The cost of a workers compensation policy depends on several factors. This could be where your business is located, how many employees you have, or whether your business is considered high-risk for injury. Because workers comp laws vary from state to state, businesses may pay more or less depending on their location in the US. Workers compensation policies in Texas, for example, are $.57 per $100 of covered payroll range–some of the cheapest rates in the country. Your business’s net profit, payroll, and prior claims history will also be taken into account when getting a quote for workers comp coverage. High-risk businesses such as construction and contracting typically have more expensive coverage, while low-risk industries like office and computer jobs tend to have much lower rates.
- How much does workers compensation cost?
- How to calculate the cost of workers compensation insurance?
- What affects the cost of workers compensation insurance?
- How to reduce the cost of workers comp insurance?
- What is the classification code and how does it affect the cost of workers compensation insurance?
- What is the experience modification rate and how does it affect the cost of workers compensation insurance?
- How much does workers compensation insurance cost by states?
- How much does workers compensation insurance cost in California?
- How much does workers compensation insurance cost in Florida?
- How much does workers compensation insurance cost in New York?
How much does workers compensation insurance cost?
Small business owners pay an average of $47 a month or $564 a year for workers compensation insurance. Construction pays the most, at an average rate of $3,264 a year, and accountants pay the least, at $396 a year.
The average cost of a workers comp claim is $40,000, meaning you’ll be saving quite a bit of money if you have an insurance policy that adequately covers the injury or damages. Most small business owners pay between $400-800 per year per full-time employee. Even if your rates are slightly higher, you’ll still be grateful you had workers comp coverage in the long run if you ever have an unfortunate workplace injury to one of your employees.
The only way to know exactly how much workers compensation Insurance costs your business is to get a quote for your business. You should always get at least 3 quotes from 3 different companies or work with a digital broker like CoverWallet and Simply Business to get several quotes at once from the companies that they partner with. Comparing several quotes is the only way to ensure that you are able to get the cheapest quote for your business.
How to calculate the cost of workers compensation insurance?
Calculating the costs of Workers’ Comp insurance may seem confusing at first glance, but there’s actually a relatively simple formula used to calculate Workers’ Compensation cost for a business. This is expressed by the formula below:
- Formula: Classification rate x Experience modification rate x (Payroll / 100) = Premium
While you probably won’t need to know this exact formula, it always helps to be knowledgeable about the process, and how insurance companies calculate their quotes and rates.
What affects the cost of workers compensation insurance?
How much you pay for workers compensation insurance depends on several factors. Below are the most important factors that you should be aware of:
Classification codes of your business and your employees
The Workers Compensation Ratings Bureau of different states regulates workers’ compensation rates in their respective states. The state awards every firm and every employee of theirs a “risk categorization,” which is subsequently assigned a monetary value recommended by the council every year. Insurance firms submit their “base manual rates” to the state through the board for approval for all class codes. The insurance companies can then determine the base rates for very firm according to the recommendation and approval of the state.
Claim history
Employee claims are submitted to NCCI and statistically compared to all other similar-type firms in each state using the same class code. After a few years of coverage, your company may be eligible for an Experience Modification Rate if your claims are within acceptable limits. However, if you have a bad history of losses and claims, you might pay more for insurance. Some insurers may even reject your application.
The concept is simple yet popular in insurance industry. If you have very few claims, your insurance rate will decrease. If you have a lot of claims, in comparison with the standard in your industry, your rate will increase. If you have too many claims, insurance companies may refuse to sell coverage to your firm.
Management experience and operations
Insurance company underwriters can make premium rate modifications based on specific characteristics of your business. These characteristics include safety policies and management experience.
Companies with proper safety policies are easier to insure. That’s because a good safety policy would reduce the chances of accidents in the workplace. Therefore, such companies might get reductions in their premiums.
Also, insurers believe that companies with more years of management experience are better at handling work safety issues. More so, they have enough data that can predict how safe their company is. Therefore, such companies may also get reductions in their premiums.
Payroll
Last but not least, as we learn above in the way to calculate workers comp insurance cost, payroll (annual gross wages) is a variable in the formula. The higher the payroll is, the higher workers comp insurance cost will be and vice versa.
How to reduce workers comp insurance cost?
If you are looking for cheap worker’s comp insurance, the following ideas and guidelines may help you.
Make sure your business and your employees’ class codes are correct
Classification codes are 4-digit numbers that put employers in categories and establish insurance prices across the country. The class code categorizes employees based on their proportional risk of harm, which means it will significantly impact your rate and your premium, as we discussed above.
A mistake in your code could mean you will be paying more than you should. To avoid that, you might want to double-check that the description for the allocated class code appropriately describes what your workers perform. If not, contact the insurer for an explanation or request that the class code assignment is re-evaluated.
