even if you aren’t legally required to carry that insurance policy, you should still consider taking one up. Should the worst-case scenario ever materialize and you need that policy, you’ll be kicking yourself if you hadn’t taken one out months before.
Requirements for Workers’ Compensation Insurance
For those other business types that do not fall into either of the above categories, it is mandatory that you have workers’ compensation insurance. As a general rule, the cost for this insurance is around $1.32 per $100 of covered payroll. The insurance should cover the following in order to meet state workers’ compensation requirements: ambulance transportation, medical bills, loss of wages, and disability payments.
The insurance policy should also cover death benefits to be paid out to the family in the event of such a tragic incident. This could be up to $7,500 for funeral expenses and up to $150,000 to pay to the dependents.
Understanding Workers’ Compensation Florida
Workers’ compensation Florida is an important concept to understand, but not a difficult one. Take some time to ensure that you’ve protected yourself with adequate coverage and are on the right side of state law. That way, you will not ever be so unfortunate as to experience the killer setback to a business that a sticky legal situation can be.
For more business advice, be sure to check out the rest of the articles on the website!
