What is the Workmen Compensation Insurance Policy ?
Today’s global work environment has turned the spotlight on employees’ rights. To safeguard organizations from the threat of costly lawsuits and other financial liabilities insurers offer the Workmen’s Compensation(WC) Policy. It covers the statutory liability of an employer for the death, injury or occupational disease of an employee at the workplace. As it protects the employer from incurring heavy financial obligations, the other name for it is‘Employer’s Liability Insurance. The policy covers the legal costs and the compensation awarded to employees by the worker courts.
Benefits of the workmen Compensation Policy
The Workmen’s Compensation Policy protects the interest of the workers. The employer needs to pay for the worker insurance.
Hence,employees need to make no contribution towards the premium payment of this policy.
The Workmen Compensation Act of 1923 is also known as Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923). The policy holds the main employer or contractor as financially responsible to pay compensation to employees involved in a mishap at the workplace. . The compensation amount is decreed by the Workers Courts on a case to case basis. The workers court decides the compensation after analysing various factors like the nature of injury, average monthly wages, worker’s age and so on. As there is no upper limit on the liability, a WC Policy comes as a beneficial plan. It helps to ease the financial burden on the employer. In other words, the Worker Insurance covers the liability of the employer.
Who Does the Workmen Compensation Cover?
Any employer or contractor engaging as a ‘workmen’ as defined in the Workmen Compensation Act can buy the policy and get financial liability coverage.. The policy benefits both the employer and employee by providing compensation and also covering the liability of the employer towards employees under the common law.
Inclusions of the worker compensation policy
The worker’s compensation largely covers the following:
- Death
- Permanent Disability -total or partial
- Temporary disablement
- Medical expenses after an accident
The WC Policy will bear the legal costs of employer in litigation, the amount awarded by court and other expenses.
An employer can extend the Workmen Compensation Policy to include medical expenses incurred on prolonged treatment.
Exclusions of the Workers’ Compensation Policy
- Willful disobedience of safety rules
- Accidents caused due to the consumption of alcohol or drugs
- Injuries caused outside the office premises
- Accidents involving non- workers
- It is the responsibility of a company to provide safe and healthy working atmosphere for its However, injured workers are a major financial liability for businesses.Therefore, buying the workmen compensation insurance policy is crucial as it helps to meet the liability, shoulder the responsibility of employees well- being as well as comply with the law.
Case Study
A 25-year old worker named Ashwani Singh, employed in a cloth mill died when his glove caught in the fast-moving machine. The body got crushed in the unfortunate accident. The mill owner had to compensate the entire family as the victim was the sole breadwinner of a family of five members, so . Fortunately, the owner had bought the Workmen Compensation Policy. Due to this policy, he was able to pay the compensation the dead worker’s family for an amount of Rs 50 lakhs awarded by the courts. Insurance helps in minimizing adverse financial impact even if it cannot fill up the emotional loss. In the case of Ashwani, the insurance amount helped in meeting the financial needs of the family even in his absence.
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