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Do Offsite Injuries Qualify for Workers Compensation?

Man falling off a ladderWorking doesn’t mean you sit behind a desk all day in one spot. You might have to leave the office to do business. Or, you might work outside the office on your regular course of duties. Because you might not be on the business premises all day, you might wonder if accidents occurring offsite will qualify you for workers’ compensation? Can you receive benefits even if you are offsite when an accident occurs?

The answer: it depends. However, you will likely find that your workers’ compensation offers benefits in a wide range of working environments. Still, you likely have to meet at least one important stipulation to receive benefits—you must be officially at-work when they occur.

Understanding Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation is a type of business insurance. It helps business owners provide employees with a supplementary income if they get hurt on the job.

A common example of a workers’ compensation claim is one where an employee slips and falls while working on a project, sustaining severe injuries. However, even injuries incurred while in the bathroom, or from years of repetitive motion on the job, might qualify for workers’ comp. The employer’s workers compensation can cover the employee’s medical bills, lost income, and might even provide them with disability benefits during their recovery.

Each state structures its workers’ compensation programs differently. Therefore, the type and amount of benefits, along with the qualifying injuries, will vary from case to case. However, nearly all states require most or all businesses within their borders to carry workers’ comp insurance. So, if you get hurt on the job, you will often have help available.

Qualifying for Workers’ Comp While Offsite

Working is a fluid situation, and getting up from your desk doesn’t mean you necessarily stop working. That’s why, in most cases, even if you aren’t at your worksite, you might qualify for workers’ compensation.

However, not all injuries sustained offsite will qualify. To receive any workers’ compensation benefit, you have to prove your claim. This usually means demonstrating that the injury occurred while you were officially on the job, and that you received the injury because of your working duties. Some offsite injuries might not qualify, given these (and other) regulations.

Remote Work

Working remotely might be any time that you have to work somewhere that is not your ordinary working environment. For example, you might provide IT services, and work from different clients’ sites to service their systems. Or, perhaps, you might be a traveling salesperson who drives hundreds of miles each month to visit clients. During these times, you are still at work. Therefore, you might qualify for a workers’ compensation claim. Even if you get hurt on another business’s premises, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance can likely still apply.

Work-From-Home Employees

Working from home is still work. You might work from home permanently, or only a couple of days per week. In these cases, you will likely still qualify for all workers’ compensation benefits provided to anyone who works on the business premises. You will still have to prove that the injuries related to your working duties, however.

Driving Injuries

Plenty of people drive for work. Some are employee drivers or delivery drivers. Others might have to drive to work meetings or to meet with clients. Should car wrecks occur, the employee could get hurt. In these cases, they often can still qualify for workers’ compensation. Even if they drive their personally-owned vehicles, they can often get covered.

Work Events

Whether you can receive workers’ compensation for injuries sustained at a work event might depends on a couple of factors. If the employer is the event’s sponsor, then this is still an official event, even if it is casual. For example, even holiday lunches sponsored by the company are still work events. Therefore, you might be able to qualify for workers’ compensation. All the same, simple gatherings of employees, such as happy hours, might not qualify.

Recreation

At times the company might host or sponsor recreational events. For example, there might be a company outing to a carnival or sporting event. If you go on these events for business, such as to entertain clients, then you might be able to get workers’ compensation. However, not all company recreational events will qualify. That does not mean you cannot file a claim, however.

Personal Lunches

Whether you qualify for workers’ compensation during lunch breaks will depend on a variety of scenarios. For example, if you get hurt while eating in the company lunch room, you might get benefits because you were onsite at the time.

However, if you leave for lunch, and an accident occurs while you are at the restaurant, you might not be able claim workers’ comp. All the same, exceptions during these times might exist. For example, if you must attend a business lunch, or even go to pick up food for your coworkers or boss, you might still be able to file for workers’ comp.

Your workers’ comp eligibility will vary based on multiple factors. Therefore, don’t hesitate to talk to your employer about the way an injury offsite can receive benefits.

