Best Workers Comp Insurance in Georgia (GA)

Quick Look: The Best Workers Comp Insurance in Georgia

Accidents at work can happen at any time. Let’s say a heavy box falls on you or one of your employees at work. That’s when workers’ comp steps up to the plate. All businesses benefit from using workers’ comp to protect their business and employees. 

Get Started

Coverage in Minutes

Looking for Coverage? You're just a few clicks away from a custom quote for your business with The Hartford.

Get Started

Best Workers Comp Insurance in GA

The underlying or overarching goal of a business is to succeed. Protecting your employees protects your business. And that is one step toward success. If employees get hurt on the job, you want them to recover quickly and return to work. Likewise, if an employee gets hurt, you need to protect your business from lengthy and expensive lawsuits. 

Some of the best workers’ compensation insurance in the U.S. includes Zurich, Hiscox and Travelers. Here are a few more that are best for Georgia.

1. The Hartford

With more than 200 years of experience, The Hartford is selected among the nation’s top workers’ comp insurance carriers. The insurer is considered the best choice for worker’s compensation policies because of its preferred medical provider network with more than 1 million providers who treat workplace injuries.

It also offers more than 65,000 pharmacies in the U.S. to fill prescriptions usually with no out-of-pocket expense for injured workers, and a network of nurse care managers to help coordinate the injured workers’ care with doctors and therapists.

The Hartford offers companies pay-as-you-go billing solutions based on actual payroll, which can help manage cash flow and reduce audit surprises.

2. Simply Business

Simply Business offers a comprehensive suite of business insurance that specializes in making it easy to insure your business. 

Whether you’re looking for construction workers' insurance or insurance for your startup, Simply Business helps you find the right coverage at the right price. 

Tell Simply Business a little bit about your business and you'll get almost-instantaneous affordable quotes from top insurance providers. You can look into workers’ comp insurance that will cover everyone on your team (or yourself), and you can get covered in accordance with state law without overspending. Remember, you hired premium talent, but you must protect your team from work-related injuries instead of draining their health insurance—especially when you can’t earn money. 

Building your business is hard enough. Let Simply Business make it easier to purchase workers’ comp in accordance with state law. Get a quote from Simply Business today.

3. Farmers

Farmers Insurance helps your business run smoothly by mitigating risk and helping employees recover from workplace injuries. They use in-house employees to manage claims quickly and thoroughly. Farmers help get employees back to work at the same job or a modified job.

Farmers also helps improve practices and reduce risk. Farmers also offers a full suite of business insurance policies so you can stay focused on what you do best. AM Best, a global credit rating agency that focuses on the insurance industry, gives Farmers a B++ rating. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives it an A+.

4. Travelers

A nationwide network with local personnel, Travelers provides workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses, public entities and the oil and gas industry. Public entities include public schools, municipalities and counties, transit authorities and utilities.

Travelers protects your business and helps employees. It focuses its efforts on preventing accidents by helping businesses promote a safety and wellness culture and employee training. But accidents happen and Travelers offers peace of mind to employers. Travelers has been given an A++ by AM Best and an A+ from the BBB. 

5. Zurich

Zurich deftly grasps the challenges as well as the impact of workers’ comp on the operations, productivity and profitability for a business. Zurich specialists firmly grasp Georgia law.

They help your business before, during and after an incident. Zurich offers risk engineering services so if something does happen employees can return to work quickly. The BBB and AM Best give Zurich an A+.  

6. Chubb

Chubb understands that employees are your biggest asset. And that’s true whether you have 1 employee or 1,000 employees and whether those employees are located in the state, country or overseas. Size and location aren’t a concern for Chubb. They provide workers’ comp insurance to small, medium and large businesses. Chubb focuses on helping businesses make its workplace safe.

In the event of an accident, they attend to claims directly and objectively to get employees back to work. They also provide assistance with cost management. Chubb can cover your needs and is ready to adapt coverage as your needs change. The BBB gives Chubb an A+. AM Best gives Chubb an A++ rating. 

What Is Workers Comp Insurance?

Workers compensation, usually referred to as workers comp, is insurance that provides employees with compensation in the event they are hurt in an injury occurred during their employment. For example, if an employee slips and falls at work, workers comp insurance could pay for their injuries and lost wages.

Workers Comp Insurance Explained 

Workers comp pays for medical expenses and missed wages due to an accidental injury that arises during employment. Whether insurance would cover injuries under workers comp is dependent on these facts.  Workers comp boards run by each state serve individuals injured on the job while employed by private companies or state and local government agencies. 

In addition to wage reimbursement and medical/hospital bills, the best workers comp insurance in Georgia provides benefits for the following: 

Temporary Total Disability: This type of injury results in the employee being temporarily unable to complete their job functions. In these cases, employees are entitled to 2/3 of their average weekly pay, up to the average Georgia weekly pay, as determined by the Georgia State Board of Workers Compensation. 

Temporary Partial Disability: If an injury results in an employee temporarily unable to complete their full job functions but can work in a reduced capacity, this situation is considered a temporary partial disability. With this type of injury, an employee can receive a reduced benefit based upon their wages up to 350 weeks from the date of injury. 

