The best workers’ compensation insurance companies in 2020 provide more than just excellent coverage. They seek to train employers on safety and make the process of buying and paying for workers’ compensation insurance easy. We reviewed several top-rated workers’ compensation carriers to give you the best eight from which to choose.
Top Workers’ Compensation Insurance Companies 2020
Curious how we evaluated these workers’ comp insurance companies? Learn more here.
The criteria we used to evaluate the best workers’ compensation insurance carriers include:
Financial strength: Insurance companies receive credit ratings from third-party rating agencies. These ratings consider the ability of an insurance company to pay claims. All the workers’ comp insurance companies included in this list have above average credit ratings. Audit simplicity: Some insurance carriers offering pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation plans that simplify the audit process and alleviate unexpected audit premium bills. Cross-state coverage: Each state regulates workers’ comp insurance policies, so having an insurance carrier that offers coverage in multiple states may be important. Premiums and discounts: Companies that offer favorable premiums based on loss history and discounts for bundling policies help offset the cost of workers’ comp insurance. Loss mitigation: An insurance company that views itself as a risk mitigation partner offers secondary benefits that help small businesses adopt procedures that reduce risk. Claims process: Workers’ comp claims are time-consuming, and carriers have different ways to handle the volume of information that moves the claim forward. Customer reviews: While there will always be negative feedback, a wide body of positive customer reviews suggests customers love them enough to leave a review.
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Because our audience is national, we did not evaluate state insurance funds for this article-even those that compete against private insurers.
What Is Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance policies cover employees and their families for work-related injuries, illnesses, and even deaths. Should an employee become disabled as a result of injuries on the job, workers’ compensation policies pay temporary or permanent disability payments. These policies do not cover workers who inflict injury intentionally upon themselves, break the law, or file a fraudulent claim.
The Hartford: Best Overall Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company
The Hartford is an industry leader for workers’ comp that integrates its services with payroll providers to create accurate premiums with its pay-as-you-go option XactPAY®. This means you’re less likely to pay more than you need to throughout the year. Pricing is contingent on the industry, location, and size of your business and can be incorporated into a pay-as-you-go plan. Additionally, The Hartford has an exceptional claims approach that moves the business and injured employees forward quickly.
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The Hartford automatically adds the following features that usually cost extra with other carriers:
Stop gap coverage: Extends coverage to employees when they travel to states where coverage must be purchased through a state fund. Voluntary compensation: Offers coverage to employees who employers aren’t required to cover. Extended cancellation notice: Provides 15 days advance notice of policy cancellation when the industry standard is only 10 days.
A company that cares enough to include what many business owners need for their employees is rare. The fact that it doesn’t directly translate into higher overall premium costs is a bonus. The Hartford offers a 10% discount on workers’ compensation insurance when it’s bundled with a BOP. Additionally, the carrier has programs that can help both employees and businesses stay healthy like a weight loss program and discounts on ergonomic office furniture.
Additionally, The Hartford’s workers’ compensation insurance comes with access to:
Prescription drug features: Choose from more than 65,000 pharmacies to fill prescriptions, typically with no out-of-pocket fees and mail order service as an option Needle stick reimbursement program: Pays for initial testing and reimbursement for additional testing, in some cases Nursed back to health program: Help from nurse case managers with coordinating care and treatment of employees
The Hartford has been offering workers’ comp to business owners for more than 100 years. Small business owners have been able to get quotes from the carrier online for some time now, but The Hartford recently introduced an online purchasing option for workers’ comp coverage-a rarity in the industry. You can edit your policy limits and get quotes for general liability and professional liability. At the moment, you can only purchase workers’ comp online-other commercial policies require a phone call.
