Workers' Compensation

Workers' comp is priced on classification and ex-mod.

The rate is largely out of your hands. The class codes your payroll is assigned to, and the experience modification factor applied to it, are not — and both are audited far less often than they should be.

CA #6015336Admitted · Specialist · E&SFree review
Workers on a construction site

Scope

What this coverage does — and where it fails.

We review the classification and the ex-mod worksheet before we market the policy, because a misclassification corrected is worth more than a carrier switch.

What a properly built program includes

  • Statutory workers' compensation benefits as required by state law
  • Employers liability coverage for claims outside the statutory system
  • Coverage for owners, officers, and their elections in or out
  • Certificates and waivers of subrogation required by contract
  • Multi-state coverage where employees cross state lines
  • Return-to-work and claims management support from the carrier

What we read for

  • Payroll assigned to a higher-rated class code than the work justifies
  • Experience modification worksheets never audited for errors
  • Owner and officer elections that no longer match how the business operates
  • Subcontractors without their own coverage rolling onto your payroll at audit
  • Certificates issued without the waivers a contract actually requires
  • Audit exposure from year-end payroll that was never reported

Detail

What actually decides the outcome.

01

Class codes are frequently wrong and rarely checked

Payroll assigned to a higher-rated code than the actual work justifies inflates premium every single year until someone looks. Splitting payroll correctly across codes is legitimate and well-established, and it is the first thing we check.

02

Ex-mod worksheets contain errors

The experience modification factor is calculated from reported claims data, and that data contains mistakes — open reserves on closed claims, claims attributed to the wrong entity, medical-only claims not discounted correctly. Each one inflates your factor and every future premium.

03

Uninsured subcontractors become your payroll

At audit, subcontractors who cannot produce their own certificate are typically added to your payroll and charged at your rate. Collecting certificates during the year rather than at audit is the entire fix.

Send the declarations page.

Free, confidential, and no obligation — with a written summary either way.

Start a coverage review

Start here

Request a review of this coverage.

Tell us what you are insuring and where it stands. If there is a non-renewal notice or an escrow deadline, say so — those move to the front of the line.

FREE · CONFIDENTIAL · NO OBLIGATION

Prefer to talk? Call or text (305) 990-2753 or email team@haymakersre.com

FAQ

Common questions.

01

Do I need workers' comp for one part-time employee?

In California, essentially any employee triggers the requirement, and the penalties for going without are severe. Owner and officer elections are a separate question and depend on entity type and ownership percentage.

02

What exactly is an experience modification factor?

It is a multiplier comparing your claims history to others in your class. Below 1.0 reduces premium, above 1.0 increases it. Because it is computed from reported data that frequently contains errors, it is worth auditing rather than accepting.

03

Can I lower my premium mid-term?

Sometimes. Correcting a misclassification or a demonstrable ex-mod error can produce a mid-term adjustment, and payroll reductions are trued up at audit. It is worth reviewing rather than waiting for renewal.

Related lines

Other coverage we place.