Connecticut state law requires all business owners with employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance in the event a worker is hurt on the job. The program is the exclusive remedy for injured workers in the state so that employees can’t sue their employers for additional benefits. Connecticut workers’ compensation insurance costs approximately $1.10 per $100 of the business’ payroll.
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What Are Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Requirements?
Workers’ compensation rules vary by state. According to the Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC), Connecticut companies in the state must carry workers’ compensation insurance as soon as they have even one employee. The state defines employees as anyone who enters into a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer. It doesn’t matter if the employee is full-time or part-time, or if the work performed occurs in the state or outside its borders.
Moreover, employers must provide coverage for workers who are:
- Minors
- Noncitizens
- Seasonal
Additionally, corporate officers, partners in a partnership, and members of a multimember limited liability company (LLC) are included in the coverage. They can, however, request to be excluded by filing Form 6B or Form 6B-1 with the WCC.
Who Doesn’t Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Connecticut?
Neither sole proprietors nor members of a single-member LLC are included in the coverage, but they can accept the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act and get self-employed workers’ compensation. Sole proprietors can complete Form 75 and send it to the WCC chairman’s office to opt in. Another exemption in Connecticut is for household employees who work fewer than 26 hours per week.
Where Can I Obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Connecticut?
Connecticut is considered a competitive workers’ compensation insurance market, which means private carriers can sell and underwrite policies. Connecticut businesses also can self-insure workers’ comp, but this is reserved for companies that meet the state’s guidelines, such as having sufficient working capital, cash reserves, and an acceptable loss history report.
Those who cannot find private insurance or are unable to self-insure can purchase insurance through Connecticut’s assigned risk plan, run by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). This is an insurer of last resort, so high-risk or high-claims businesses can obtain the requisite insurance.
Top Workers’ Compensation Insurance Insurers in Connecticut
Provider | Best for |
|---|---|
Affordable workers’ compensation insurance | |
Professional service companies that work in office settings | |
Restaurant and food industry businesses | |
Fast claims | |
Hard-to-insure businesses with high claims |
CommercialInsurance.net
CommercialInsurance.net is an online business insurance marketplace that serves as a matchmaker between small businesses and insurers. It has more than 200 partner carriers, making its ability to shop for the right policy better than any other online provider. When you go to CommercialInsurance.net, you get all the heavy lifting of shopping done for you with great rates for the right policy coverage.
The Hartford
The Hartford is a small business insurance expert serving many industries yet truly tailored to help local professionals like accountants, attorneys, or other desk jockeys. It has proven to be an innovator in the insurance market with business owner plans and workers’ compensation policies that provide extra features that other companies charge for, including reasonable expenses when assisting in a lawsuit and the carrier’s request.
Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual is known for its personal home and auto insurance coverage but is making a splash with tailored commercial insurance policies for risks found in niche businesses. One area that Liberty Mutual shines in is covering businesses in the food and beverage industry. The carrier can offer coverage to everything from an independently owned restaurant to a food management contractor, which means most food businesses can get all of their commercial policies from Liberty Mutual.
Chubb Insurance
Chubb is a national leader in property and casualty insurance, serving both consumers and small business owners. Its workers’ compensation insurance policy is versatile, offering a waiver of subrogation when needed, and includes internal nurse case managers to help expedite workers’ compensation claims. Chubb has a strong leaning toward medical offices of all types.
National Council on Compensation Insurance
The National Council on Compensation Insurance is the organization that runs Connecticut’s assigned risk plan (ARP). ARPs are designed to ensure all businesses that are required to carry workers’ comp have access, making this option ideal for companies in high-risk industries or with a high number of claims. Business owners have to be turned down first by private carriers before applying with the NCCI.
How Much Does Workers’ Compensation Insurance Cost in Connecticut?
The cost of workers’ compensation insurance in Connecticut will vary depending on your payroll, the work your employees perform, and your claims history. On average, Connecticut employers pay $1.10 per $100 of payroll but, as the chart below shows, rates vary by industry.
Sample Rates by Industry Class Codes
Industry Class Code | Low Rate | High Rate |
|---|---|---|
0042 Landscaping | $6.53 | $10.46 |
5022 Masonry | $7.61 | $12.41 |
5183 Plumbing Contractors | $3.77 | $6.16 |
7605 Alarm Installation | $2.33 | $3.80 |
8810 Clerical - Office | 10 cents | 16 cents |
8829 Nursing Home | $3.16 | $5.24 |
8868 Religious Organizations | 37 cents | 60 cents |
9012 Property Management | 78 cents | $1.27 |
Connecticut Workers’ Comp Cost Example
A company that builds concrete walls has three masons, each earning an annual salary of $50,000, and one office clerk who makes $35,000 per year. To calculate the workers’ compensation estimated premium, we will assume there are no claims and use the low rate values.
The total payroll for the masons is $150,000. The low rate for masons (class code 5022) is $7.61, so calculating their part of the premium estimate looks like this:
($150,000 / $100) x $7.61 = $11,415
As for the clerk (class code 8810), his portion of the premium is nominal:
($35,000 / $100 x $0.10 = $35).
Adding the two together gives what insurers call a manual premium of $11,450 for the year. However, other factors can come into play, not the least of which is the experience modification rate (EMR). The EMR is a number that represents your claims history compared to other, similar businesses. Factoring it into your manual premium raises or lowers your workers’ comp costs. The business in this example doesn’t have any claims, so its EMR would either have no impact or lower its workers’ comp premium.