Travelers: Best Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Mobile Workforces
Travelers is the best choice for workers’ compensation insurance if you have a mobile workforce or out-of-state offices. The company’s national presence and large network of healthcare providers give it a leg up on understands workers’ comp for other multistate businesses. Global Companion package: Extends coverage for traveling. Mobile workforces to include international risks. Largest network of nurses and medical providers: Gives access to Travelers’ network of healthcare providers for injured workers to get medical attention quickly, reducing the impact of injuries and keeping costs down. ConciergeCLAIM: Connects injured employees with a Travelers ConciergeCLAIM nurse who can guide them through the claims process; has reduced the average number of missed workdays after an injury by 35%. MyTravelers® for injured employees: Access for employees to a portal with information about their workers’ comp claim.
Additionally, Travelers offers TravPay, a pay-as-you-go workers’ comp insurance plan designed to keep insurance costs manageable and accurate.
Travelers offers all policyholders access to their policies through the MyTravelers for Business customer portal. For small business owners, this is a convenient way to manage their policies all in one location. You have easy access to bill payment, claim reporting and management, certificate of insurance requests, and risk management resources.
While Travelers writes just about every type of business insurance possible, don’t expect to get a quick quote online. Travelers chooses to rely on its network of independent agents and brokers to underwrite risk, and its website is designed to help you find a great agent, not to get the quote. Coverage options may not be available in all states.
biBERK: Best Workers’ Comp Insurance for Quick Online Coverage
biBERK, backed by parent company name Berkshire Hathaway, and offers quick, excellent workers’ comp insurance policies in most locations across the United States. A primary objective of biBERK is to take the strength of an insurance powerhouse and distill it into a simple process of buying and administering insurance online. biBERK offers fast workers’ comp coverage to business owners who need to cover new hires to meet legal requirements.
biBERK Strengths biBERK Weaknesses
Online quotes and purchasing capability Prices may be higher than other carriers due to comprehensive coverage plans
Coverage for 20 industries No online chat in application
Option to select coverage options during quote process Not all types of business insurance available
Online claims management
A++ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best
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biBERK strives to make buying workers’ compensation insurance easy for business owners with:
Three-step coverage: Most business policies, including workers’ compensation, can be obtained in three simple steps through the biBERK online system. Nationwide coverage: Business owners can get quotes from biBERK for workers’ compensation in all states where private competition is allowed. Online purchase discount: Purchasing insurance online with biBERK saves small business owners 20%. Loss control services: Policyholders enjoy access to Training Network NOW, an online safety training library with 350-plus training modules, videos, and instructional materials.
biBERK offers instant quotes and readily available coverage for many industries, but due to the nature of its simplified approach, it’s currently unable to handle writing every type of commercial insurance. For example, it outsources commercial auto insurance policies to Geico, which means you can’t manage all of your policies in one place. However, biBERK is transparent about its partnerships.
biBERK has one of the easiest, no-fuss online applications to complete, requiring simple details about your business. It’s one of the few carriers that can bind a policy instantly online. Other features online from biBERK include automatic payments, claims management, and paperless communications. Chubb is a large national carrier offering personal. Commercial lines of insurance. The company offers excellent return-to-work program assistance, helping small business owners manage medical and disability benefits for injured employees. Chubb can write policies for nearly any-sized business, but it’s known for treating every account the same when it comes to customer service and claims.
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Some of the features for workers’ comp that Chubb offers small business owners include:
Medical and disability management: Chubb offers access to nurse consultants to assist with medical management and your employee’s timely return to work. Preferred provider networks: In many states, policyholders can help injured employees receive high-quality care with affiliated preferred providers at a reasonable cost. Fraud prevention: Chubb has fraud and recovery specialists to identify and investigate fraudulent or exaggerated claims.
Previously, Chubb did not provide quotes online, so you had to find a local agent or office. However, the carrier recently launched a small business insurance microsite that does offer online quotes. The application for workers’ comp is user-friendly, but it requires more information than other carriers. While lengthy, a thorough application means you’ll have a more accurate quote to select the coverage you need.
