In Minnesota, workers’ compensation insurance will generally cost around $1.03 for every $100 of covered payroll. That means, for example, if your company’s total annual payroll is $100,000, you would pay $1,030 for workers’ compensation insurance, or around $85 a month. These rates can differ, though, depending on a variety of factors.
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What’s Covered
Minnesota’s Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits
Minnesota’s Workers’ Compensation Laws
How to Buy Workers’ Compensation Insurance
How to Get the Most Savings
FAQs
Why Use EZ
One of the biggest factors in determining your rates for workers’ compensation insurance is your employees’ risk, or the likelihood of a workplace injury occurring at your business. To assist insurers in determining risk exposure, and to get the best rates for your business, you can use a variety of workers’ compensation class codes. This is important because it costs more to insure certain employees. For example, office employees may have lower workers’ compensation costs than those who work outside of your office and face more risks.
What’s Covered
If an employee sustains an injury on the job or becomes ill due to workplace conditions, workers’ compensation in Minnesota will help them with their medical bills. The average weekly wage of the employee determines the workers’ compensation benefits. The amount depends on the type of claim.
In general, workers’ compensation in Minnesota covers:
- Accidents and injuries – If your employee needs medical attention, workers’ compensation will cover any medical expenses from a workplace injury.
- Illness – If an employee becomes sick from exposure to allergens or other hazardous materials at work, they can also receive workers’ comp benefits to help pay for treatment.
- Repetitive injury – It’s not just accidents that are covered: treatment for repetitive injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome, are also covered by workers’ compensation.
- Ongoing care – If your employee still has medical needs as a direct result of their accident or illness, even after they return to work, they can get benefits for ongoing care. This includes additional doctor’s appointments or additional surgeries.
In addition, if their accident or illness results in permanent or temporary disability, your employee will receive weekly or lump sum payments. If they have a temporary disability, their injury prevents your employee from performing their job. But they can return to work as normal once they recover. If a doctor diagnoses them with an injury from which they will not fully recover, they have a permanent disability.
These categories fall into the following classifications:
- Temporary total disability (TTD) – These payments will be made if your employee is not able to work at all while recuperating.
- Temporary partial disability (TPD) – TPD payments will be made if your employee can still work, but only with certain limitations, such as needing to perform lighter duties or work fewer hours. If your company does not provide work that meets these requirements, the employee may still be eligible for these payments.
- Permanent total disability (PTD) – Employees who are unable to work due to an accident or illness, even after they have recovered as much as they are likely to, will be eligible for PTD payments.
- Permanent partial disability (PPD) – Employees who have permanent difficulties but can work with them will be eligible for PPD.
Minnesota’s Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits
Certain family members may be eligible for death benefits if an employee dies as a result of a work-related injury or illness. These benefits include weekly payments to cover a portion of the deceased employee’s earnings, as well as funeral and burial expenses.
Family members who are eligible include:
- The employee’s spouse (unless that person was voluntarily living independently of the deceased worker at the time of the incident)
- Children under the age of 18 (or 25 if going to school full-time)
- A disabled adult child who is unable to support themselves
Other eligible family members include those who were financially supported by the deceased worker, such as parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, or siblings.
The deceased worker’s family will receive death benefits equal to no more than 67% of the deceased employee’s average weekly wage, which cannot exceed the annual maximum set by law.
Minnesota law also mandates annual cost-of-living adjustments to workers’ compensation benefits beginning 3 years after the worker passes away.
Minnesota’s Workers’ Compensation Laws
The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act outlines the state’s workers’ compensation laws. The law requires almost every employer in Minnesota to have workers’ compensation insurance. There are a few exceptions to this rule, which include:
- Household employees in a private home earning less than $1,000 in a three-month period.
- Farm workers who do not earn more than a certain amount of money, as well as the farmer’s or employer’s immediate family members (spouse, parent, or child) who also work on the farm.
