What is employers liability coverage and how does it differ from workers comp?

Workers compensation (Coverage A) pays statutory benefits to injured employees regardless of fault, as required by state law. Employers liability (Coverage B) is the section of your WC policy that covers lawsuits by employees alleging employer negligence that caused their injury, in situations where the workers compensation exclusive remedy does not apply. For tower contractors, employers liability is triggered in several scenarios: third-party-over (action-over) claims where the tower owner is sued by your employee and tenders back to you, dual-capacity claims, intentional tort allegations, and claims by employees in states where you have no WC coverage filed. Standard employers liability limits are $100,000/$500,000/$100,000 (each accident/disease policy limit/disease each employee). Tower MSAs typically require $1,000,000/$1,000,000/$1,000,000 employers liability limits. Increasing from standard to required limits is usually available by endorsement for modest additional premium. This is separate from and in addition to your workers compensation statutory coverage. The umbrella policy typically sits excess of employers liability limits, not excess of the WC statutory benefits, which are unlimited by nature. Confirm your umbrella follows form over the employers liability section.