Overview of Insurance

Insurance is a way to manage the business risks on your farm. There are different types of insurance available for workplace injury. Having this insurance will ensure that you have the required coverage should anyone on your farm get hurt at work.

Workers’ Compensation Coverage

WCB Nova Scotia (WCB) provides workplace injury coverage to businesses in Nova Scotia. Most employers in Nova Scotia are required by law through the Workers’ Compensation Act and Regulations to register their business and provide WCB coverage to their employees. However, that is not true for all farm owners and operators.

There are certain commodities (e.g. Christmas tree) and situations (e.g. farms employing workers through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) where WCB coverage is required. But for all other commodities within the agriculture industry, it is voluntary.

Benefits to the Employer:

One of the unique features of workers’ compensation insurance is the protection it offers employers against lawsuits over workplace injuries. Regardless of who is at fault, an employee cannot sue their employer if the employer has workers’ compensation coverage. In return, employees receive insurance benefits for workplace injuries.

Benefits to the Employees:

Workers’ compensation benefits are based on an earnings-loss system. This means an employee is paid a percentage of the wages they lose as a result of a workplace injury. An earnings-loss is the difference between what the employee was earning before their injury and what they are able to earn after their injury.

WCB Nova Scotia also provides a range of health care benefits and services to employees as they prepare to return to work. For those who can’t return to work, they provide long-term benefits, health care and other services.

A safe and timely return to work helps reduce the overall human and financial toll of workplace injuries for both employees and employers.

Special Protection:

Protection differs for the owners of the business and for family members of the employer living under the same roof. However, there is special protection coverage available for:

  • Proprietors and partners of a business/firm.
  • Family members of an employer (proprietor, partner, or officer/ director of an incorporation) living in the employer’s household.

For full details on the benefits of coverage or to register contact
WCB Nova Scotia at 1-877-211-9267 or www.wcb.ns.ca

Private Insurance

There are a number of private insurance companies that offer workplace injury coverage. However, the types of coverage available and the benefits of that coverage vary with the provider. While private insurance will provide benefits to the employee, it typically does not provide the benefits to the employer, as does WCB.

For more information on private insurance options, contact your insurance provider or the Atlantic office of the Insurance Bureau of Canada:

Insurance Bureau of Canada (Atlantic)
Tel: 902-429-2730