Does general liability cover employee injuries?

Employee injuries

Businesses need a lot of different insurance coverages in order to protect themselves from different risks. One common business insurance coverage is general liability insurance. (It’s a really important coverage for business owners.) While this coverage is common, that doesn’t mean people don’t have questions about it. One frequent question is this – does general liability insurance cover employee injuries? We’ll take a look.

Does general liability insurance cover employee injuries?

General liability can help protect your business against claims of third-party bodily injury or property damage. It can help cover things like medical expenses, lawsuits, settlements, and attorney fees. (Of course, the claim must be a covered one.) This is such a fundamental coverage that it’s typically included in a BOP (business owner’s policy), which is intended for small to medium-sized businesses.

To give an example, this is the coverage that could come into play if one of your customers slips and falls, injuring themselves on your premises. (People can sustain serious injury from a simple slip-and-fall. It can be a big deal.)

Anyways, lawsuits can be devastating to businesses, so it’s important to protect against them. But let’s get back to the question at hand – does general liability cover employee injuries?

To give a simple answer…no. Typically general liability insurance won’t cover an employee injury. That’s not what it does. So that might leave you with a follow-up question: what is an employer to do if an employee gets hurt on the job? The answer lies with worker’s comp insurance.

What does worker’s compensation insurance do?

Workers’ comp is the coverage that can help if an employee is injured on the job. So, though general liability won’t help if an employee takes a spill, slices their hand, or falls down a flight of stairs, that’s what workers’ comp is for. It can provide benefits if an employee is hurt or gets sick because of their job.

Workers’ compensation can cover the following if an employee is hurt on the job.

  • Medical expenses. If an employee is injured while on the job, workers’ comp can take care of their medical bills. It can also cover the cost of rehab if the employee needs it. Considering how expensive medical expenses can be, this could be very helpful.
  • Disability. If an employee is disabled because of a workplace injury, workers’ comp can help by paying disability benefits based on the severity and permanence of the disability.
  • Lost wages. Workers’ comp can also help by paying an employee a portion of the wages they lost if they need to take tine off to recover. That way the employee doesn’t have to worry about the bills piling up.
  • Death benefits. If the worst happens and an employee is killed on the job, workers’ comp can pay death benefits to their dependents.

So, you can see why workers’ comp is so important that Georgia may require you to carry it.

Quick tips to lower your workers’ comp costs.

Though workers’ comp is a crucial coverage for businesses, that doesn’t mean that you want to break the bank paying for it. Here are a few tips for lowering your workers’ comp costs.

  • Check your insurance policy. Make sure your job classifications and payroll information are accurate.
  • Invest in safety to reduce the chance of an accident. This can help you improve your claims history, which can help lower your costs.
  • Have a return-to-work program. A return-to-work program helps employees come back to work by providing them with tasks that have been modified according to what they’re able to do as they recover.
  • Make sure that employee injuries are reported promptly. This is really important.
  • Take the time to do some detective work and investigate the incident. You can discover ways to prevent the same incident from happening again in the future.
  • Train your employees. Be sure that you spend ample time teaching your employees to do their jobs safely. Make sure they know how to properly use the tools they’ll need to do their jobs.

So, there’s the answer to the question of whether general liability covers employee injuries. Most likely it will not, but workers’ comp is there for that reason. And whether you need workers’ comp insurance, general liability, or both, our team would be happy to help you get the right coverage for your business. Just fill out our online form or message us to get started with your business insurance quotes. Prefer to talk on the phone? No problem – just give us a call.