any experance with health insurance

talked to a lawyer today about if a person gets hurt away from your job. The main question is simple 1 way of geting hurt say cutting wood if im cutting for house im covered but say i was cleaning up for the farm im not covered afterall a farm is a buisness that should have workmans comp i have asked a lot of people and got very few answers and i have seen insurance denied .it makes you wonder if your like me and run a few acres and rent the rest what would happen anybody get into that spot?

I heard from someone whose insurance agent asked about workmans comp and the "business" side of the company said you have to have it and the "household" side said no you don't and both sides were able to point to the place in a big book of regulations that said their way was right. It is a big mess any way you look at it, it seems to me.
Zach

(quoted from post at 20:16:53 12/12/13) talked to a lawyer today about if a person gets hurt away from your job. The main question is simple 1 way of geting hurt say cutting wood if im cutting for house im covered but say i was cleaning up for the farm im not covered afterall a farm is a buisness that should have workmans comp i have asked a lot of people and got very few answers and i have seen insurance denied .it makes you wonder if your like me and run a few acres and rent the rest what would happen anybody get into that spot?

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As a former adjuster, following the letter of the law in my state, if you work off farm and are injured running your farm it is considered a separate business that should have it's own insurance. Now that being said most insurance companies would not follow all of the laws to a tee because of bad press but some will. If you shopped around for bargain basement insurance you could be in real trouble. A lot would depend on the company and the adjuster. I know one guy who's loyalty is to the company only and he thinks that he should look for reasons to deny a claim. Thankfully those are few and far between.

Rick

I am not an insurance expert, so this is not "absolute" information. I do believe that the workman comp rules vary by state, and do change over time.

In the late 70's I was a subcontractor for residential carpentry. I hired a couple of carpenters and worked on the job myself. A scaffold broke and I rolled backwards falling 16 ft to paved driveway. Luckily I did not break my back or neck, but did make a broken mess of my right arm. I had been paying workman's comp (exceeding 25% of my payroll) over a 3 year contract. WOOPS! Workman's comp only covered my employees, not me (that would have doubled my premiums). Never had a claim by any employees, and my own claim was denied. I took a real loss on that job as I had to hire another foreman, and he wasn't a good foreman. As a follow-up, I dropped the WC at the end of that contract year and was harassed by the State of MN to get another workman's comp contract. I sent them a letter stating that I would not be hiring any employees, any work that I might take on, I'd be doing by myself.

Now as a farm owner without employees, I have never heard of workman's comp being needed for a farm. The exemption of need for W.C. extends to your family members, as I understand the current law. I do have a farm ins agent and pay for a policy for liability and personal injury. It is a broad farm policy with a major nationwide ins co.

Maybe the laws are different in your state??.

Paul in MN

Why would a self-employed farmer with no employees have worker"s comp? His personal insurance covers the issue.

(quoted from post at 23:27:03 12/12/13) Why would a self-employed farmer with no employees have worker"s comp? His personal insurance covers the issue.

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That's true. But your workman's comp from your "day job" will not cover. Health insurance from an employer should. But I can see some of the smaller health insurers trying to deny a claim be cause you were "working a separate job" and they could claim that the 2nd job, in this case, your farm should have WC coverage insurance.

The thing is you need to both talk to your agent and in some states a lawyer who specializes in insurance law. In MN the requirement to become an agent isn't too tuff. You really don't have to know much about the laws, just the different types of policies. Getting a job as an adjuster with an insurance company requires little or no training. Getting an independent adjusters license requires a difficult test and a great deal of knowledge about insurance and MN insurance law. My insurance agent is a good guy but isn't nearly as knowledgeable about MN insurance law as he would like to think.

Everyone should read all of their policies. Then if there is something you don't understand ask your agent. If you still don't understand talk to a lawyer. The time to understand your policy is not when your are laying in a hospital bed or kicking through the ashes of your shop/home. We are all on the internet here. Research your company. Some are much better than others. You may need to find another carrier just to protect yourself.

Some insurance companies are selling policies on line that may not be legal in your state. Again Google is your friend.

Rick

thanks for the sugestions it sounds like i thought maybe. just had a funny moment when i read a farmer is selfemployed with no employees so what is he kinda trick question because you have one yourself

I had an independent transmission shop that I liked. Saw the owner in a neck brace, just before he sold to the big corporate transmission shop. He had been test driving a customers car, was in an accident. He did not have workmans compensation on himself, other guy was at fault, but his insurance would not cover his medical expenses. He had to sell to pay his bills!