When a Serious Accident Happens, It Pays — Directly, and No Matter Who's at Fault.
Accident & Health protection for owners, employees, drivers, and volunteers
Business accident insurance — part of the Accident & Health (A&H) family — is coverage that pays fixed, no-fault benefits directly to the injured person after a covered accident: a lump sum for death or dismemberment, scheduled amounts for paralysis, and reimbursement of accident medical expenses. It is not liability insurance and it is not major-medical health insurance. It sits alongside them to fill the gaps those coverages leave — paying promptly, regardless of fault, and often in addition to any other benefits a person receives.
What makes it valuable to a business is where the gaps actually are. Workers' compensation doesn't apply to everyone (1099 owner-operators, volunteers, and in some cases a business's own owners); it may not be enough after a workplace-violence injury; and it does nothing for an employee hurt traveling abroad. Business accident insurance is built for exactly those situations, as a package of flexible programs matched to who needs protecting.
What Business Accident Insurance Covers
Business accident is a family of programs rather than a single policy. The most common are:
Business Owners Accident — Provides high-limit 24-hour accidental death & dismemberment for owners and key people, plus accident coverage for employees in a workplace-violence or business-travel loss — a natural complement to a business owners policy.
Occupational Accident (for 1099 Drivers & Contractors) — Covers on-the-job accident injury for truckers and contractors not required to carry workers' comp — accident medical, disability, and AD&D — the driver's-own-injury protection referenced on our bobtail and unladen liability pages.
Contingent Liability — Protects a motor carrier with legal defense and workers'-comp-style benefits if an owner-operator later tries to recover as an employee.
Felonious Assault / Workplace Violence — Pays a no-fault cash and lump-sum benefit, plus psychological-therapy benefits, when an employee is injured in a robbery, assault, or violent crime on the job — in addition to workers' comp. Pairs with active shooter & workplace violence coverage.
Business Travel Accident / 24-Hour AD&D — Provides worldwide accident protection for employees traveling on company business — or around the clock — including out-of-country medical for international trips.
Volunteer Accident — Covers accident medical expense and AD&D for volunteers hurt while serving a nonprofit, museum, library, or faith organization, where workers' comp and general liability don't respond — see nonprofit organization insurance.
Special & Student Programs — Cover accident plans for child-care programs (children and staff) and study-abroad / educational-travel coverage with emergency medical and security assistance.
What It Typically Pays
Across these programs, benefits are fixed and paid directly, commonly including:
Accidental Death & Dismemberment — Pays a lump-sum principal benefit — illustratively $250,000 to $500,000 — for death or covered dismemberment.
Paralysis & Coma Benefits — Pay scheduled percentages of the principal sum for quadriplegia, paraplegia, hemiplegia, or coma.
Accident Medical & Dental Expense — Pays treatment costs from a covered accidental injury, often excess of other plans.
Disability Benefits — Replace lost income with temporary and permanent total disability payments after an accident.
Survivor, COBRA & Psychological-Therapy Benefits — Provide additional help for a family or employee to recover financially and emotionally.
What It Does Not Cover
Business accident insurance is deliberately narrow, so it is not a substitute for:
Liability coverage — injuries you cause to others (general liability, auto, and workers' compensation employers liability do that)
Major-medical health insurance — ordinary illness and non-accident medical care
Sickness, unless a plan specifically adds it (as travel-medical and out-of-country programs do)
Workers' compensation where it is legally required — accident coverage supplements comp, it doesn't replace a mandatory comp policy
Who Needs Business Accident Insurance
The coverage fits a wide range of organizations, especially:
Business owners wanting high-limit personal AD&D at affordable group rates
Motor carriers and logistics firms that contract with 1099 owner-operators not on workers' comp
Public-facing employers — restaurants, retail, financial institutions, healthcare, public entities — exposed to robbery and workplace violence
Companies with employees who travel domestically or internationally on business
Nonprofits, museums, libraries, and faith organizations that rely on volunteers
Child-care centers and schools, and colleges running study-abroad or educational-travel programs
The Workers' Comp Gap — Why Occupational Accident Matters
The single most important use of business accident insurance in transportation is occupational accident coverage. Owner-operators and contract drivers leased to a motor carrier are frequently 1099 contractors who are not required to carry workers' compensation — which means an on-the-job injury has no comp behind it. Occupational accident fills that gap with accident medical, disability, and AD&D for the driver, while the carrier's contingent liability coverage responds if that driver later argues they were really an employee and seeks comp-style recovery. Together they let a carrier use owner-operators without carrying the exposure of an uninsured work injury. It's the accident-side companion to the liability coverages on our bobtail, unladen liability, and non-trucking liability pages, and to workers' compensation where comp does apply.
Real-World Claim Examples
An owner-operator with no workers' comp is injured in a crash and occupational accident pays their medical bills and disability
A cashier is hurt in an armed robbery, and felonious assault coverage pays a cash benefit plus psychological therapy on top of workers' comp
A business owner is permanently injured in an accident and a high-limit AD&D benefit pays the principal sum directly to their family
An employee traveling internationally suffers a medical emergency and out-of-country medical arranges and pays for care
A museum volunteer trips during a tour and volunteer accident medical covers the treatment general liability wouldn't
Why Proper Placement Matters
Business accident programs are highly customizable — hazards covered (24-hour vs. business-only vs. felonious-assault-only), benefit amounts, disability elimination periods, and optional add-ons all shift the coverage and the price. Placement turns on matching the program to the population being protected (owners, employees, drivers, volunteers, travelers), coordinating it with the workers' comp, health, and liability already in place so benefits stack correctly, and, for owner-operator programs, structuring occupational accident and contingent liability together. Because these are specialty Accident & Health products, they are placed through A&H markets with the underwriting and claims expertise the line requires.
Regulatory & Contract Context
Accident coverage supplements but does not replace workers' compensation where comp is legally mandated, so it must be structured around each state's comp rules — including the monopolistic states and comp-exemption rules discussed in do you need workers' compensation insurance. Occupational accident for owner-operators is specifically for drivers not required to carry comp, and the related contingent-liability coverage is often written on a surplus-lines basis. Motor-carrier programs may restrict certain hauling classes (logging, explosives, LP gas, and similar). Lease agreements and client contracts frequently dictate who must carry occupational accident and at what limits, so the program should be built to satisfy them.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we build business accident coverage around the people a business actually needs to protect — placing owner, employee, driver, volunteer, and traveler programs through specialty Accident & Health markets, and coordinating them with the workers' comp, liability, and benefits already in force so the coverage stacks instead of overlapping. For transportation clients we structure occupational accident and contingent liability together so owner-operators are covered and the carrier isn't exposed. We also place the related business owners policy, workers' compensation, and group life and health coverages that round out a program.
Our goal is simple: when a serious accident happens, a benefit is paid — quickly, directly, and no matter who was at fault.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See what to confirm in a business accident policy — what's standard, what's often limited, and what to add if needed — plus the gap most often missed, in the Business Accident Policy Feature Checklist.
Complete the Business Accident Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get business accident insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate business accident insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What drives the cost of business accident insurance?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of business accident insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Do I need business accident insurance?
Requirements vary. Business accident insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.