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Is Workers' Comp Required in Arkansas?

Arkansas Workers' Compensation Requirements

    Most employers with 3 or more employees are required to buy workers' compensation coverage in the state of Arkansas.

    Sole Proprietors, Partners, Corporate Officers and LLC Members are all included in coverage, but may elect to be exempt.

    Exclusion forms in the state of Arkansas are company specific. It is important that you check with your insurance company to ensure you are completing the correct rejection form if electing to exclude yourself.

    When an Arkansas employee is working temporarily in another state, workers' comp coverage for that worker is governed by the provisions found in Arkansas statutes. Not all states allow benefits to be transferred back to the primary state. Reciprocity governs coverage for a worker from another state who is working temporarily in Arkansas.

    The Arkansas State Insurance Fund is managed by NCCI.

Workers' Comp Exemptions in Arkansas

    Exemptions are straight-forward in Arkansas. No forms need to be filed with the state. The Acord 130 workers' comp application should lists any excluded owners for the policy.

    When Sole Proprietors, Partners and LLC members are included for coverage they must do so using and annual payroll amount of $51,100.

    Corporate Officers who are included under their workers' comp policy must do so at a payroll minimum of $52,000 and a payroll maximum of $202,800. These minimum and maximum payroll requirments became effective as of 07/01/2023.

Arkansas Workers' Compensation Coverage Verification

    The state of Arkansas provides a free online tool for verifying workers' compensation insurance coverage. Anyone can search by business name or FEIN. The results will only show the business name and policy number for employers who have coverage in the state being searched. The information is managed by the Arkansas Workers' COmpensation Commission.

    AR workers' compensation verification tool


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How is Workers' Comp Calculated?

Workers' compensation is a commercial insurance product categorized as Property & Casualty insurance (P&C Insurance). Even though workers' comp is calculated using estimated payroll wages and class codes, premium is still a separate business expense from the cost of payroll. Arkansas Employers may treat the cost of coverage as an expense on their taxes.

Work comp rates for all job classification codes are always expressed as a percentage of $100 in wages. An annual policy is always subject to an audit because it was based on estimated wages and not actual wages.

Here is an example using two class codes with different estimated payroll for each class code:

Class Code Insurance Companies Rate Per $100 Estimated Annual Payroll Divide Payroll by 100
8810 Clerical $0.28 base manual rate $25,000  (25000 divided by 100) 250
8835 Home Health Care $1.75 base manual rate $100,000  (100000 divided by 100) 1000

In order to calculate the cost of the policy you only need to multiply each rate with its divided payroll. It benefits employers to re-calculate their premium as their payroll becomes larger than originally anticipated.

Class Code Workers' Comp Calculator Estimated Premium
8810 Clerical $0.28 X 250 $70.00
8835 Home Health Care $1.75 X 1000 $1,750.00

* Additional premium costs may also include an expenses constant, terrorism charges, catastrophe charges and other state surcharges such as a second injury fund or other state assessment fees.

Arkansas Workers' Compensation Insurance

Every state has their own laws to determine how employees must be covered and how they must be classified for rating premium. A lot of states use state specific class codes and have different requirements for who is obligated to carry workers' compensation insurance.

If you have employees that travel out of state for work, or they work in multiple states throughout the year, you may need to buy a policy for each of the states where your employees are located and working. In most cases, you can cover multiple states on one policy.

Workers' Compensation Insurance in Arkansas can be purchased from private insurance companies authorized by the state to provide coverage. The Assigned Risk Pool, or an alternate State Insurance Fund, is available for businesses that are unable to find coverage from a private company. Our specialists help will help you navigate your best options.

Policy premium is based on numerous factors including: class codes assigned to your business and employees, estimated payroll, covered states, prior policies, owner experience and previous workers compensation claims.

See Arkansas workers' comp insurance laws

What Does Arkansas Workers' Comp Cover?

Arkansas workers' compensation insurance helps pay claim expenses when an employee, or a covered sub-contractor, is injured while working for your business. It also shields your business from other legal liabilities associated with an injured employee. Work comp coverage includes:

Medical Costs

Workers' comp insurance pays for the medical expenses associated with claims or injured workers. The cost of an ER visit, required surgeries and drug prescriptions are some of the covered expenses included under a policy. An employee injured due to a slip and fall would be covered, for example. Coverage for medical benefits can also include longer term expenses such as physical therapy or rehabilitation.

Employee Wages- Income Benefits

Most business owners can't afford to continue paying employees if they are unable to work while they are injured. Workers' comp income benefits in Arkansas will replace most of your employees missing income if they are away from work due to an injury or illness. For example, if a construction employee broke his arm and could not perform the job for 8 weeks, the coverage would make payments to the employee to help replace the lost wages.

