• No coverage is provided under the Master Liability Program: the Master Liability Program does not, under any circumstances, cover any claim made by an employee of the Lodge.

• Therefore, every Lodge must obtain valid Workers’ Compensation coverage in the state of its location. It is strongly recommended that all Lodges obtain a minimum premium policy, even if the Lodge has no regular employees. This is recommended because, if any employees make a claim (even a frivolous one), the Lodge will have to defend itself at its own expense unless a Workers’ Compensation policy has been obtained.

• Volunteer coverage may be available: In some states, volunteer coverage can be obtained at a very little additional cost when a Lodge obtains a Workers’ Compensation policy. If such coverage is obtained, any volunteer injured while working for the Lodge will receive payment for all medical bills and other benefits for the injury as determined by the specific state. Since this varies by state, the matter must be reviewed by each individual Lodge.

• Do not report Workers’ Compensation claims to Gallagher Bassett: When the Lodge has an injured employee, this incident MUST NOT be reported to Gallagher Bassett. This claim MUST BE reported to the Lodge’s Workers’ Compensation carrier. Reporting this type of incident to Gallagher Bassett confuses the issue and may result in state violations for not reporting to the Lodge’s own Workers’ Compensation carrier in a timely fashion.

• O.S.H.A. Inspections: To comply with an unlikely inspection by O.S.H.A.. Each Lodge should maintain the employer’s first report of injury as well as other data, a log indicating the name of the injured with the date of accident and reporting and an indication of the type of injury. These should be available for any O.S.H.A. inspector.