Also, ensure that any additional employees, such as salesmen or clerical staff, are classified independently and not in the same category as your main employees.
If you work with a broker or agent, make sure you get their advice how to classify your business and your employees correctly.
Ensure the payroll is correct
Payroll (annual gross wages) should be totaled for each allocated class code after employees have been classified. Remember that rates are determined by class code. Therefore the rate per $100 in payroll will vary depending on the group. Payroll underestimation might result in a big bill following your yearly audit.
Consider the non-employee coverage requirements
Owners and officers frequently earn larger incomes, which might increase the cost of workers’ compensation. However, some of these officers can decide not to be covered by the policy. This will lower the cost considerably. However, remember that by omitting yourself from the policy, you are foregoing coverage and may have to pay for medical expenses out of pocket in a work-related accident.
Compare workers’ compensation quotes
Quotes for workers’ compensation might differ from one carrier to the next. Different rates and underwriting (the assessment of your company’s risk of a claim) are available from different companies.
So, shop around for estimates from other carriers — or, better yet, utilize a top broker like CoverWallet or Simply Business that can do the homework for you and offer you the best pricing. You should also get an online quote from biBERK. It shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes to get a quote to start the process.
Work with your agent and ask for discounts
Inquire with your insurance company about discounts and other methods to reduce the cost of your premium. Depending on the insurer, some discounts you might enjoy include the following:
- Adjusted payment terms.
- No-claims discounts.
- Programs for workplace safety and loss prevention.
- Discounts for
- members of special groups.
- Payroll administration.
Paying for the insurance in advance or bigger installments may lower the amount of billing costs added to each payment, which can add up. Many companies also provide discounts for formal safety programs or training, numerous years of claims-free service, and other factors.
Safety-first operations to prevent workplace injuries
Avoiding injuries is the best and easiest way to reduce workers’ compensation costs.
To do that, do the following:
- Create an employee safety manual.
- Implement a safety training program for new staff.
- Inquire with your insurance agent about safety and training resources.
- Make it compulsory that workers use proper safety equipment, such as protective headgear, glasses, and non-slip shoes.
Learn more at the cheapest workers comp insurance companies
What is the classification code and how does it affect the cost of workers compensation insurance?
You might be wondering what an employee classification rate is and where to find it. Every employee classification has a 4-digit number which is code for what sort of work they do. Most codes are set by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) although some states set their own codes (California, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania). You can find the list of codes by the NCCI here.
Employer payroll is what you pay per $100 of payroll. So, pretend your employee has a class code of 1234, which translates to a $1 in workers compensation. You will pay $1 per employee for every $100 of payroll in workers compensation insurance. If you have 12 employees, you will pay $12 for every $100 in payroll. The more employees you have, and the more payroll your business pays, the more expensive workers compensation insurance is.
For example, roofers pay about $19 per $100 in payroll, making them the most expensive employee to insure, whereas office workers doing clerical work pay about $0.35 per $100, making them among the least expensive.
What is the experience modification rate and how does it affect the cost of workers compensation insurance?
The experience mod rate is how your business compares to other, similar businesses. It’s based on things like how old the business is and the number and severity of workers comp claims. Experience mod rates start at 1.0 and go up if you’ve had claims and down if you don’t. A credit experience mod rate is anything less than 1.0 and a debit mod is anything more than 1.0.
If you’ve just started your business and therefore have no claims one way or the other, you’ll probably pay a little more. The rate will be adjusted as time goes on.
The experience mod rate is the only part of the workers compensation insurance formula that you can control. Since it’s based on claims history, if you make your workplace a safer environment, you will (eventually) pay less in insurance.
How much does workers compensation insurance cost by states?
States have their own requirements for workers compensation insurance, and whereas most of them rely on the NCCI, some don’t. Furthermore, some states only allow employers to purchase workers compensation insurance from a state fund: North Dakota, Wyoming, Ohio and Washington.
According to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, the national median rate for workers’ compensation currently stands at $1.70 per $100 in employee wages, the lowest it’s been since 1986.
In the US, there are 38 states with rates below $2 per $100 in employee wages. The states with the five lowest rates are: Utah, North Dakota, Indiana, Arkansas, and West Virginia. The rates for those states are listed below.
Which states has the cheapest workers’ compensation insurance cost?
- North Dakota: $0.82
- Indiana: $0.87
- Arkansas: $0.90
- West Virginia: $1.01
- Utah: $1.06
North Dakota was the state with the lowest workers’ comp insurance rate in 2018, meaning if you live there, you’ll be able to get coverage for a lot cheaper than if you lived in, say, New York.