For workers’ comp policyholders, Chubb offers a pharmacy benefit management program focusing on patient safety, allowing only those drugs appropriate for the injury to be dispensed to the injured worker. Chubb also allows for easy claims reporting and management online. Not sure exactly what type of coverage you need? Try using Chubb’s nifty “coverage companion,” Chloe, which is an intuitive tool walks you through basic questions about your business and recommends the type of coverage you need and why.
Liberty Mutual: Best Workers’ Comp Insurance for One-stop Shopping
Liberty Mutual is a household name for personal insurance, but it’s also a top 10 provider of business insurance-making it a convenient one-stop-shop for all your insurance needs. This carrier focuses on a positive customer experience, making everything from getting quotes to filing claims as straightforward as possible.
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*Liberty Mutual quote provided by our partner Commercialinsurance.net.
A few of the features Liberty Mutual offers include:
Risk control services: The company offers an array of safety resources and risk management programs to help keep employees safe like Liberty Mutual SafetyNet™ and Liberty Mutual Industrial Hygiene Lab. Combined business and personal policy management: Keep all your insurance information at your fingertips so that you can manage payments, claims, and coverage options. Local agents: As your business grows, your insurance needs change. Liberty Mutual’s local account managers partner with you to manage your personal and commercial coverage. Sole proprietor options: Even sole proprietors with no staff may want self-employed workers’ compensation insurance to protect themselves if they work in high-risk injury industries.
The company’s appetite for commercial business is growing, and it’s expanding coverage options. Customers can use a dynamic online account manager or call their local agent for convenient service and policy claims.
Workers’ comp policyholders’ employees have access to the Liberty Mutual Injured Worker Toolkit-a self-service portal allowing injured workers the capability to view claim data, enroll in electronic deposit, and search for in-network medical providers.
Liberty Mutual doesn’t offer direct-to-consumer sales for business insurance. Additionally, like many insurers, Liberty Mutual does not offer pricing information online. However, Liberty Mutual is a consumer-friendly insurance company, and having a local agent to meet with and have questions answered is a nice option.
CyberPolicy: Best Workers’ Comp Insurance for Comparison Shopping
CyberPolicy uses technology to make it easier to buy workers’ comp insurance as well as other commercial policies. As a broker, CyberPolicy works with multiple top-rated carriers allowing business owners to compare prices with a single online application. CyberPolicy also provides educational resources for businesses to help mitigate their risks and reduce costs.
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Don’t be misled by its name-CyberPolicy does specialize in cyber liability insurance, but it also offers the gamut of other business policies, including workers’ compensation insurance. It also offers a few policies you don’t see everywhere, like lessor’s risk, liquor liability, and surety bonds.
CyberPolicy is a broker working with more than 15 top-rated business insurance carriers, including BCS, biBERK, Chubb, and Nationwide. Fill out CyberPolicy’s simple online application, and you can get multiple workers’ comp quotes to compare. Some policies are even available for immediate online purchase, depending on your state, industry, and risks.
CyberPolicy doesn’t charge a broker’s fee, which can keep costs down compared to other business insurance brokers. Available workers’ comp resources will be dependent on the carrier you ultimately buy your coverage from. Other benefits of CyberPolicy come from its educational tools and cybersecurity resources, including:
CyberCheckup: Free tool offering expert advice based on your business’s cyber risks Education center: Hub with articles on cybersecurity best practices Cyberglossary: A place to learn about cybersecurity terminology InsuranceGuru: Another free tool to help assess your other business insurance needs
CyberPolicy offers discounts for bundling multiple policies, whether with the same carrier or cross-carrier.
Pie Insurance: Best Workers’ Comp Insurance for Finding Savings
Pie Insurance is a newcomer to the business insurance space, but it’s already making headway with its attractive workers’ comp cost-savings calculator. The company allows business owners to check their current workers’ comp rates to see if they’re overpaying for coverage. Pie Insurance asserts that 80% of small businesses are overcharged for workers’ compensation insurance by 30%.
