On the last Billboard Insider podcast Formetco’s Jim Poage said out of home companies should review their insurance policies to see if they cover workers who home office due to covid.  Insider asked two out of home insurers for their opinion and here’s what they said.

Brian Cone, The Cone Company, Inc.

I double-checked with a couple of higher-ups with 2 of the large Workers Comp funds here in Alabama…They handle each claim on a case by case basis and although most “at-home” claims have been denied or minimally covered, there have been a handful that have been covered. It sounds like the coverage decision comes down to where they most likely contracted it, which of course is as “best-guess-science” as many aspects of the pandemic have been so far……. Anyway, my advice is that if you have employees that are not family members or on a family plan, they should be covered by a WC policy, whether state laws require it based on number of employees or not. Her are some reasons:

1. It’s pretty cheap, especially for those that don’t install/maintain their signs with their own employees
2. WC is “no-fault coverage” – meaning there is rarely a legal fallout or headache. This also helps retain employees and helps them get back to work faster
3. Most OA’s have very small workforces, so even a few bad claims and a large rate hike would not cause an unbearable premium hike
4. It’s responsible to provide for your employees and therefore attracts better workers

Workers Comp quotes are really easy to obtain. In addition to basic company contact information, we would need the following items to provide a quote with 24-48 business hours:

• List of employees – and their SSN #’s
• The Payroll associated with each employee
• A brief description of each employees job title/function
• If you have employees in multiple states, please advise of that

Stu Lee, Outdoor Advertising Program Manager Bassler and Co Insurance

If an employee working at home contracts covid from a family member, it is possible the Work Comp coverage would kick in. The carrier, as always will do their due diligence, but I believe if an employee is working from home at the instruction of the company because of COVID, then the Work Comp should take care of their medical bills.

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