Truckers On The Offensive™ #010 - Texas Mutual Out of State Coverage Issues

If you are not based in Texas or do not have Texas Mutual Insurance for your worker’s compensation, we are sorry but this week’s newsletter does not apply to you. However, you will not want to miss next week’s post! We dive into what caused the $10M verdict against the 114 power unit company Marvin Keller.

For those in Texas, with Texas Mutual:

For coverage to be provided to an employee injured outside of the state of Texas the following must be true:

• Employment is principally located in Texas

• Or, the employee has significant contacts with Texas. This requires the following:

  • Employee was hired or recruited in Texas and was injured within 1 year of the hire date.

  • Or, employee has worked in Texas for at least 10 working days during the 12 months preceding the date of injury.

Is this an issue for your company?

For most companies this is not a problem. Your employees, even if hired out of state, far exceed 10 working days in Texas for the prior 12-months. However, if you’re a company that has long-term projects out of state, this could be a big issue. There is a lawsuit between a Texas-based contractor and Texas Mutual where Texas Mutual denied a work comp claim due to the contractor hiring an employee in Florida for a job in Louisiana. You don’t want your company to have an injured employee and a denied worker’s compensation claim.

What is the solution?

An out-of-state policy can be facilitated by Texas Mutual to provide coverage for other states outside of Texas. If you even question whether your company should or should not have out-of-state coverage, we encourage you to consult with us. Feel free to call or reply to this email.