Senior driverAre you planning to retire in the next few years? It is a big step to take, that’s for sure. But, retirement also opens up a whole new chapter of your life. All the same, a new chapter means making some changes to your life. That also means reexamining your financial assets and your insurance coverage, including your car insurance. Retirement means that your need for coverage might change. What parts of your policy should you look at adjusting?

You don’t necessarily have to make major changes to your car insurance when you retire. However, if you think about how your need for coverage changes, you might find benefits.

Driving Risks Change After Retirement

When you retire, your daily routine will likely change. You might no longer have to follow the same daily schedule you once did. Therefore, your driving routine might change.

On one hand, you might no longer have to brave rush hour traffic. You might no longer have to drive nearly as much as you once did. Most peoples’ overall driving actually drops in retirement.

On the other hand, however, your driving in retirement might actually increase. You could decide to take road trips, or spend a lot of time running the errands you couldn’t get to while working. You might even take on a part-time job, such as driving for a rideshare company.

Regardless of whether you drive more or less in retirement, your overall driving risks will change. That is because your activities change significantly. These changes might have an effect on your car insurance.

How Driving Risks Change

When setting your premiums, your car insurer will look at your overall likelihood of filing a claim on the policy. That is your risk rating. Those with lower risks usually pay less for their coverage. Retirement might affect your risk rating.

In some cases, these risks will change for the better. You no longer drive as much, so your risks of wrecks might decrease. You don’t spend as much time on the road, so the likelihood of encountering problems might drop. Your policy rates might actually drop for the better.

In other cases, however, your driving risks might change for the worse. For example, if you drive more in retirement, then you might face higher accident risks. Your car’s value might actually drop faster as well.

Additionally, aging does sometimes influence a driver’s personal risks. Middle-aged people usually pay favorable rates, because they have experience behind the wheel. However, as you get older, the infirmities that come with aging might actually cause your rates to rise. For example, diminished eyesight or lowered reaction time might raise your risk of accidents. That could therefore force insurers to raise your policy rates.

Therefore, the way these risks change could cause you to really need to examine your car insurance upon retirement. Agents understand how retirement might affect your specific policy. They can therefore help you better determine the right course of action.

Practical Steps for Changing Car Insurance in Retirement

As you prepare to retire, talk to your car insurance agent. They might be able to clue you in on various changes you might need to make. With the right care, you’ll always make sure you carry the right policy, but also pay the right price.

  • If you will drive less in retirement, your agent might be able to lower your mileage rate on your policy. This change will reflect that you drive less, and therefore face fewer chances to have accidents. That could lead to lower premiums.
  • Likewise, if you plan to drive more in retirement, tell your agent. They can help you decide if you need any additional coverage for these expanded risks.
  • If you have paid off the cost of your car, you might not need to carry physical damage insurance anymore, like collision or comprehensive insurance. However, if you still want to receive compensation for your vehicle damage, you might benefit from keeping coverage. When you buy a new car, you will likely have to buy coverage again, however.
  • Should you plan to drive for a business, like a rideshare, to make extra cash, personal auto insurance likely won’t cover you in full. You might need commercial auto insurance or rideshare driver insurance to supplement your basic policy.
  • If you buy a leisure vehicle, like an RV or motorcycle policy, you will likely need specific coverage for these vehicles. Classic cars also usually need unique coverage.
  • To ensure everyone and every car in your house has appropriate coverage, you might be able to buy a multi-car policy. You can insure numerous vehicles (and numerous drivers) in one place. This might help you save compared to buying separate policies. However, you might be able to tailor coverage within the policy to different vehicles.
  • Some auto insurers offer policy discounts for retired people. For example, if you are a member of AARP®, you might qualify for savings.

Let your El Paso insurance agent be your guide as you adapt your car insurance. They can help you determine the right changes to your policy, but they can also make sure you pay a fair price.

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