The safety of your employees is always important, but the ripple effect and hidden costs of a workplace injury can take a major toll on the financial stability of your business.

Accidents happen, and the direct costs to a company when an incident occurs are readily apparent. What many business owners don’t realize, however, are the indirect costs associated with Worker’s Compensation claims. According to OSHA, the discrepancy between the indirect costs and direct costs can sometimes be as high as 20 to 1. Indirect costs may include:

• Cost of hiring and training a replacement worker
• Any wages paid to an injured employee for absences outside of workers’ comp
• Overtime costs
• Cost of investigating and remedying cause of injury to prevent further incidences
• Lost productivity due to rescheduling
• Administrative time handling the claim
• Time spent handling the claim and the injury
• Repair or replacement of damaged property or equipment
• Legal expenses or fines incurred

These are just a few of the myriad unseen costs of a workplace injury. Here in Maine, the wide range of industries makes computing average costs difficult, but one fact remains: being prepared to deal with the costs of a workers’ compensation claim is vital to effectively managing your business.

At United Insurance, we’re dedicated to helping you understand and control your risk. Your insurance agent should be well acquainted with the different facets of your company, and should be able to provide you with an accurate assessment of how a workplace injury will affect you and your business operations.

For more information about the direct and indirect costs of Workers’ Compensation claims, give your agent a call today.