Workers’ comp · For contractors and owners who hire
A crew member gets hurt. Their care is covered.
Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp) pays an injured employee’s medical bills and part of their lost wages, at the benefit levels your state sets. Its employer’s liability part answers a lawsuit over the injury, up to that part’s limits.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982
What workers’ comp covers.
Typically covered
- Medical care for an employee hurt at work, from the first visit through rehab
- Part of their lost wages while they can’t work, at the benefit levels the state sets
- Injuries that build up over time, like a back or a shoulder worn down by the work
- Employer’s liability: a lawsuit over a workplace injury, up to that part’s limits
- Benefits for the family if a work injury is fatal
Where another policy answers
- Injuries to a visitor or the public: General liability
- Damage to the truck in a crash: Commercial auto, if you carry collision
- Stolen or damaged tools: Tools & equipment
- Claims above your employer’s liability limits: Umbrella
Usually not covered
- Employees in states not listed on the policy
- Independent contractors (but an uninsured sub’s payroll can be charged to you at audit)
Who on the block needs it.
Contractors with a crew
Most states require workers’ comp once you have employees, with rules that vary by state, and almost every GC and owner asks for the certificate before you start.
Owner-operators
Whether an owner has to be covered depends on the state and how the business is set up. Many GCs still ask for a policy, or proof of an exemption, before you start.
Working in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington or Wyoming? Those states run their own workers’ comp funds, and private carriers cannot write there. Send the application anyway and we will point you at the state fund.
How the RFP asks for it
Most RFPs ask for statutory workers’ comp plus employer’s liability limits (for example $1M each accident, $1M disease per employee, $1M disease policy limit), and often a waiver of subrogation in favor of the owner and GC.
- Statutory
- The benefits your state’s law sets for an injured worker, with no limit for you to choose.
- Employer’s liability
- The part that answers a lawsuit over a workplace injury, up to the limits you choose.
- Waiver of subrogation
- Your insurer gives up the right to recover what it paid from the owner or GC.
Own or manage property? You don’t buy workers’ comp for the contractors you hire; you require it. Put it in the RFP, and every bidder’s certificate is checked against your requirements before work starts. Staff you employ yourself fall under your state’s rules.
How we quote it.
Light RFP’s brokerage quotes workers’ comp alongside the rest of your program: you fill in the application, and our team takes it to market.
Tell us about the business
Your payroll by the kind of work each person does, your owners and officers, and your claims history.
We take it to market
A Light RFP broker reads your application, contacts you about anything missing, and takes it to the insurers that write workers’ comp for businesses like yours.
Compare the quotes
The benefits are set by law, so we compare what isn’t: employer’s liability limits, waiver options, pay-as-you-go terms and exclusions, matched to what your contracts and RFPs require. Applying commits you to nothing; you choose whether to buy.
We place it
Our brokerage puts the policy you choose in force and issues the certificates your projects ask for.
Our application
5 sheets. Plan on 20 to 35 minutes for one trade and one location, with a payroll report to hand.
- One trade, no claims
- about 79 answers, 61 required
- Subs, a mod and claims
- about 105 answers, 75 required
Follow-up questions appear only when an answer calls for them.
What it asks
Open a sheet for a few of its questions.
WC-01Business
- What does the business do, in your own words?
- How many people does it employ, counting owners who draw a wage?
WC-02Locations and payroll
- Where do your employees work, and in which states?
- What does each kind of work pay in a year?
WC-03Owners and officers
- Who owns the business, and is each owner included in the cover or excluded?
- Has the business been given an experience mod?
WC-04Operations and safety
- Do you work above 15 feet, or below ground in trenches or excavations?
- Do you use subcontractors, and collect a certificate from each one?
- Is a written safety program in place?
WC-05Coverage and history
- Which employer’s liability limits do your contracts ask for?
- Does a contract require a blanket waiver of subrogation?
- Any workers’ comp claims in the last five years?
Have these ready
- A payroll report by jobAnnual payroll and headcount for each kind of work, at each location.
- Your owners and officersEach one’s title, ownership share and duties, and whether they are included or excluded. A Social Security number is optional here.
- Your current policyThe declarations page and, if you have one, the experience mod worksheet.
- Loss runsFive years of workers’ comp claims history from your current carrier. You can send them after by replying to your confirmation email.
Workers’ comp questions.
Do I need it if I only use subcontractors?
Often, yes. If a sub carries no workers’ comp, your policy may have to cover their crew, depending on the state, and that payroll is usually charged at the year-end audit. Collect every sub’s certificate.
What is the year-end audit?
Every workers’ comp policy is audited. The premium you pay up front is an estimate based on the payroll you expect; after the policy year the insurer checks actual payroll by kind of work and bills or refunds the difference. Payroll you paid to subs without their own workers’ comp is usually counted as yours, so collect every sub’s certificate. Pay-as-you-go billing spreads the premium over each payroll, so less is left for the audit.
I work in more than one state. Am I covered?
Only in the states your policy lists. List every state where your crew works, even for one job, and any you expect to work in this year, so they’re on the policy before the crew starts.
Why does the application ask about trenching and heights?
Because the work sets the risk. Applications ask how deep you dig, how high you work, whether you do solar work, lease employees or handle explosives, so the policy is classed on the work you really do.
What is a waiver of subrogation?
An endorsement that stops your insurer from recovering what it paid from the owner or GC, even when they caused the injury. Many contracts require it, and many policies can add it blanket, for anyone a written contract names. Insurers usually charge for it, and a few states limit it on workers’ comp.
What affects the price?
Payroll, split by the kind of work each person does, and the insurer’s rate for each kind, built on figures your state approves. Your claims history adjusts it, through an experience modifier once the business is large enough to have one.
Get a workers’ comp quote.
Getting a quote is free. Light RFP earns a commission from the carrier on all policies.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982