Short answer – yes. But…there are better ways than simply adding that payroll to your policy.

Independent contractors in Tucson, Sahuarita, or Green Valley, AZ may or may not be required to carry their own workers compensation policies. If they have their own coverage, simply ask for a "Certificate of Insurance" for proof of coverage, and keep that record with your workers compensation papers to provide your insurance company a copy at premium audit time.

If you do not have proof of coverage from your independent contractors, your firm will be charged a premium based on the contract price and payments. This premium can be significant, and it is easily avoided.

Suppose your independent contractors do not have their own policies? Get one for them, independent of your coverage. Why?

1. Losses generated by their actions will count against your experience rating if your company policy covers them. This action raises your premiums for three of the next four years.
2. You do not control their payroll accounting. Poor records may increase premium charges.
3. The act of hiring outside contractors implies thier operations are unusual to your standard operations, or at least not anticipated by your operations. Admit you do not have loss control expertise and get some help from their insurance company.
4. Let them administer their own employee benefits. Why take on added costs for their overhead, unless it’s contemplated in the negotiations for services.

A typical situation is contract haulers. Independent haulers can be one-man companies who do not have workers compensation coverage, nor do they have any requirements to obtain coverage. They also hire day labor to help unload trucks on a regular basis. If they have workers compensation, the day laborers are covered under the truckers policy. Untrained workers lifting heavy boxes is a recipe for large claims. Avoid this risk be insisting on certificates of insurance.

Call our Insurance Center at Green Valley Agency for help with this common issue. And remember: a safe work place is the best employee benefit.

Workers compensation provides medical, health and lost-time compensation for employees who suffer work related injuries or illnesses.

Sounds straight forward enough, right?

Suppose you’re a healthcare worker in one of our great Tucson hospitals, and you accidently contract hepititus from a needle stick. Your covered by workers compensation. Now, suppose you go home to Sahuarita and pass the illness to your spouse. The spouse gains coverage through employers’ liability. This claim type is Consequential Bodily Injury.

In some states, Loss of Care and Services claims can be made. Spouses claim "loss of consortium" or family members claim a loss for caregiving by the injured parent. Employers’ liability responds to these claims

Under all these described circumstances, employers’ liability pays for the employer’s legal expenses too.

Employers’ liability covers aspects of workers compensation which can be third party claims, a fancy term for someone other than the employer or employee, such as a family member who becomes injured or ill as a result of the employee’s exposures on the job.

Employers’ liability covers some other unusual circumstances. For example, an employee is injured by his employer’s product. Perhaps a heating system manufacturer uses his own product in his office. A maintenance staff member gets an electrical burn because a cut-off malfunctions. The policy pays as though it were workers’ compensation first, and then the employer’s liability coverage handles the incident like it was a third-party products liability claim. This type of claim is known as a Dual-Capacity claim.

As all-inclusive as the workers compensation policy tries to be, unusaual circumstance justify the need for employers’ liability. Since general liability policies usually exclude employee injuries or illnesses, work comp needed to fill this gap in coverage.

Call the 1 ^st Insurance Center of Green Valley Agency to explain in further detail about workers compensation and employers liability policies. And remember: a safe work place is the best employee benefit.

Owning a business in Arizona may require workers compensation insurance, but that does not mean you must purchase the coverage as soon as you get the company started. Depending on the company and your goals, the appropriate timing to purchase the policy may vary.

Before Hiring Employees

If you are planning to hire an employee, then you may need to start considering coverage and comparing your options. Even though it is not required to purchase workers compensation in Arizona until after you have hired an employee, having the coverage and getting ready to hire employees can help prevent any complications when it comes to coverage and getting started.

As a general rule, you will need the insurance as soon as you hire a single employee within the state.

After Hiring Workers

There are times when you may not be sure if you need to hire a worker. As a result, you may not feel comfortable buying coverage that you have not determined is necessary for your business.

In this situation, you will want to obtain coverage as soon as you hire a single employee. The state laws require that you maintain coverage as long as you have one employee. There are a few exceptions, such as working partners or domestic servants, but you should expect to purchase the policy if you have hired any employees. Even one worker requires some coverage that is appropriate based on the risks associated with your business.

It is important to protect your employees, even if you have only hired a single individual. The appropriate coverage and the timing can depend on the situation, but you will usually need the coverage before your new employee starts working. Contact us to speak to an agent to learn more.

As a general rule, most people don’t like to think about life insurance. That means that when an employer steps up and offers to provide life insurance, most people think "Okay, problem solved." As with many things in life, it is not really that simple. In most cases, employer sponsored life insurance is not enough.

The biggest inherent flaw with the idea of getting life insurance from your employer is that you probably won’t be with your employer for the rest of your life. In most cases, when your employment ends, your employer sponsored life insurance ends, too. This is especially problematic since life insurance tends to get more expensive as you get older, so the later in life you lose your job,the more expensive it will be to replace the insurance. If you lose your job too late in life, health issues may make you uninsurable to some agents, leaving you to search all over Green Valley, AZ and beyond for coverage.

Employers also often tend to give relatively minimal life insurance, rarely enough to cover your real needs. When you consider that your family is essentially needing to replace your income for many years, the popular employer’s life insurance standard of one year’s salary is not going to be enough to last your loved ones for very long, and certainly will not provide them much peace of mind about their future.

Life insurance is a personal thing, so it’s important to evaluate your own personal situation to determine how much you need. Odds are, you will need more insurance than you employer provides and you will need more dependable long-term coverage. To help evaluate your situation, you should call us today. As an independent agent based in Green Valley, we can answer your insurance questions and help you to make sure that you have the right coverage for you, whether you live in Sahuarita, Tucson or elsewhere in Arizona..

People often assume that if they are not submitting a claim to their insurance company, they do not have to notify them about a minor accident. Unfortunately, that is not what should be done. Insurance companies should be notified regardless of whether a claim is going to be filed or not.

There are a number of reasons that an insurance company should be notified when a minor accident occurs, regardless of whether a claim is going to be filed. The main reason is because of the other party involved with the accident.

Just because you are not filing a claim with your insurance company, does not mean the other party involved with the accident will not try to recover damages from your insurance provider. Notifying them of a minor accident allows your insurance company to prepare in the event the other party should contact them.

Another reason to notify the insurance company after a minor accident is because it could be grounds for a non-renewal. If a minor fender bender or accident occurred, you did not report to the insurance company and they find out later, they can use that to not renew a current insurance policy.

Many people do not wish to notify their insurance company of a minor accident because they are afraid of a potential increase in premiums. It should be noted that not all premiums will be raised as a result of an accident or even if a claim is filed. There are a number of factors that play into premium increases, including previous driving record, number of claims submitted, and who is at fault for the accident.

Worried about potential rate increases on minor accident insurance policies? Contact one of our independent insurance agents that operate out of Sahuarita and Tucson, AZ to explore various auto insurance policies from different companies to determine which offer you the best rates and coverage for your current driving needs.