What Am I Obligated to Report to My Insurance Carrier?

Workers’ compensation is an important social program for Californians.  Workers’ compensation allows employees and employers to rest easy knowing that they are both protected in case an employee suffers a work-related injury.  In California, almost all employers, with very few exceptions, are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance.  Failure to carry workers’ compensation insurance can result in severe civil and even criminal penalties for an employer who fails to follow the law.  Employers who do properly carry insurance need to understand what must be reported to their insurance carrier to make sure they do not violate their policy.

If you have any questions about what needs to be reported to your insurance company, the first place you should look is your policy documents.  The insurance policy documents will be an essential source of information concerning your responsibilities.  If you fail to adhere to your policy’s requirements, it could result in your insurance carrier refusing to cover an incident.  It could even mean your insurance carrier will decline to continue providing coverage for your business at all.

In addition to those issues that your insurance requires to be reported, there are California laws that will also apply to reporting requirements.  The most important of these is the initial report of the injury or occupational illness.  As an employer, you are required to provide a workers’ compensation claim form within one day after the employee reports a work-related injury or illness.  After the employee returns this form to you, you must provide the claim form along with the report of the injury or illness to your insurance claims administrator within one working day.  In other words, if the employee reports an injury, you are required by law to report this to your insurance.

Another important reporting issue is fraud.  If you have suspicions about fraud in your workers’ compensation case, you need to report this to your insurance carrier.  Workers’ compensation fraud includes not only fraud on the part of the employee, but also the medical providers or even attorneys.  Your insurance carrier will then investigate the fraud concerns.  If there are founded cause for concern, your carrier will report the issue to law enforcement.

We have extensive experience helping our clients understand their responsibilities when it comes to workers’ compensation insurance.  Call us today to talk about your case and your business.

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