When Do Artisan Contractors Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

From drywallers to carpenters, electricians to plumbers, these hard-working professionals all have a few things in common. One, they all fall under the category of being called artisan contractors, and two, they all face a higher possibility of being injured on the job compared to other professions and industries.

That’s why specialized artisan contractor coverage is available and why having workers’ compensation coverage is mandatory. Each state has its own laws when it comes to addressing workers’ compensation for an artisan contractor, but regardless of where someone is located, having this coverage will help to protect them in more ways than one.

Medical Coverage

If an artisan contractor has to go see a doctor or head to the hospital due to an onsite injury, the related medical bills need to be covered. Subcontractors should not have to pay their own medical care to treat an injury from work. Whether it’s a slip and fall incident or something heavy falls on a worker’s head, the artisan contractor workers’ compensation coverage will take care of the costs of treatment.

First Aid

An artisan contractor’s injury is usually not severe enough to get them to the hospital. But there are still plenty of instances where an injury is sustained and first aid needs to be administered. From antibiotics to bandages, these smaller injuries do happen and they do add up over time. That’s when something workers’ compensation is needed just in case someone makes a claim.

Disability

Workers’ compensation insurance for artisan contractors should be able to include coverage that will compensate employees who become disabled due to an onsite injury. First, there’s permanent disability which happens after a worker sustains an injury so serious that they cannot return to this particular job in the future. Something like this affects their livelihood.

Then there’s temporary disability, which may sideline a worker for a few days, weeks, or months. When this happens, the employee will still need income to pay their bills. Artisan contractor workers’ comp coverage steps in to help pay for lost wages and time. As soon as the artisan contractor gets a note from their doctor they cannot go back to work for an outlined amount of time, the financial benefits of temporary disability can start. Depending on the injury, employees can usually get up to two-thirds of their regular pay for up to four years.