Workers Compensation Insurance in Connecticut

A Guide to Workers Comp Cost by Daigle & Travers, Darien, Connecticut (203) 655-6974

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All businesses in Connecticut that have employees are required to have workers compensation insurance. Depending on the industry your business is a part of, workers comp may be your highest expense after payroll.

How is workers comp calculated?

Workers comp insurance is determined using:

• classification code
• experience modification rate
• payroll

Classification codes (or class codes) are assigned to differentiate business types and employee duties. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) designates the class codes to occupations as well as the base rates. Jobs with more hazard exposure have higher base rates than low-risk occupations. In Connecticut, the base rates provided by the NCCI are one of the highest in the country, luckily businesses have the option to seek a competitive base rate with a private insurance company.

Previous claim history is assessed to establish an experience modification rate (or MOD). A MOD essentially becomes a debit or credit applied to premium if your claims occurrence varies from the expected amount based upon your industry. A business begins with a modifier of x1; if it has not made any claims, it may decrease the modifier, x.9 for example, thereby decreasing their premium. If the business has made claims, the modifier will increase, x1.25 for example, resulting in an increased premium. This factor is the best way for you to manage workers comp costs. By investing some energy into promoting safety, you may be able to lower your costs down the line.

The size of your payroll will be the largest determinant of the cost of a business’s workers compensation. Payroll is divided by 100 and then multiplied by the base rate and experience modification rate to determine the premium for the given year.

Let’s look at how this calculation might look for a law office that had an abnormally high number of legal malpractice claims last year:

Class Code	×	MOD	×	Payroll	÷	100	=	Workers Comp Premium
.42	×	1.25	×	$1,500,000	÷	100	=	$7875

 

Here are other common class codes and the rate provided by the NCCI versus rates we attained from the competitive market:

Class Code	Description	NCCI Rate	Option A	Option B	Option C
5645	Carpentry	29.91	25.64	21.01	23.28
0913	Domestic Help	1423 flat  rate
8810	Clerical	0.24	0.15	0.17	0.21
5190	Electrical	5.88	3.63	5.2	4.5
8380	Automotive Repair	6.6	4.82	3.96	5.2
5183	Plumbing	10.26	5.08	6.17	7
5022	Masonry	21.27	16.41	19.2	16.99
8742	Outside Sales	0.63	0.54	0.39	0.45
0042	Landscaping	15.96	13.31	10.84	9.99
8820	Law Office	0.42	0.28	0.18	0.27
9014	Janitorial Service	5.7	5.14	6.4	4.54
5604	Executive Supervisor	9.71	8	9.2	8.5
5474	Painting	16.75	16.68	16.5	15.99
9082	Restaurant	2.69	1.97	2.1	2.23
8832	Physician Office	0.83	0.66	0.75	0.59
6217	Excavation	10.47	8.88	12.69	7.12
8227	Permanent Yard	12.85	9.59	10.2	11.1
5403	Carpentry	21.12	18.97	19	18.5
6400	Fence Erection	19	13.35	15	16.67
8232	Lumberyard	9.1	6.31	7	6.9
9501	Painting Shop	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.2
5223	Pools	19.31	16.14	21.68	18.5
8017	Retail	3.27	3.37	2.87	3.1
5606	Project Manager	3.64	3.52	2.47	3.3
8006	Gas Station	6.11	3.67	4.46	5

Get the coverage you need.

Daigle and Travers is based in beautiful Darien, nestled between Stamford, Norwalk, and New Canaan. We also serve Fairfield County, Greenwich, Weston, Westport, Wilton, Ridgefield, Redding, Easton, Fairfield, Southport, Trumbull and parts of Westchester County and Long Island. When partnering with us, we will give you all the necessary information and options you need to make the best choice of insurance company and policy. Give us a call today at (203)-655-6974.

Serving the following zip codes within Fairfield County, Connecticut:
06830 • 06831 • 06836 • 06883 • 06880 • 06881 • 06888 • 06889 • 06897 • 06877 • 06879 • 06875 • 06876 • 06896 • 06612 • 06824 • 06825 • 06828 • 06890 • 06611

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