Workers' compensation.
Medical care and part of lost wages when an employee is hurt on the job. Required by law in nearly every state once you hire.
One request, shopped across 60+ carriers by a licensed agent.
About three minutes. No obligation.
What it is
What is workers' compensation insurance?
Workers' compensation insurance is a century-old trade: when an employee is hurt on the job, the policy pays their medical bills and part of their lost wages, and in exchange they give up the right to sue you over the injury. In nearly every state, the law requires it from your first hire.
It is no-fault coverage, which means nobody has to prove who was careless. The employee who slipped, the coworker who left the box in the aisle, you: it does not matter. If the injury arose out of the work, benefits are owed. The policy itself has two parts. Part One pays whatever benefits your state's workers' comp law requires. Part Two, called employers' liability, defends the business in the narrower lawsuits the no-fault system does not block.
The legal requirement has teeth. In most states even one part-time employee triggers it, and the penalties for going without include fines, stop-work orders, and personal liability for the full cost of an injury. This is the one line where skipping coverage is not a gamble. It is a citation waiting to happen.
Who usually carries it
- Anyone with a single employee, full-time or part-time. Most states start the requirement there.
- Construction trades, where general contractors demand a certificate before anyone steps on site.
- Restaurants and retail, where lifting, slips, and burns are routine claims.
- Owner-only contractors who exempt themselves legally but need coverage to stay hireable.
- Businesses with remote hires: every state on the payroll belongs on the policy.
Coverage
What workers' compensation coverage handles.
Medical care
Emergency treatment, surgery, hospital stays, prescriptions, and physical therapy for a work injury, with no deductible or copay for the employee.
Lost wages
A set portion of the employee's pay (most states put it near two-thirds) after a short state-defined waiting period, for as long as they medically cannot work.
Disability benefits
Scheduled payments for lasting impairment, partial or total, temporary or permanent, according to your state's formula.
Rehabilitation and retraining
Physical rehabilitation to get the employee back to work, and vocational retraining when the injury means the old job is no longer possible.
Death benefits
Funeral costs and ongoing support payments to dependents when a worker is killed on the job.
Employers' liability
Part Two of the policy: defense and payment in the rarer lawsuits the no-fault system does not bar, like a claim from an injured worker's spouse.
Exclusions: read these first
What it does not cover.
Every policy has edges. Knowing them now is the difference between a covered claim and a surprise.
The owner who opted out
Exclude yourself to cut premium and your own injury is uncovered, and since many health plans exclude work injuries, you can be exposed from both directions.
The commute
The ordinary drive to and from work is generally not compensable. Travel between job sites or errands run for the business usually is.
Intoxication, horseplay, and picked fights
Injuries caused primarily by the employee's intoxication, off-task horseplay, or a fight the injured worker started are routinely denied.
Independent contractors, until a state disagrees
True 1099 contractors aren't covered, but a misclassified one is your problem anyway, and at audit you'll be charged for any subcontractor who can't produce a certificate of insurance.
Employees in states your policy does not list
The policy names its covered states. Hire in a new one (a remote employee counts) without adding it and you have a gap.
Where carriers differ
Benefits are set by state law, but employers' liability limits, listed states, dividend plans, and audit practices differ by carrier. We check the specific policy before you buy.
A wet ramp and a pallet of tile
A four-person tile contractor is unloading a delivery on a rainy morning. An installer slips on the wet loading ramp, lands on his outstretched hand, and fractures his wrist badly enough to need surgery and a plate.
How the coverage responds: the policy pays the emergency room visit, the surgery, and twelve weeks of physical therapy in full, with no deductible for the installer, then a set portion of his wages until he can hold a trowel again. The employer's part is one phone call and a light-duty plan (a month of estimates and material orders) that keeps the wage-loss side of the claim, and the experience mod behind it, small. Without coverage, the employer owes those same benefits out of pocket, plus fines and a possible stop-work order, because in nearly every state this policy is not optional.
An illustrative example, not a real claim. Actual coverage depends on the policy issued.
What moves the price
We don’t quote prices on a website. Anyone who does is guessing. These are the factors underwriters actually weigh.
- Payroll: premium is charged per unit of payroll, so the price scales with the size and pay of your team.
- Class codes, the rating categories for what each employee actually does: clerical work and roofing sit at opposite ends of the rate table, and misassigned codes are the most common comp pricing error.
- Your experience modifier, a multiplier comparing your claims history to similar businesses. It starts at 1.00 and moves with your record, in either direction.
- The states where your people work, since each state sets its own rates and benefit levels.
- Claims frequency: underwriters forgive one serious claim faster than a pattern of small ones.
- Safety practices: documented training, and especially a return-to-work program that gets injured employees back on modified duty.
- How you use subcontractors, and whether you collect a certificate of insurance from every one of them before they start.
Credits that can move this price
The factors above push the price up. These are the named credits that pull it back. Which ones exist, and what they’re worth, varies by carrier and state. We check every one that could apply before we quote.
- An experience mod below 1.00, the credit you earn by managing claims well
- Drug-free workplace credits, set by statute in several states
- Certified workplace safety committee credits where states offer them
- Schedule credits for documented safety programs and a real return-to-work plan
- Safety-group dividend plans that return premium after a good year
- Statutory premium discounts that phase in as payroll grows
Questions
Workers' Compensation, asked and answered.
Reviewed by a licensed property & casualty agent · Updated July 2026
Pairs with
Coverage that usually travels together.
- 01General LiabilityPays when your business injures someone or damages their property. The baseline policy nearly every lease, contract, and client asks you to carry.Explore →
- 02Business Owner's PolicyLiability, property, and lost income in one policy. The standard small-business package, and usually cheaper than buying the pieces.Explore →
- 03Commercial AutoLiability and physical damage for vehicles that work for a living, where a personal auto policy stops.Explore →
What happens next
A licensed agent reads it
Your request goes to a person, not a queue, the same business day.
We shop the carriers
We quote it across the markets that actually write this line and compare what comes back.
You decide
Options side by side, in plain English. Nothing is bound until you confirm it in writing.
Rather do the whole thing by phone? Call (917) 246-7038.
Carrier count reflects current appointments. Availability varies by state and line.
Start here
Let's price your workers' compensation coverage.
Tell us what you need. We shop it across 60+ carriers. You pick, and nothing is in force until it's confirmed in writing.
About three minutes. No obligation.
