Workers Compensation Insurance for Homeowner Associations
Do unit owners ever roll the HOA’s trash bins to the curb on garbage day?
Do unit owners ever volunteer to help with small projects at your HOA?
Do Board Members ever drive their car on errands for the HOA?
Do landscapers ever let their Work Comp insurance go out of force?
Any of these situations can lead to an HOA “work-related” injury… and guess who becomes the default Employer?
That’s right! Your HOA can easily become liable for medical bills and loss of wages; potentially tens of thousands of dollars.
Purchasing a low-cost Workers Compensation policy for your Homeowners Association is highly recommended for multiple reasons. Board or Committee members can be accidentally injured while conducting association business. A vendor, such as a handyman cleaning gutters can be injured and then by “Order of Law” be declared an employee of the association (rather than an independent contractor). A landscaper’s work comp policy could go out of force and then a gardener could be injured. In addition, Case Law has held both the association and the management company to be personally liable to pay medical bills and loss of wages when an injury occurred and the HOA did not have work comp coverage.
An ambulance ride and an overnight stay in a hospital can easily hit $10,000. Is your HOA ready to pay… or is a low-cost work comp policy a better option? There are many considerations… such as how to get individual Volunteers covered by the HOA’s work comp policy. Call us for a discussion about the pros and cons.