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Pie Insurance offers a great balance between pricing and service with these features:
Workers’ comp focus: Pie Insurance is built with workers’ comp insurance needs in mind first, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it can do the job. Cost savings: Most carriers don’t offer pricing insights on workers’ comp coverage. Pie allows you to determine if you’re overpaying for coverage. Quick online application: The carrier’s online app takes as little as three minutes-blazingly fast compared to competitors.
With its focus on workers’ comp, Pie also provides free resources, including a workers’ comp 101 guide and tips on workplace safety.
Pie Insurance is only available in 34 states and Washington, D.C., but it’s working on expanding its offerings nationwide. While Pie Insurance can write workers’ comp directly for your business, it sells a policy developed by Sirius America Insurance Company. Essentially, Pie Insurance acts as a go-between.
Thankfully, Sirius does have a reassuring A.M. Best rating of A-, which indicates it’s a financially stable insurer. Additionally, claims are handled by CorVel, a workers’ comp administration service, so Pie’s customer service representatives may not be able to answer your claims questions directly.
Customers report Pie Insurance to have knowledgeable customer service and quick turnaround from agents. Pie’s online application is one of the easiest to complete, but a few customer reviews have cited issues with the quote process, stating they were preapproved through the application, then declined coverage after further review.
EMPLOYERS: Best Workers’ Comp Insurance for Fluctuating Payroll
EMPLOYERS is a specialty small business insurance company founded on making workers’ compensation policies affordable and easy to obtain for small business owners. EMPLOYERS offers workers’ compensation insurance in 46 states and Washington, D.C.-these are all states where private insurers can sell workers’ comp. It also has pay-as-you-go options that can help business owners with fluctuating payroll manage their workers’ comp premiums better.
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Coverage Highlights
EMPLOYERS’ focus is solely on workers’ compensation with unique proprietary platforms that include:
PrecisePay: EMPLOYERS’ proprietary pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation solution is designed to help small business owners improve cash flow. Efficient claim handling: Businesses may need to file claims at any hour of the day. EMPLOYERS’ 24/7, multilingual claims center starts the process as soon as it happens. In-house fraud prevention: EMPLOYERS’ fraud specialists are trained to spot. Reduce fraudulent claims to keep insurance costs down. InsurCard®: Employees can receive workers’ compensation benefit payments by EMPLOYERS’ debit card.
A company that chooses to focus on one line of insurance is choosing to be the leader in that arena. EMPLOYERS could use its book of business to expand its product lines easily but, instead, chooses to improve its online portal and help businesses reduce claims and fraud.
Other Features
As mentioned, EMPLOYERS sells one product: workers’ compensation insurance. This means small business owners will need to find general liability, commercial property, and all other policies elsewhere. The carrier also has a comprehensive return-to-work program. Dedicated resources for injured workers. For employers, EMPLOYERS also offers loss control services and premium audit services.
With no online application, EMPLOYERS does itself a disservice to busy business owners that need workers’ compensation insurance. But with its focus on only workers’ comp, any questions you have about coverage will likely be answered by an expert agent.
Alternatives to Workers’ Comp Insurance Companies
Business owners who cannot find workers’ compensation insurance from a private carrier typically have a couple of choices, depending on their state. The first is the state-run fund, an organization often run by the state’s commerce or labor department that provides workers’ comp to businesses in high-risk industries or with large losses.
Business owners who cannot find coverage in the private market or the state fund can usually turn to an assigned risk plan. This is sometimes called a market of last resort. In monopolistic states, Ohio, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Washington, employers are required to use the state insurance fund to ensure that all coverage meets state labor requirements.
Bottom Line
Not having the right workers’ compensation insurance carrier can result in claims lasting longer and costing more than they should. You can mitigate risk at work, but you can’t eliminate it. Getting coverage from a financially strong company like The Hartford that combines worker’s compensation insurance with other commercial policies is the best protection against business risk.
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