287.300. Employer's liability primary or secondary--notice and service, when sufficient. - Missouri Statutes

Employer's liability primary or secondary--notice and service, whensufficient.

287.300. If the employer is not insured his liabilityhereunder shall be primary and direct. If he is insured hisliability shall be secondary and indirect, and his insurer shallbe primarily and directly liable hereunder to the injuredemployee, his dependents or other persons entitled to rightshereunder. On the request of the division or the commission andat every hearing the employer shall produce and furnish it with acopy of his policy of insurance, and on demand the employer shallfurnish the injured employee, or his dependents, with the correctname and address of his insurer, and his failure to do so shallbe prima facie evidence of his failure to insure, but thepresumption shall be conclusively rebutted by an entry ofappearance of his insurer. Both the employer and his insurershall be parties to all agreements or awards of compensation, butthe same shall not be enforceable against the employer, except onmotion and proof of default by the insurer. Service on theemployer shall be sufficient to give the division or thecommission jurisdiction over the person of both the employer andhis insurer, and the appearance of the employer in any proceedingshall also constitute the appearance of his insurer, providedthat after appearance by an insurer, the insurer shall beentitled to notice of all proceedings hereunder.

(RSMo 1939 § 3715, A.L. 1965 p. 397)

Prior revision: 1929 § 3325

(1964) Compensation award was void for lack of jurisdiction as against insurance company where company had appeared specially to deny that it was employer's insurer on date of employee's injury and subsequent notices of hearing were not sent to insurance company and stated that insurer was unknown. Woodruff v. Tourville Quarry, Inc. (A.), 381 S.W.2d 14.