Whenever one of your business’s employees gets behind the wheel of a car, there is a chance that an accident might happen. If it occurs while they’re on an official business errand, then they might be entitled to assistance from your company’s workers’ compensation insurance.
Though you must have commercial auto insurance in place in case of vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation insurance remains a separate, but no less essential, benefit. It will ensure that you have the ability to respond in the event that your employee ever gets hurt in a vehicle wreck. 
A Real-World Example
Suppose that you dispatch one of your employees on an errand, assignment or delivery project. Though you expect their trip to go off without a hitch, you can’t guarantee that something won’t go wrong.
If an accident were to happen, then the ramifications could be far-reaching. The employee driver might be at fault for the accident, the company vehicle might sustain damage and those involved might sustain injuries. In any event, the company will have to take responsibility for its own losses, and they can do so by filing a claim against their commercial auto insurance.
However, employee driver injuries often fall under the scope of your workers’ compensation benefits. Though these are separate from commercial auto insurance, they are no less important when it comes to providing injured drivers with support following accidents.
Why Businesses Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Occupational injuries, even those that come from a vehicle accident, could force an employee off the job. Not only might the injured employee face significant medical bills and other recovery costs, but they might also be unable to earn their regular paycheck.
It is workers’ compensation insurance that will help them out under these circumstances. This benefit will provide an injured employee with supplementary income, medical bill coverage and other assistance that will ease their burden throughout their recovery period.
How Workers’ Compensation Insurance Applies to Vehicle Accidents
An employee who is operating a vehicle a part of their working duties is performing work. Therefore, they will be entitled to workers’ compensation if they get hurt in a wreck. Even though the business owner might not be at fault for the accident itself, it still occurred on their watch. Therefore, they will need to be responsive to the driver’s losses.
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, however. For example, drivers will not qualify for workers’ compensation if they get injured in a wreck while commuting to work. They will also not qualify if they are driving a company car while they are officially off the clock.
Your commercial insurance provider will be there to explain all of the technicalities of workers’ compensation to you. Don’t hesitate to ask them precisely how benefits will apply to the injuries someone sustained in a company vehicle accident.