Workers’ Compensation for Accountants

For accounting firms, especially those of a smaller size with few employees, the possibility of a workplace injury poses a serious threat to business owners. An employee’s injury while on the job can have potentially devastating financial consequences for the firm, and accounting firm owners need to be prepared.

Accountancy insurance with workers’ compensation benefits can help protect small accounting firms from potentially damaging incidents.

Should a member of your accounting staff suffer an in-office injury such as a fall, or if one of your tax accountants develops a work-related health condition such as carpal tunnel syndrome, the medical costs can be detrimental to your accounting firm’s bottom line.

Workers’ compensation insurance offers coverage to help with the cost of these workplace injuries and any related lawsuits stemming from them, saving accounting firm owners from financial losses.

Accounting Firm Employee Injuries

Generally, states require that accounting firms have commercial insurance that offers coverage for workers’ compensation. Laws vary from state to state, but workers’ comp insurance is always invaluable in the event of a workplace injury.

Although accounting firm owners may assume their business is too low risk to need business insurance such as workers’ comp, tax preparers, auditors, and accountants are at as much risk for a workplace injury as those in any profession.

In addition, other financial advising companies can also benefit from workers’ comp insurance. Find out more information on insurance for accounting and financial consultants here.

From a slip and fall in the office, to a back injury resulting from lifting heavy boxes, to a health condition related to eye strain, there are a variety of potential injuries that make accountancy insurance a must for finance-related business owners.

Workers’ compensation insurance helps protect your business from costs related to workplace injuries by helping to cover:

• Immediate medical expenses (ambulance, emergency room visits, etc.)
• Ongoing medical care (physical therapy, medications, etc.)
• Lost wages due to injury

Accounting Firm Liabilities

Workers’ comp insurance also offers liability coverage, which protects your business in the event that an employee sues your accounting firm due to a workplace injury. Even if your business is not at fault for the injury, employee lawsuits can be devastating financially to small accounting firms.

With accountancy insurance, workers’ comp policies will feature liability coverage, protecting your business by helping to cover the costs of:

• Court costs
• Attorney fees
• Settlement payments
• Other related legal fees

Depending on who provides an accounting firm with workers’ compensation insurance, additional private liability coverage may need to be considered.

For example, some states require that businesses such as accounting firms get their workers’ comp coverage from monopolistic state funds. These states include North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming. While businesses with such coverage may be covered in the event of a workplace injury, their policy may not cover legal costs should an employee file suit.

Risk Management for Accounting Firms

Although workers’ comp coverage is helpful in protecting your business from workplace injury-related losses, the first step in keeping your business safe is preventing injuries before they occur. Accounting firm owners can do so by assessing their level of risk and instituting policies of workplace safety and employee safety training.

For accounting firms, this could mean teaching employees how to properly lift heavy boxes of documents or how often to take breaks to avoid eye strain and carpal tunnel syndrome. Insurers utilize risk management tools to determine insurance premiums, so taking steps to lower risk can potentially lower your business insurance costs.

Cost of Workers’ Comp Insurance

Premiums, or costs, for workers’ comp insurance coverage are dependent on various factors: the nature of your business, your business’ jurisdiction, your business’ payroll records, and your business’ history of workplace incidents.

At Cerity, we offer immediate quotes using our proprietary modern technology to give our clients clear and intelligent pricing. Get a free quote for workers’ comp insurance with our free online quote tool for accountants, accounting consultants, and other financial businesses.