As you grow, you may be in a place to hire employees for your business. In doing so, we want you to be aware that with that comes recommendations (and in some states is required) such as obtaining a Workers’ Compensation Policy.
Workers' compensation is insurance that gives medical benefits and wage replacement to employees injured at work. For businesses with employees, it's crucial to have because it shields them from costly lawsuits by injured employees.
If a photography assistant is injured after falling at an on-location shoot, it can lead to expensive medical bills, not to mention lost time at work.
Workers’ compensation insurance can pay for medical expenses if an employee is injured at your photography studio or out on a shoot. It can cover ambulance rides, surgery, rehabilitation expenses, and part of the wages the employee would lose while unable to work.
Are you a sole proprietor? ****A sole proprietor is a business owner who owns and operates their business individually. The owner is solely responsible for all profits, losses, debts, and obligations related to the business. If so, you may not be required to purchase workers’ comp insurance, but you might want to consider buying coverage anyway.
Please reference the state below in which your business is established for guidelines.
If you are interested in obtaining a worker’s compensation policy we can send you the next steps on how to get a quote from Gusto. Outside policies are also allowed if you choose to look elsewhere.
Let your Accounting Specialist know if you set up a policy so we can make note and track the expenses accordingly.
There may be exceptions if the one sole employee is also the owner but that is state dependent. Please ask specifically if you need further clarification.