Permanent Total Disability: As the name suggests, this type of injury results in the employee being totally disabled on a permanent basis. These more severe injuries usually include the loss of use of arms, hands, legs or feet. In these cases, employees can receive weekly benefits depending on the type and extent of the disability as advised by the treating physician. 

Permanent Partial Disability: These types of injuries result in an employee who has recovered from their injury but is left partially incapacitated. Similar to the permanent total disability, benefits for eligible employees depend on the type and extent of the disability.

Georgia Workers Compensation Insurance: An Overview

Workers’ compensation covers both employees and employers. Workers’ comp insurance in Georgia takes care of your medical, rehabilitation and lost wages if you’re injured on the job. These benefits help you recover and return to work. Your dependents will also receive benefits if the worst happens — that you die in a workplace accident. 

How Does Georgia Workers Compensation Law Work?

By law, any business in Georgia with 3 or more workers must have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation covers employees from their first day on the job. Both employers and employees can double-check the status of worker’s comp coverage at www.sbwc.georgia.gov. 

You should report an incident at the workplace immediately. The injured employee should see an approved medical care provider. At a high level, workers’ comp insurance covers:

• All authorized medical expenses, including doctor and hospital bills, physical therapy and prescriptions. You may also need rehabilitation.
• You’ll receive ⅔ of your average weekly wage up to $675 per week if you’re unable to work for more than 7 days. You’re eligible to receive income for up to 400 weeks.
• You’re entitled to job retraining if your injury renders you incapable of doing their job, then they’re entitled to job retraining and help to get another job.

Employers in Georgia who participate in the state’s drug-free workplace program must test employees after an accident that results in lost work time. If an employee’s accident is caused by illegal drugs or alcohol, their claim and benefits are in jeopardy.   

Common work injuries in Georgia include:

• Industrial accidents
• Slips and falls
• Overexertion
• Machine entanglements
• Falling objects
• Vehicle accidents
• Repetitive motion injuries

How to Compare Workers Comp Insurance in Georgia

While price is most often a consideration when comparing the best workers comp insurance in Georgia, don’t forget to take a company’s customer or claims service into account either. We recommend researching customer reviews to determine whether a company will be easy to work with. Workers comp is an auditable policy, so you will be communicating with the insurer regularly. Hence, it is vital to have a good relationship with whichever company you choose. 

Reviewing a company’s financial rating to ensure its solvency is also a great idea. AM Best and Demotech are some examples of rating agencies used to measure the financial strength of insurance companies. A quick search on the insurance company’s website will usually provide this rating. 

Here is a comparison of the best workers’ comp insurers in Georgia.

How to Buy Workers Comp Insurance in Georgia

Whether you are bundling your workers comp insurance with other business insurance or just looking for a stand-alone policy, the process is the same. First, keep in mind that Georgia does not require workers comp for businesses with less than 3 employees, either full- or part-time. While it’s still a great idea for you to offer this coverage for your employees, it is not a law to do so if you have fewer than 3 employees. Once you determine your need for workers comp insurance, gather a rough estimate of your total payroll for all employees, as this is information needed for quotes. From here, you can start to obtain pricing. We recommend starting with a website like Tivly to compare multiple policies at once or heading to the websites of companies directly like Progressive or The Hartford. Don’t be afraid to use an agent if you have questions or concerns on coverage. 

If you have trouble finding coverage through the voluntary market, workers comp insurance in Georgia is offered through the assigned risk plan administered by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).

Employer Cost for Workers Compensation

In Georgia, workers’ comp rates differ based on the type of job you have. Here are a few examples based on businesses with at least 3 employees and an estimated $250 state fee.

4 Types of Workers Comp Benefits

1. Wage replacement benefits: You’re entitled to wage replacement if you’re injured at work and cannot work for 7 consecutive days or more. In Georgia, this amounts to ⅔ of the worker’s average pay up to $675 per week if the injury happened on or after July 1, 2019.
2. Permanent partial disability benefits: You’re eligible for benefits if you sustain a permanent disability that doesn’t completely take away your ability to work. The benefit depends on the condition of the disability and the body part affected.
3. Vocational rehabilitation benefits: Vocational rehabilitation benefits could help you get a new job if an employee cannot return the job they had at the time of their injury. Employees may receive counseling, job retraining and vocational monitoring. 
4. Medical benefits: This benefit covers an injured employee’s necessary and reasonable medical care which includes doctor visits, prescriptions and rehabilitation.

There are a few exceptions, according to the Social Security Administration.

• Longshore and harbor workers are covered under a compensation act from 1927. 
• The Black Lung Benefits Act of 1972 covers coal miners suffering from pneumoconiosis.
• People who contract certain cancers and other serious diseases that result from exposure to radiation released during above-ground nuclear weapons tests or during employment in underground uranium mines are accounted for in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990. 
• The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program provides civilian workers who became ill as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica through nuclear weapons testing.

Be Prepared with the Best Workers Comp in GA

Even the most safety-conscious companies and employees are susceptible to an accident. Though the likelihood can increase or decrease with awareness and prevention, accidents still happen. You want the right workers’ compensation coverage in Georgia to make sure your business is protected and your employees get the help they need. 

Frequently Asked Questions