Workers Comp for Iraq Contractors

The 15,000 private contractors in Iraq make up the second largest army in the country. Being in Iraq, they tend to have a fairly high chance of getting injured -- or worse. And being workers, they get workers compensation, just like anyother worker. Workers Comp Insider has the whole story.

Insurers are not mandated to provide this coverage. As an inducement, the government reimburses insurers for war related claims:

"Labor Department officials said they had no cost estimate for reimbursements of Iraq-related claims, but given the maximum payment of $1,030.78 per week and the number of injuries and deaths, it could well climb into the multimillions. In past years, annual reimbursement costs under the War Hazards Act have ranged from $1 million to $2 million.

...Rates have ranged from an early low of $10 per $100 of an employer's payroll to as much as much as $40 per $100 of payroll in recent months, said Hartwig of the insurance institute. That means an employer with a million-dollar payroll would pay between $100,000 and $400,000 in premiums.