Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Protect Both Your Business and Employees
In our early years, there was no such thing as workers’ compensation insurance. Employees injured on the job sued their employers for relief — not a satisfactory path for either party. In 1915, Pennsylvania enacted workers’ compensation law, mandating coverage for all employers in the Commonwealth. Gilbert’s Risk Solutions has been helping employers manage their workers’ comp risk since those early days.
Workers’ Compensation is often called “The Grand Bargain” because it protects both you and your employees. If an employee is injured in the course and scope of work, it pays for medical care and temporary wage replacement while they’re unable to work. As the employer, you’re protected from work-related lawsuits because workers’ compensation is the employee’s “exclusive remedy.”
Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Insurance Requirements
Employers are legally required by OSHA to provide a safe and healthful workplace, free from hazards. Workers’ compensation insurance typically covers:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Rehabilitation costs
- Death benefits for dependents
While we’re proud to call Pennsylvania our home, we’ve helped businesses all across the country manage their risk, and we look forward to helping you too, no matter where you call home.
How to Control Your Workers' Comp Costs
Over our many years working with employers, we’ve learned best practices that help keep losses and problems to a minimum while helping employees recover and return to work expeditiously.
- Engage a risk manager
- Make a commitment to safety
- Monitor for compliance with safety regulations
- Educate employees about safety & workers’ compensation
- Train supervisors in roles & responsibilities
- Establish a safety committee
- Implement a Return to Work (RTW) program
- Set up a physician panel
- Promptly report any injuries that occur to the insurer and the state
- Refer injured workers to the Physician Panel
- Stay in communication with any out-of-work injured workers
- Help employees adjust to RTW transitional duty
What's Included in a Workers' Comp Insurance Policy
A standard workers’ comp insurance policy typically includes medical benefits, wage replacement, rehabilitation coverage, and employer liability protection — bundled together to protect both you and your employees under one policy.
Our Goal Is to Be Your Outsourced Risk Management Partner
Workers’ compensation is often a headache for employers — rising premiums, confusing classifications, and the stress of managing an injured employee’s recovery all at once. With the right risk management and loss control in place, it doesn’t need to be.
Industry-Specific Solutions
Our Loss Prevention Consultants are experts across a wide range of industry sectors, from complex, high-risk industries like oil and gas, to smaller shops with unique risks, like technology firms and nonprofit organizations. We work at all levels of your organization to implement controls, train staff, and drive continuous improvement.
360 Degree Approach
Once we’ve evaluated your risk, we work collaboratively with you to establish objectives, standards, and steps of engagement. Our workers’ comp team includes Loss Control, Risk Management, and Claims Managers, part of a larger service team that includes Benefit Managers, HR Consultants, Bond and Contract Specialists, and Training Specialists. We also tap into the resources of our 100+ insurance partners.
Our RISK SHIELD® Process
Gilbert’s Risk Solutions takes a consultative, risk management approach to your business. Our proprietary RISK SHIELD® Process identifies the extent of your organization’s exposures and puts a loss control plan in place to mitigate them. Often the solution is an insurance product, but frequently it’s a recommendation for a business process or security measure that reduces an exposure.
CONSULT
DESIGN
BUILDING
MAINTAIN
Workers’ Compensation Insurance FAQs
Yes, Pennsylvania has required workers' compensation coverage for employers since 1915, with very limited exceptions.
Report the injury promptly to your insurer and the state, refer the employee to your physician panel if applicable, and stay in communication throughout their recovery and return-to-work process.
Premiums are based on factors like your industry classification, payroll, and claims history — including your Experience Modification Rate (EMR), which reflects your company's loss history compared to industry averages.
Yes, implementing loss control measures, safety training, and return-to-work programs can meaningfully reduce claim frequency and severity, which lowers costs over time.
