Simply stated, taking care of Missouri employers is what we do best. We do everything we can to help you understand your coverage needs and get the right policy, education and support to protect your business and employees. Read through the items below to gain a better understanding of workers compensation insurance in Missouri and how we can help. Be sure to also read through our Frequently Asked Questions for details on workers compensation calculations, benefits and more.

Coverage Requirements:

• Businesses with five or more full- or part-time employees are required by law to carry workers compensation insurance.
• Contracting businesses with one full- or part-time employee are required to carry workers compensation insurance.
• Sole proprietors and partners are excluded under the workers compensation statute unless they choose to be included.
• LLC members and corporate officers are considered employees in Missouri and are included in workers compensation coverage. LLC members have the option to exclude themselves from coverage in Missouri, but to do so, each LLC member must complete one of the LLC Rejection of Coverage forms, depending on whether the LLC Operating Agreement is an oral or written agreement.
• A general contractor is liable for any injuries to uninsured subcontractors or their uninsured employees and can require that subcontractors carry workers compensation insurance. 

Non-Missouri Exposures:
MEM offers workers compensation coverage for policyholders' exposures in other states. Coverage for exposures in all non-monopolistic states is offered through a fronting partnership with A-rated Argonaut Insurance Company.

Controlling Premiums:
Workers compensation premiums are calculated based on a number of factors including your occupational risk level (classification code), gross wage calculations (remuneration), and experience modification factor (e-mod). Your e-mod factor is calculated based on your actual loss experience compared to the expected loss experience for your industry type over the past three years, not including the most recent year.

The best way to reduce your workers compensation premium is with a long-term commitment to workplace safety. Consider this example:

Example: An account paying premium of $18,510 had an e-mod of 1.27. After experiencing no claims for the next four years, the account’s e-mod went down to .91, and premium went down 28 percent from the reduced e-mod alone.

MEM policyholders with premium $1,000–$10,000 may receive up to a 5 percent credit after being injury-free with MEM for five years. 

Policyholders with premium greater than $10,000 can receive up to a 10 percent credit for having a full-time, trained safety coordinator.

Certificate of Insurance:

• Provides a means to verify proof of insurance coverage.
• Shows the name of the certificate holder, policyholder, insurance company, policy number, type of insurance coverage and policy effective dates.
• Indicates whether the owner is included for coverage on the workers compensation policy. Note: The certificate holder should be sure this section is completed.

Policy Purchase:
To obtain workers compensation coverage, talk to your local insurance agent and request Missouri Employers Mutual as your carrier. To find an agent near you, use our agent finder.

Injury Reporting:
All work-related injuries, regardless of severity, need to be reported to your workers compensation provider, who is then required to report them to the state for tracking purposes. Note: To avoid affecting your experience modification, you may choose to pay claims out of pocket if they are less than $1,000 with not more than three days of lost time.

For occupational diseases to be covered by a workers compensation policy, the occupational disease must arise out of and have occurred during the course and scope of employment. It is compensable if the work-related exposure is the prevailing factor causing the condition and meets the requirements of an injury. It is not compensable merely because work was a triggering or precipitating factor.

Job-related injuries should be reported to an insurance provider within five days. Note: To ensure even more effective claims management, MEM encourages reporting within 24 hours.

There are four ways to submit a claim to MEM:

• Online
  
• Call 1.800.442.0593
• Fax 1.800.442.0597
• E-mail claims@mem-ins.com