Connecticut Workers’ Comp Audits
All annual workers’ compensation premiums are based on an estimate of payroll made before it’s actually paid. Since a business can have various reasons for payroll increasing or decreasing, insurers conduct an audit at the end of the policy term. This audit reconciles the estimated payroll with the actual payroll and adjusts the premium up or down.
If payroll was underestimated, your insurance company sends an invoice for the remainder of the premium owed with your renewal notice. If the payroll was overestimated, it sends a check for the overpayment. In either case, the new policy uses the actual payroll of the previous term as the estimate for the new premium.
What Does Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Connecticut Cover?
As in most states, workers’ comp in Connecticut covers the expenses associated with employees getting hurt on the job. This includes:
- Medical treatments: Covers the bills for all necessary and appropriate medical treatments, including travel to and from exams, treatments, and tests, as well as prescription medications
- Disability benefits: Pays a portion of injured employees’ lost wages while they’re unable to work
- Death benefits and burial expenses: Compensates the surviving spouse and eligible dependents and provides up to $4,000 for burial
- Relapse or recurrence benefits: Pays either the employee’s basic compensation rate at the time of the original injury plus cost of living expenses or the new rate based on their wages at the time of the recurrence, whichever is higher
- Discretionary benefits: Covers additional wage loss for employees who suffer permanent partial disabilities after initial disability benefits are exhausted; these are not guaranteed benefits
- Job retraining: Provides vocational rehabilitation for employees whose injuries mean they cannot return to the position they held prior to the injury
Please note: In Connecticut, the employer determines where injured employees get their initial medical treatments. After that, employees can choose a different attending physician. Employees can also refuse to use the designated medical provider and pay for treatment from another doctor. However, if an employee refuses the employer’s initial provider and fails to get treated by anyone, the WCC may suspend benefits until they go to the employer-designated physician.
Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Coverage Example
Tyler works for a local gym making sure equipment is returned to workout areas properly. He hurts his back at work by slipping in a puddle of water he didn’t see. Tyler goes to the doctor that his employer picks to get a diagnosis and is prescribed six weeks of physical therapy. During this time, he is unable to work.
The employer’s workers’ comp policy pays for both the initial doctor visit and the subsequent physical therapy because Tyler agreed to go to his employer’s designated medical facility. Additionally, Tyler has a temporary total disability because he cannot work at all during his six weeks of physical therapy. This means the insurance carrier pays up to 75% of his average weekly wage after tax and Social Security are taken out.
Average weekly wage: States often have different ways of defining this term. In Connecticut, the average weekly wage is based on the wages earned for up to 52 weeks prior to the date of injury.
What Are the Penalties for Not Having Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Connecticut?
Those who fail to follow workers’ comp laws in Connecticut are subject to penalties. According to Connecticut state law, companies that do not have proper insurance face:
- Civil penalties of $500 per employee or $5,000, whichever is less
- An additional $100 fine for each day they continue to go uninsured
- Lawsuits brought by the attorney general to collect these fines
The law also states that being willfully and knowingly noncompliant or misclassifying employees as independent contractors to defraud the state or an insurer is a class D felony. Misclassifying employees as independent contractors also carries a $300 per day fine.
How Do I File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Connecticut?
Employees who are injured on the job or obtain a work-related illness must notify their employer as soon as possible and then send a Notice of Claim for Compensation (Form 30C) by certified mail to both their employer and the Workers’ Compensation Commission District Office where the injury occurred. As for employers. They need to provide initial medical treatment and send the WCC an Employer’s First Report of Injury.
Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Deadlines
Employees are responsible for reporting injuries and illnesses immediately though the state does not define what immediately is. However, the state does provide a one-year statute of limitations when filing a claim for accidental injuries and a three-year timeframe from the first onset of symptoms for occupational diseases. Filing Form 30C satisfies this requirement.
Once employers receive Form 30C, they have to report it to their insurer as soon as possible. Medical payments are paid immediately. However, there is a three-day waiting period before disability payments can kick in. Moreover, the insurance company has 28 days after notification to either start paying benefit or deny the claim. If they fail to do either, the insurance company loses its right to contest the claim. If the insurance company starts payments, it still has one year to contest the claim.
Connecticut Workers’ Comp Resources
The WCC is organized into eight district offices. Below is the contact information for the chairman’s office.
Contact information
State of Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission
Office of the Chairman
Capitol Place
21 Oak Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: (860) 493-1500
wcc.chairmansoffice@po.state.ct.us
Key forms
- Employer’s First Report of Injury: Form employers use to notify the WCC of an occupational injury or illness; it goes to the chairman’s office in Hartford.
- Notice of Claim for Compensation: Employees must send Form 30C by certified mail to their employer and the district office where their injury or illness occurred.
- Coverage Election by Sole Proprietor: Sole proprietors send Form 75 to the chairman’s office in Hartford to opt in on coverage
- Coverage Election by Employee Who Is an Officer of a Corporation or Manager of an LLC: Corporate offers and LLC members use Form 6B to be excluded from coverage.
- Coverage Election by Employees Who Are Members of a Partnership: Partners use Form 6B-1 to be excluded from coverage.
For more detailed information on Connecticut workers’ compensation requirements, check out this PDF.
Bottom Line
As a Connecticut employer, you likely are required to obtain valid workers’ compensation insurance to protect your employees who may get injured on the job. There are many options for insurance in the competitive market of the state. To save yourself some time, visit the folks at CommercialInsurance.net to have it shop for the best insurance policy to meet your needs and budget. It has more than 200 partner providers who can serve you.
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