Accident insurance

Your accident insurance policy covers you and your worker for any work-related injury or illness a worker might experience.

There are many different types of injuries covered by your policy. They include:

• physical injuries, like lacerations, fractures, burns
• mental injuries
• injuries that happen over time, like industrial deafness
• injuries that take a long time to show symptoms, like Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis or silicosis
• aggravation of a pre-existing condition
• death from an injury or disease.

Injuries that happen travelling to or from work, while on a break from work, or while working interstate or overseas, may also be covered.

Employees might be covered while working from home, as long as their employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury.

WorkCover considers each case individually. If you have specific queries, call us on 1300 362 128.

If a claim is accepted, your accident insurance policy covers your worker’s:

• lost wages
• medical costs, for example doctor consultations, medication, x-rays
• hospital costs (public and private)
• rehabilitation costs like physiotherapy or return to work programs
• travel expenses relating to treatment or the claim
• lump sum payments
• death benefits and funeral expenses.

The only statutory claim cost you’ll have to pay is the excess as outlined above.

Common law claims happen when your injured worker sues you for damages by submitting a notice of claim. This is when they believe you were at fault in causing their injury.

Your accident insurance policy covers you for the full cost of any common law claim which can include your worker’s:

• past and future loss of income
• treatment and other medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses
• legal costs
• pain and suffering.

Compensation is generally paid as a settlement to your worker to cover the above.

Your policy also covers your legal costs .

Taking out an Accident Insurance Policy with WorkCover only takes 5 – 15 minutes of your time. You can either apply for a policy online or call us on 1300 362 128.

Any authorised person from your business can set up a policy. This could be a director of the company, a finance officer, or your wife/husband if you're a sole trader.

If your workers are paid by a trust, we require the trustee's information as they’ll be the policyholder.

What information do I need to provide?

You’ll need the following information to apply for your policy:

• the date your employees will start working
• wages information from today until the end of the current financial year
• a short description of your business's primary business activity to establish your WorkCover industry classification (WIC)
• Australian Business Number (ABN) if you have one
• Australian Company Number (ACN) if you have one
• GST status and GST certificate if available
• Your workplace details, including the business or trading name and physical address.

Your certificate of currency confirms that you hold a current WorkCover Queensland policy.

The certificate shows your business entity's name, ABN/ACN (if you have them), and your period of insurance.

You can login to WorkCover Connect at any time to obtain your certificate of currency or call us on 1300 362 128 to get a copy.

We can only provide access to your own certificate of currency. If you'd like to see another employer's certificate, you'll need to request it from them.

If you no longer employ workers in Queensland, you can cancel your policy using WorkCover Connect or call us on 1300 362 128.

You'll need to know:

• the date you last employed a worker
• your actual wages for the financial year you stopped employing.

There is a minimum premium payable on all policies even if you do not employ.

The minimum premium amount is $200 per annum, pro-rata to $50 quarterly if you cancel your policy throughout the financial year.