Nebraska Workers' Compensation Requirements
All employers who employ one or more employees must carry workers’ compensation coverage in the state of Nebraska.
Sole Proprietors, Partners and LLC Members are excluded from coverage by default, but may elect to be included.
To be included for coverage sole proprietors and partners must file a written election with the insurance company where workers’ compensation is obtained in order to be included in coverage.
Corporate Officers are automatically included for coverage, but may elect to be exempt if certain requirements are met.
Corporate Officers who own more than 25 percent of the common stock are not considered employees and do not have to be included for coverage.
Corporate Officers of a non-profit who are compensated $1,000.00 or less are not considered employees and may be excluded from coverage.
Nebraska Workers' Compensation Forms
Nebraska First Report of Injury Form
Nebraska First Report of Injury Form. Employers should complete this form and send to their insurance company each time an injury occurs
Nebraska Application for Election and Exclusion of Officers and Stockholders
Owners and Officers of corporations should complete this form to include or exclude themselves from a work comp policy.
Workers' Comp Exemptions in Nebraska
Sole Proprietors and Partners who are included for coverage must do so at a payroll rate of $44,500.
Corporate Officers and LLC Members who are included for coverage must do so at a rate of no less than $850 per week ($44,200 Annual) and no more than $3,400 per week ($176,800 Annual).
Workers' Comp Verification
How is Workers' Comp Calculated?
Workers’ compensation is a commercial insurance product categorized as Property & Casualty insurance (P&C Insurance). Even though workers’ comp is calculated using estimated payroll wages and class codes, premium is still a separate business expense from the cost of payroll. Nebraska Employers may treat the cost of coverage as an expense on their taxes.
Work comp rates for all job classification codes are always expressed as a percentage of $100 in wages. An annual policy is always subject to an audit because it was based on estimated wages and not actual wages.
Here is an example using two class codes with different estimated payroll for each class code:
In order to calculate the cost of the policy you only need to multiply each rate with its divided payroll. It benefits employers to re-calculate their premium as their payroll becomes larger than originally anticipated.
Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance
Every state has their own laws to determine how employees must be covered and how they must be classified for rating premium. A lot of states use state specific class codes and have different requirements for who is obligated to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
If you have employees that travel out of state for work, or they work in multiple states throughout the year, you may need to buy a policy for each of the states where your employees are located and working. In most cases, you can cover multiple states on one policy.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Nebraska can be purchased from private insurance companies authorized by the state to provide coverage. The Assigned Risk Pool, or an alternate State Insurance Fund, is available for businesses that are unable to find coverage from a private company. Our specialists help will help you navigate your best options.
Policy premium is based on numerous factors including: class codes assigned to your business and employees, estimated payroll, covered states, prior policies, owner experience and previous workers compensation claims.
What Does Nebraska Workers' Comp Cover?
Workers’ comp insurance pays for the medical expenses associated with claims or injured workers. The cost of an ER visit, required surgeries and drug prescriptions are some of the covered expenses included under a policy. An employee injured due to a slip and fall would be covered, for example. Coverage for medical benefits can also include longer term expenses such as physical therapy or rehabilitation.
Sometimes an injury can cause a partial disability or a more permanent disability. Workers’ compensation steps in to help pay the cost of ongoing medical bills and may even replace a portion of wages lost due to the disability. If an employee had a finger amputated due to a work related injury. The employee could be paid a sum (known as an Impairment Rating) for the loss of the finger for permanent disability as well as some temporary disability coverage while recuperating.
Workers’ compensation coverage is a No-Fault system designed to prevent costly employee lawsuits related to on-the-job-injuries. Many state provisions include Exclusive Remedy rules that protect covered businesses from these lawsuits in exchange for providing workers’ comp coverage for their employees. Claims should be reported to a supervisor with 30 days. Employers should also report any claims or accidents to their insurance company within 30 days from notification
How Does Workers' Comp Work?
Workers' comp coverage protects employees when injured. It makes good financial sense for both parties.
- Loss of income for employees unable to perform job duties
- Medical expenses for employees injured on the job
- Retraining expenses for employees unable to return
- Permanent injury or disability for lasting injuries
- Survivor benefits if employees are killed on the job
Coverage does not protect employers from everything. Sometimes employees and employers can be negligent.
- Injuries resulting from a violation of the law
- Incidents resulting from employees' use fo drugs or alcohol
- Injuries that did not occur in connection with the job
- Clear company policy violations
- Injuries that did not occur in connection with the job