Maryland health insurance and workers compensation question?

[delton]

I live in Maryland and am starting a roofing business. I have health insurance that costs about 300 a month through blue cross blue shield. Can I just not include myself in the workers comp policy for my business (thereby reducing the policy by about 66%). Is this a legit idea or will health insurance in maryland not cover on the job injuries? (I ask "will health insurance in maryland not cover on the job injuries because the laws vary from state to state on whether this can be done)

[wilbart]

They will deny coverage...period. As soon as they find out that you are a self employed roofer, they will question your claim. You could lie and say it didn't happen at work, but it simply will not work out in the long run. They will catch it. Yeah, you could probably get away with something small (which isn't really why we buy insurance). You need insurance for the major injuries and anything major will be denied when they realize that the injury happened on the job.

I have seen very similar situation in the past before. A roofer's rate is about 30% of payroll these days and NO insurance company wants to pick up the exposure without getting the premium.

If you work for any general contractors, they will catch this by the way.

Lastly, workers comp pays lost wages in additional to medical bills; don't forget that.

[curran]

You are not covered by Workmans Comp if this is your business. Workmans Comp protects employees not the boss.

[bean]

$300/month? Are you 50 years old or is that the price for your whole family?

Health insurance won't cover if worker's comp covers, but if there is no worker's comp then they will cover so long as it's a covered expense.

These are questions for your health insurance broker. And, if you're using one, they will be able to make sure you have the right plan.

[denys]

Yes, you can exclude executive officers or sole proprietors from the workers compensation coverage.

Yes, your health insurance policy most likely DOES exclude coverage for work related injuries, even if you aren't covered by workers comp. This is a standard exclusion in EVERY state I've ever worked in.

Additionally, it's probably not going to save you 66%. You've got the "roofing minimum premium", regardless of how low your rating payrolls are, and you've got your executive officer payroll maximum. Between the two of those, if you revise your quote, I think you'll be unpleasantly surprised by how little the premium actually goes down.