Can I exclude owners and officers from workers’ comp coverage in Georgia?

If you’re ready to purchase Georgia workers’ compensation coverage for your business—but need help figuring out whether you’re allowed to exclude any of your upper leadership—we’ve got answers.

Remember, workers’ compensation insurance is an important part of your overall Georgia small business insurance portfolio. It pays out medical benefits and lost wages to injured employees suffering from a work-related injury or occupational disease. (Disability benefits, too, in worst-case scenarios.) Depending on the industry you’re in, an affordable workers’ comp insurance policy can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and millions of dollars in legal fees and medical care if an injured worker files a workers’ compensation claim.

Here’s how workers’ compensation insurance coverage and exclusion forms work in Georgia.

First off, your regular employees are covered

In Georgia, all your regular full-time and part-time employees are included in your company’s workers’ compensation policy. That’s not optional.

Under Georgia workers’ compensation law, there’s no way for regular employees (that is, the people you hire who aren’t partners or company officers) to opt out of coverage. No waivers, no exemption forms. (And honestly, that’s good for you.)

Is your business a corporation?

Your corporate officers will automatically be included in your workers’ comp policy if your business is a corporation. Up to 5 corporate officers can, however, choose to file for a workers’ comp exemption.

To remove themselves from the policy, they’ll need to fill out Form WC-10 and return it to you to file it with your insurer.

(Note: If you get your online business insurance service through Huckleberry, this process will be 100% online and easy.)

Is your business a sole proprietorship?

Are you classified as a sole proprietor? You’re automatically excluded from the workers’ comp policy. You can choose to be covered, though, by indicating as such on your application or, later, by filling out and submitting Form WC-10. (You should know that some insurance companies don’t insure sole proprietors working on their own, so ask your insurance carrier to find out what your options are.)

What about a partnership?

Partners are treated just like sole proprietors—they are automatically excluded from your workers’ comp policy. They won’t receive any workers’ compensation benefits. They can still get coverage, though, by—you guessed it—filling out a form.

Is your business a Limited Liability Company?

The members of your LLC are automatically included in your workers’ comp policy, but they can reject coverage by filling out the WC-10 form.

What if an officer rejects coverage and then changes their mind?

That’s possible—within certain legal limits. Suppose an executive officer, partner, or LLC member changes their mind about whether they want insurance coverage under your workers’ comp policy. In that case, they can fill out the WC-10 form again to request coverage. It’s all pretty straightforward.

Hey, we hope this was helpful. If you’re in the market for workers’ comp, Huckleberry can help you out in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. Tap here and use our workers' comp calculator and get an instant estimate. Everything’s online. Everything’s easy, whether you’re in Atlanta, Savannah, or Stone Mountain.