Workers' compensation is the single most distinctive topic on any Ohio insurance exam, because Ohio is a monopolistic (exclusive) state fund state. Employers cannot buy workers' comp from a private insurance company; they must obtain it from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) or qualify to self-insure. This standalone guide explains the national grand-bargain fundamentals, then drives home the Ohio system and the stop-gap / Employers Liability gap that a monopolistic state creates. Expect several questions here—this is heavily tested.

The national fundamentals (quick version)

Across the country, workers' compensation rests on the "grand bargain" or exclusive remedy doctrine:

• Employees give up the right to sue their employer over a job-related injury.
• In exchange, employers provide guaranteed, no-fault benefits—medical care, lost wages, rehabilitation, and death benefits—regardless of fault.

Covered injuries are those arising out of and in the course of employment (AOE/COE), including sudden accidents and occupational diseases. A standard private workers' comp policy contains two coverages: Coverage A (statutory benefits, no dollar limit) and Coverage B (Employers Liability, with limits). Most of this is true in Ohio too—but the way employers obtain Coverage A is fundamentally different.

The Ohio signature rule: a MONOPOLISTIC state fund

Ohio is one of a handful of monopolistic states. The headline facts—and the most heavily tested points—are:

• Employers cannot purchase workers' compensation from private insurers operating in Ohio.
• They must obtain coverage through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), the state-run fund.
• Large, financially qualified employers may apply to self-insure instead of paying into the state fund.
• Coverage is mandatory for employers with employees—this is not an elective system.

In a competitive state, a private carrier sells the comp policy. In Ohio, the state is the carrier for Coverage A. Memorize the short list of historically monopolistic states—Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming—because the exam loves to ask which states run an exclusive fund.

The Industrial Commission of Ohio

Two state bodies share the work, and the exam expects you to tell them apart:

• The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) collects premiums, sets rates, and pays benefits—it is the insurer and administrator.
• The Industrial Commission of Ohio (IC) is the adjudicator: it hears disputed claims and appeals and resolves contested issues between injured workers and employers.

Do not merge the two. BWC = funding and benefit delivery; the Industrial Commission = disputes and appeals.

The stop-gap gap: why Coverage B still matters

This is the concept Ohio exams test hardest, so make it stick. The state fund (BWC) provides Coverage A — the statutory benefits only. It does not provide Coverage B (Employers Liability), which pays for lawsuits that fall outside the no-fault comp system—third-party-over actions, consequential bodily injury, loss of consortium, and dual-capacity claims.

Because of that gap, an Ohio employer needs to buy Employers Liability / "stop-gap" coverage separately:

• It is added by endorsement to the employer's Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy or written on a separate policy.
• It fills the "stop-gap"—the Coverage B protection that a private comp policy would normally include but the monopolistic state fund does not.
• Without it, the employer is exposed to liability suits the BWC will not pay.

On the exam: in a monopolistic state, Coverage A comes from the state fund, and Coverage B (Employers Liability) must be arranged privately as stop-gap coverage.

Benefits for injured Ohio workers

When an injury is compensable, BWC delivers benefits in recognizable categories:

• Medical benefits — reasonable and necessary treatment for the work injury, generally with no dollar cap.
• Temporary total / temporary partial — wage replacement while the worker recovers and is off work or earning less.
• Permanent partial / permanent total — benefits for lasting impairment, based on the degree and nature of the disability.
• Death and survivor benefits — payments to eligible dependents plus a burial allowance.

Wage-replacement benefits are calculated from the worker's average weekly wage, subject to state maximums and minimums set by BWC. Because those caps change periodically, focus on the benefit categories and the funding structure rather than memorizing a dollar figure.

Key Ohio numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Ohio workers' comp is monopolistic—private insurers cannot sell it. Any answer saying an employer buys comp from a private carrier in Ohio is wrong.
• The state fund provides Coverage A only. Employers must add Coverage B (Employers Liability) as stop-gap coverage separately—the single most tested Ohio point.
• BWC vs. the Industrial Commission: BWC funds and pays; the Industrial Commission decides disputes and appeals.
• Monopolistic ≠ elective. Ohio comp is mandatory; don't confuse it with Texas's elective (non-subscriber) system.
• Large employers may self-insure, but small employers cannot simply opt out.
• Stop-gap is usually an endorsement to the CGL, not part of the state-fund coverage.

Quick recap

• Ohio is a monopolistic state-fund workers' comp state: employers buy coverage from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) or qualify to self-insure—never from a private insurer.
• The Industrial Commission of Ohio adjudicates disputed claims and appeals, while BWC handles premiums and benefit payments.
• The state fund supplies Coverage A (statutory benefits) only; employers must obtain Coverage B (Employers Liability) as "stop-gap" coverage, typically endorsed onto their CGL policy.
• Benefits include medical (no cap), temporary and permanent disability, and death/survivor benefits based on average weekly wage.
• Remember the four classic monopolistic states—Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, Wyoming—and that Ohio comp is mandatory, not elective.