Your Duties in the Event of a Claim

An insured's duties include, but are not limited to, prompt notification of the loss; notification of authorities when the loss involves a crime; protection of property from further damage; protecting others from injury; and cooperation with the insurance company and its investigators and representatives.

If You Believe a Lawsuit or Other Legal Action May Be Filed

If you are served with a summons and complaint, or fear legal action may arise from an accident or incident, please notify Church Mutual. You do not need to wait until a lawsuit is filed. You may seek our advice and direction at the earliest stages of the process.

Injury to an Employee

It is in everyone's best interest that all incidents resulting in an injury be reported to us promptly. Prompt reporting generally results in prompt payments of wage and medical benefits. It also gives you and us time to verify the facts of the incident and the compensability of the claim.

All states require completion of an Employer's First Report of Injury or Illness form for all employee injuries. Completion of the form by a representative of the employer is required by state statute when the employer has been notified of a potential claim. Completion of the form is not an automatic admission of compensability.

Church Mutual recommends the following procedure when you are notified of an incident resulting in an employee injury.

Assess the need for medical care and provide it to your employee promptly. This treatment can range from on-site first aid to providing transportation to a walk-in clinic or emergency room to calling your local ambulance or EMT service.

If the incident does not require trained medical care, you should still notify Church Mutual by phone during normal business hours with details of the incident. This is for record purposes only. We call this a "notice only" claim. Call (800) 554-2642 (select Option 2 when prompted).

If the incident has or will result in the need for trained medical care, you must complete a First Report of Injury or Illness form as soon as possible after the incident. This form should be mailed to Church Mutual Claims Department, P.O. Box 342, Merrill, WI 54452-0342.

If there is a chance that your employee will miss any time from work because of the injury, fax us the completed copy of the First Report of Injury or Illness form or call us during the first available business hours at (800) 554-2642 (select Option 2). Your call will be directed to our claims representative for your state, who will take your report. The original written report must still be mailed to us; most states do not accept faxes or photocopies.

Prompt reporting of workers' compensation claims enables us to provide prompt benefits to your employees. This reduces or eliminates employee uncertainty about their claims benefits and helps you avoid an adversarial relationship with your employee during the claims process.