What it does
WC 00 00 00 C (Ed. 1-15) is the policy jacket text used with almost every workers compensation account. It has a General Section and six Parts. The General Section makes the policy a contract between the employer named in Item 1 of the Information Page and the insurer, defines "workers compensation law" as the compensation and occupational disease law of the states in Item 3.A., and expressly leaves out federal compensation laws and nonoccupational disability benefit laws. Those federal exposures are added only by endorsement (the WC 00 01 series and WC 00 02 01).
- Part One – Workers Compensation Insurance: the insurer pays promptly when due the benefits the Item 3.A. state laws require of the employer, defends benefit claims, and pays defense-related costs. There is no dollar limit. Injury by accident must happen during the policy period; for disease, the employee's last day of last exposure must fall in the policy period. Payments beyond regular benefits caused by the employer's serious and willful misconduct, knowingly illegal employment, safety-law violations or discriminatory discharge are the employer's responsibility.
- Part Two – Employers Liability Insurance: pays damages the employer legally owes for employee bodily injury outside the compensation system, including third-party-over actions, care and loss of services, consequential injury to family members, and "dual capacity" claims. Limits come from Item 3.B. (each accident, disease policy limit, disease each employee). Twelve exclusions remove, among other things, contractually assumed liability, punitive damages for illegally employed workers, employment-practices claims, federal-act exposures (USL&H, Defense Base, OCSLA, FELA, mine act), vessel crew members, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act damages.
- Part Three – Other States Insurance: applies only to states listed in Item 3.C. If work begins there after the effective date, the policy responds as if that state were in 3.A. Work that already exists on the effective date in an unlisted state is not covered unless the insurer is told within thirty days.
- Parts Four to Six: duties after injury, premium (manual rates, reclassification, remuneration as the premium basis, audit up to three years after expiration, short-rate return if the insured cancels), and conditions (inspection, long-term policies treated as annual, ten days' notice when the insurer cancels).
Who needs it
Every employer with employees subject to a state compensation act. In the monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, Wyoming) the state fund writes Part One; private policies there are limited to employers liability through WC 00 03 03. California issues its policies with WCIRB forms such as the California Information Page (WC 04 00 01) and California Amendatory Endorsement (WC 04 03 01).
Quoting and selling notes
- Get every state where employees live, travel or work. Item 3.A. states get full coverage; 3.C. is only a backstop and does not cover exposures known at inception.
- Subcontractor payroll: under Part Five, remuneration paid to uninsured subcontractors' workers becomes premium basis unless the insured shows proof that those employers lawfully secured coverage. Collect certificates before audit.
- Employers liability limits are scheduled, not statutory. When an umbrella or excess policy sits above, set Item 3.B. to the underlying limits it requires.
- Maritime, longshore, rail, mine and overseas exposures are excluded until the matching federal endorsement is attached.
Related forms
Information Page WC 00 00 01; waiver WC 00 03 13; stop gap WC 00 03 03; USL&H WC 00 01 06; maritime WC 00 02 01; terrorism disclosure WC 00 04 22.
