Restaurant Insurance – Don’t Forget The Workers Compensation Policy

Restaurant insurance can be found in many different forms. One coverage that restaurant owner should have is workers compensation insurance. In North Carolina, the law states that if you have fewer than 3 employees you don’t have to purchase workers compensation insurance . But what this rule doesn’t tell you is that not buying a policy could put your very company at risk.

In NC, the workers compensation law does give you an out if you have less than 3 employees. In fact, there are no real teeth in the law that will catch and find employers who have 3 or more employees who also don’t purchase a workers compensation insurance policy. So, yeah, you could go years without purchasing a workers compensation policy for your restaurant. But that would be a very dangerous choice. Here’s why:

Although the law may not require that you actually purchase a workers compensation insurance policy, it will require that you pay all of the claims yourself just as if you were the insurance company. Workers compensation benefits in North Carolina are statutory. That means that exactly how much gets paid for each type of illness or injury has already been determined by state law. This means if you are paying out of your own pocket for a claim, you will not have the opportunity to determine how much you are going to pay.

So, using the loophole in the law to avoid buying a workers compensation policy only gets you out of paying the policy premium. It does not get you out of paying the costs of any and all claims. And these claim costs can be enormous. Imagine coming up with $100,000 to pay for injuries that resulted in permanent disability, then paying disability payments for years after that for one of your employees. Pretty scary huh? So even if work comp insurance seems expensive, you should realize that purchasing it is a no brainer because going bare means you are pretending to have the assets of an insurance company. For most restaurant owners, that just isn’t the case.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in both North Carolina restaurant insurance and South Carolina restaurant insurance. We want all of our clients to be informed insurance buyers and we work hard to help them understand all the ins and outs of the restaurant insurance policy. It doesn’t matter if your establishment is fine dining, casual dining, fast food, bar & grill or even catering, we understand your business and we have a program that can help you. Please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit our Restaurant Insurance Page.