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WCB Coverage – It’s a Must…Sometimes Even as a Homeowner

It can be confusing at times to know when you need WCB coverage, especially as a homeowner. Even as a contractor, trying to figure out what you need to do to meet WCB regulations and requirements can be a bit like doing your taxes – a pain in the #!s. However, like taxes, you have to do it right, or you could end up in hot water, and with WCB, failure to have coverage when it is required can put you at a very high financial risk – or worse.

If you are required to register and don’t, you could be fined and charged the total compensation costs of an injury should one of your workers, or worker on your property be injured, plus retroactive insurance premiums. In some cases, if an injury is due to negligence on your part, you could face other fines and charges.  These fines can get as high as $1,200,000 in severe cases (workers death due to negligence), and could include both fine and imprisonment  – not something you want to mess with!

In most cases, if you are a business owner with employees, you will need WCB coverage. Even if you are self-employed and work alone, you should have WCB Personal Optional Protection (POP). 90% of the time, if you are working on another persons property or have people work on your property, or are building your own home – you probably need WCB coverage. However, there are some cases where you do not need coverage as outlined below (copied from WCB website):

Who is exempt from registering with WorkSafeBC (WCB):

You’re exempt if:

• You’re the owner or occupier of a private residence (see registration information for Homeowners and Residential Employers) and:
  • You regularly employ a person or firm for an average of less than eight working hours a week
  • You employ a person or firm to provide before and after school care for your children for an average of less than 15 working hours a week
  • You employ a person or firm to do a specific job or jobs for a temporary period of less than 24 working hours. In determining how long a job takes, it is the total person-hours for the job that is relevant. For example, if three workers work for nine hours each, WorkSafeBC considers that job to be for a period of 27 hours.
• You or your spouse own an unincorporated business and don’t employ workers (spouses include common-law and same sex spouses)
• You own an incorporated personal financial holding company and you don’t employ workers other than the principal shareholders. The activities of your company are restricted to the management of personal investments such as:
  • Investments in publicly-traded stocks and bonds
  • Interest bearing financial instruments such as GICs (Guaranteed Investment Certificates)
  • Non-revenue producing land, buildings and/or equipment where there is no development, construction or direct rental activity

Clearance Letters – Must Have Documents!

If you do not fit into the above exemptions, it is possible you need coverage. It is also “Your” responsibility to make sure anyone working on your property has the proper coverage and up to date with WCB. This can easily be done online through a “WCB Clearance Letter Search” – Just enter the name of the company or their WCB registration number to find out if they are covered and in good standing with WCB. The registration number is a better option, as a slight error in the name may produce no results even though the company is registered – or it could possibly be registered under the company owners name if not incorporated.

In addition to the search feature noted above, your can also subscribe to a “Clearance Alert“ for a particular company or number of companies. If any one of these let their WCB coverage expire, or it expires due to unpaid premiums, you get an email notification let you know – this is a handy feature and will save you time having to checkup on your trades etc.

If you are hiring a contractor to oversee your renovation project or build your new home, just ask for WCB clearance letters for any trades prior to each trade working on your property – or all of them up front if all trades to be used are known at the start of the project. It takes little work on the contractors part to do so, and will provide you with the peace of mind that this aspect of your project is covered.

Bottom Line:

Don’t mess around trying to avoid the small fees you would need to pay to make sure you have proper WCB coverage. The financial losses you could incur if you are not covered could be devastating… and that is just the financial side of things, there is always the possibility that you could face charges and imprisonment if you are found negligent for an accident causing permanent injury or death (it doesn’t happen very often, but… it does happen).

Play it safe and get the right coverage or make sure the company or person you hire and all subtrades are covered and in good standing with WCB.

For all WCB related information, visit WorkSafeBC (WCB) here.

Please Note: The above information applies to WCB requirements in British Columbia, WCB regulations and requirements vary from province to province, if you are live or plan to work outside of B.C., Check the requirements for WCB in that province. The same is likely to apply in the USA.

   

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