The states with higher rates tend to have stricter laws and more at-risk jobs. In New York state, the rate an injured worker can be paid after a claim has steadily risen, doubling in the past 20 years. These rates are based on several factors, including new legislation, business lobbies, insurance providers, and unions on workers’ compensation benefits.
As of 2018 New York has the highest Workers’ Comp rate in the US, at more than $3 per $100 in employee wages. Close runners-up are California, New Jersey, Alaska, and Delaware.
>>MORE: What are Workers Compensation Insurance Requirements by States?
Which states have the most expensive workers’ compensation insurance cost?
- New York: $3.08
- California: $2.87
- New Jersey: $2.84
- Alaska: $2.51
- Delaware: $2.50
Even if you live in a state like New York or California, don’t worry. You should still be able to get affordable Workers’ Compensation coverage. In fact, the median rates of Workers’ Comp coverage have been trending down in the last ten years, so policies are cheaper than ever. Below you’ll see the list that illustrates this trend:
Median cost of workers compensation insurance (per $100 of payroll) for the previous five years:
- 2018: $1.70
- 2016: $1.85
- 2014: $1.85
- 2012: $1.58
- 2010: $2.04
- 2008: $2.26
As you can see, the median rate for Workers’ compensation in the United States is cheaper than it was ten years ago.
>>MORE: How to Find Cheap Workers Compensation Insurance?
How much does workers compensation insurance cost in California?
California requires workers compensation insurance if you have even one employee, even if they’re part-time. California workers compensation insurance costs $1.56 per $100 of payroll. This is multiplied by the class code of the employee and then multiplied by how many employees you have. Some examples of how much different class codes will cost you:
- Clerical: $.040
- Restaurant/Bar staff: $4.34
- Plumbing: $7.01
- Masonry: $14.63
- Laborer: $33.57
Clerical is the cheapest classification, and laborers are the most expensive, at $33.57.
Learn more details about California workers comp insurance cost
Even if most of your company’s employees are in clerical class, you should still shop around to find the best rate. Here is our recommendation of the best (and cheapest) providers of workers compensation insurance in California.
How much does workers compensation insurance cost in Florida?
You need workers compensation insurance in Florida if you have four or more employees, part-time or full-time. Since Florida goes by the NCCI codes, shopping around for workers compensation insurance will get you quotes that only vary by a few dollars, if at all. The rate in Florida is $1.30 per $100 in payroll.
You also need workers compensation insurance in Florida if you work in construction, even if you are self-employed.
Your rates will also vary by the class codes of your employees. Some examples are:
- Anti-toxin manufacturing: $0.51
- Dental laboratory: $.069
- Jewelry store worker: $0.50
- Stevedore: Containerized freight and drivers: $23.39
- Roofing: $13.30
- Insurance claims adjuster: $0.52
For a complete list of class codes in Florida, click here.
Here are our recommendation of the best (and the cheapest) providers of workers compensation insurance in Florida.
How much does workers compensation insurance cost in New York?
Workers compensation insurance is required in New York state if you have any employees at all.
The good news if you’re a New York employer is that workers compensation rates have gone down and are now at $1.41 per $100 of payroll. You multiply that by the class code dollar number, and then multiply that by the number of employees you have.
Some examples of what you’ll pay for different occupations by class code:
- Jewelry manufacturing: $0.53
- Bookbinding: $3.15
- Road construction: $13.74
- Asbestos Contractor: $29.64
- Clerical: $0.13
- Healthcare: $4.53
For a complete list of class codes in New York State, click here.
Here are our recommendation of the best and the cheapest providers of workers compensation insurance in New York.
What does workers compensation insurance cover?
Workers compensation insurance covers your employees if they should become injured on the job. That’s why professions like contractors pay more for workers compensation insurance: you’re more likely to be injured by constructing a builder than you are figuring out someone’s taxes.
Workers’ compensation covers:
- Missed wages
- Medical expenses
- Vocational rehabilitation (to help your employee get back to work, or to train them to do something else)
- Death benefits
Almost every state requires workers compensation in some way, except for Texas. Most states require it if you have even one employee. Usually, the only people exempt from workers compensation are:
- Volunteers
- Independent contractors
- Domestic employees
- Musicians and performers
Every state has different rules around workers compensation insurance, so be sure to check with your state to make sure you are complying. The penalties for not having workers compensation insurance can be severe.
>>MORE: The 10 Best Workers Compensation Insurance Companies for Small Businesses
Final Thoughts
Even though your Workers’ Compensation rates are based on a number of different factors, you should be able to find a policy that works for you. A good coverage policy will take into account the size of your business, the location, if it’s at a high risk for injuries, and other considerations to determine the price. Fortunately, it’s easy to compare quotes online and find a provider that suits your small business. Read further to see how you can compare and contrast different insurance carriers to find the best possible rate.