Short-Term and Long-Term Disabilities

Sometimes an injury can cause a partial disability or a more permanent disability. Workers' compensation steps in to help pay the cost of ongoing medical bills and may even replace a portion of wages lost due to the disability. If an employee had a finger amputated due to a work related injury. The employee could be paid a sum (known as an Impairment Rating) for the loss of the finger for permanent disability as well as some temporary disability coverage while recuperating.

Occupational Illness

Some types of work environments can include occupational exposures that have unforeseen circumstances. A chemical mixing operation, for example, may expose employees to chemical irritants and cause harmful reactions that make them sick. A workers' comp policy would cover the cost of treating an illness caused while performing the job.

Funeral Expenses

Nearly 50,000 deaths happen at work each year. Many of these are in the construction and trucking industries. A workers' compensation policy is designed to cover the cost of these funerals and to provide death benefits to the employees family. State guidelines often determine the dollar amount of coverage.

Workers' compensation coverage is a No-Fault system designed to prevent costly employee lawsuits related to on-the-job-injuries. Many state provisions include Exclusive Remedy rules that protect covered businesses from these lawsuits in exchange for providing workers' comp coverage for their employees. Claims should be reported to a supervisor with 30 days. Employers should also report any claims or accidents to their insurance company within 30 days from notification.

How Does Workers' Comp Work?

Workers' comp insurance covers business costs associated with injured employees and from legal liability.
Workers' comp coverage protects employees when injured. It makes good financial sense for both parties.
Injuries and accidents happen. A workers' comp policy is a no-fault system that pays for these accidents and claims. It's required by law in most states.
  • Lost income for workers who can't perform job duties
  • Medical expenses for injury or illness on the job
  • Retraining expenses for employees unable to return
  • Permanent injury or disability for lasting injuries
  • Survivor benefits if employees are killed on the job
Coverage does not protect employers from everything. Sometimes employees and employers can be negligent.
Workers' comp does not cover negligence or injuries caused when breaking the law.
In some instances, workers' compensation coverage will not protect employers or employees from the legal liability resulting from a workplace injury.
  • Injuries resulting from a violation of the law
  • Accidents resulting from using drugs or alcohol
  • Injuries that did not occur in connection with the job
  • Clear company policy violations
  • Injuries that did not occur in connection with the job

Enjoy the benefits of our Pay As You Go Workers' Comp Options in Arkansas.

$O Deposit or Minimum Down

We've developed Pay As You Go workers' compensation programs that reduce or eliminate premium deposits and allow Arkansas employers to report and pay premium based on actual payroll wages. Protect your business from audits.

Lower Monthly Payments

We've negotiated special deals with many of our insurance partners. We offer more flexible payment options, like 12 equal installments plans and monthly reporting programs, to help improve cash flow for our business owners.

Free No-risk Quotes

Give us 10-15 minutes and we'll get to work finding your very best deal on work comp coverage. We work with some of the lowest priced workers' compensation insurance carriers doing business in Arkansas.

Get Better Arkansas Workers' Compensation Quotes

AR Workers' Comp Specialists

Rates on Workers' Compensation Coverage in Arkansas are some of the lowest in the nation. On average they are 51% clower than the rest of the country, making it the third cheapest state in the country to purchase workers' comp coverage. Still many businesses are not taking full advantage of all the programs available to help them save on their work comp coverage.

Help with AR Class Codes

Insurance rates vary significantly between NCCI classification codes. Let our AR Workers' Compensation Specialists help you determine your correct workers' compensation class codes before you buy a policy. We'll help make sure your business is properly covered.

Fast Workers' Comp Quotes

We make the process of getting workers' compensation quotes fast and easy. We know your time is valuable. That's why we work harder to streamline the quote process, compare your rates and coverages, and present your best options as quickly as possible. We often have your insurance quotes ready in less than 24 hours.

Compare Rates With More Carriers

We're a National Agency, and we have tons of carriers offering work comp in Arkansas. We have access to over 35 insurance companies with a diverse appetite and competitive rates. Our markets know we expect the lowest rates, bigger discounts, and more policy credits when we request a quote.

THE RIGHT QUOTE MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

A BETTER WAY TO BUY
WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE

Did you know that the cost of a workers' comp policy in Arkansas can vary significantly between insurance company, underwriter, and insurance agency?
Find the best deal on workers compensation insurance.
Visit NCCI for more resources and information about workers' compensation class codes. Visit United States Department of Labor for more information about government agencies managing workers compensation insurance rates.

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