- Casual employees who work only once or infrequently and are not employed permanently or on a regular basis.
How to Buy Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most businesses buy private workers’ compensation insurance from an insurance company in the state. EZ’s agents can help you compare insurers and policies to find the best coverage for you.
If you cannot get insurance from a private company, because you have been denied by every company you have applied to, you can purchase it from the state’s assigned risk residual market, the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Plan. This is the last-resort way for high-risk employers in Minnesota to get workers’ comp insurance.
If you qualify to do so, you can also self-insure your workers’ compensation claims. This means you will pay for your own workers’ compensation medical and rehabilitation costs out-of-pocket as they arise, rather than paying a premium and submitting claims to an insurer. You will have to apply to self-insure and meet certain requirements.
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How to Get the Most Savings
The majority of the cost of workers’ compensation comes from factors beyond your control. However, there are still ways to save. Implementing a safety program is a great way to reduce workplace injuries and claims, which will lower your premiums. So regardless of your industry, it is important to have safety and standard operating procedures in place. Employees who have safety training are less vulnerable to injuries, lowering your workers’ compensation costs.
It is also a good idea to regularly review your claims history. Evaluating your claims history on a regular basis can help you identify and correct patterns. You might discover that certain aspects of your business operations are frequently causing claims. This allows you to adjust the operation to make it safer. You can save money by keeping an eye on potentially dangerous operations.
Correctly classifying your employees is one of the most effective ways to save money. When you apply for your workers’ compensation policy, you will classify each of your employees depending on their job’s risk. And this risk classification influences the cost of your workers’ compensation. For example, you might pay less to insure an office worker than you would a manual laborer. It’s also important to correctly classify your employees because you may receive a fine if you fail to do so.
Begin a free online application today to compare workers’ compensation insurance quotes for your small business from leading U.S. insurers. EZ’s agents specialize in insurance for a wide range of small businesses. Working with our agents can save you hundreds of dollars a year on coverage.
Minnesota Workers’ Compensation FAQs
Are you required to have workers’ compensation insurance in Minnesota?
Yes, almost every business needs to have workers compensation insurance in your state. If you fail to meet Minnesota workers’ compensation insurance requirements, you may be ordered not to hire any new employees until you obtain coverage. You may also be fined up to $1,000 per employee, per week for failing to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
If one of your employees is injured or becomes ill while you were without insurance, you may be ordered to pay the employee’s workers’ compensation benefits back to the state, plus a penalty of 65% of those benefits. Other penalties may also apply.
How do workers’ compensation settlements work in Minnesota?
A workers’ compensation settlement is an agreement between the employer, the insurer, and the employee to resolve a workers’ compensation claim. Both the employee and the employer benefit from this.
There are two types of Minnesota workers’ compensation settlements:
To-date settlements: These workers’ compensation settlements only resolve issues up to the date of settlement. That means unresolved medical claims after the date of settlement could result in future benefits being paid.
Full and final settlements: These close the claim completely, but your employee might be able to continue submitting medical claims in certain circumstances.
All workers’ compensation settlements must be approved by a workers’ compensation judge at the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings.
What is the statute of limitations in Minnesota?
In Minnesota, the statute of limitations for workers’ compensation claims is three years from the date of injury or illness, as long as you, the employer, filed a First Report of Injury with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. If you did not file this report, the statute of limitations is six years from the date of the incident.
Why Use EZ
If you’re looking for workers’ compensation insurance, come to EZ. We pride ourselves on doing everything we can to give you an easy and stress-free shopping experience. We give our customers our full attention, and offer fully personalized service and fast results. As soon as you fill out our form, you will receive free quotes from one of our agents, who will understand your needs right from the start. We want to ensure that you make the best decision and get the best coverage for the best price. Our services are completely free so check out your personalized quotes today!
If you still have questions, feel free to give us a call at 877-670-3538. You will speak with a local insurance agent who can answer all of your questions, and help you find the workers’ compensation policy that works best for your business.
