Missouri self-insurer workers' comp bonds.
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An employer that carries its own workers’ compensation risk posts security with the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation, and a surety bond on form WC-82 is one of three ways to post it. The Division sets the amount, with a $200,000 minimum and often far more. A specialist quotes it, usually within one business day.
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How much does a Missouri self-insurer workers' comp bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
Built for the self-insurance approval.
Self-insurance authority starts only on the date approved security, in the amount required, is on file with the Division in Jefferson City. Here is how the bond side of that works:
Send us the file
Apply online with the security amount stated in the Division’s preliminary approval, your company details, and the entity that will hold the self-insurance authority. Tell us whether a parent company is guaranteeing a subsidiary’s obligations.
A surety specialist underwrites it
A specialist reviews your audited financial statements, your claim history and outstanding liabilities, and your excess insurance, then returns a quote. The Division fixes the amount — underwriting decides approval, the premium, and any collateral.
Execute & file the WC-82
Once you bind, we issue the executed WC-82 bond from a Missouri-admitted surety with the power of attorney attached, ready to file with the Division of Workers’ Compensation so your self-insurance authority can take effect.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Missouri requires every employer covered by its workers’ compensation law to insure that liability — but RSMo 287.280 lets an employer or a group of employers carry the whole or any part of it without insurance once they satisfy the Division of their ability to do so. The Division’s self-insurance rule, 8 CSR 50-3.010, spells out how: four years of financial statements, excess insurance, membership in the private-sector self-insurers guaranty corporation where it applies, and security.
Security can be posted three ways — an approved surety bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, or United States government obligations deposited in escrow with a Missouri bank or trust company. The surety bond is written on the Division’s own form, WC-82, and binds the employer and the surety to the State of Missouri for the use and benefit of the employer’s employees and their dependents. If the employer fails to pay a final award, the surety pays it on the Division’s written order; if the Division certifies a default in paying compensation for thirty days, or the employer becomes insolvent, the Attorney General may enforce the bond for medical, surgical and other services, funeral expenses, and compensation.
The amount is not a single number. The rule sets a minimum of $200,000 for an individual self-insurer and lets the Division require more in any particular case; each year the employer files a sworn statement of its outstanding death and disability claims, and the security must be at least one-half of that liability. Self-insured group trusts post security too, with a minimum of $500,000. Because the bond backs the employer’s whole claim book rather than a fixed license condition, it is underwritten on audited financials, claim reserves, and excess coverage, and larger securities can require collateral. We tell you what your file needs before you commit.
The bond does not expire on an annual cycle. The rule makes it perpetual: the Division will not release it unless approved replacement security is provided. The form lets the surety cancel on thirty days’ written notice by registered mail to the Division and the employer, but the surety stays liable for injuries and deaths that occurred before cancellation — and an employer that lets its security lapse puts its self-insurance privilege at risk.
You need this bond if you're
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Execute & file the WC-82. Once you bind, we issue the executed WC-82 bond from a Missouri-admitted surety with the power of attorney attached, ready to file with the Division of Workers’ Compensation so your self-insurance authority can take effect.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the actual underwriting fields — the security amount the Division requires, the employer entity, and your financials. Submit once and a surety specialist reviews everything together and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Missouri bonds.
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Post your security and start self-insuring.
Send us the Division's approval and the security amount it requires, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites, and quotes the WC-82 bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.