Workers Compensation Insurance in Connecticut and New York

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

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All businesses in Connecticut and New York that have employees are required to carry workers compensation insurance. Depending on your industry, workers compensation may be your highest expense after payroll.

*Note that in New York, when you have payroll you are required to carry New York State Disability*

We are asked often, how is workers compensation calculated?

Workers Compensation insurance is determined using three main factors:

• Employee classification code
• Payroll
• Experience modification rate

Classification codes (or class codes) are assigned to businesses based on industry type 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 rates, such as the construction trades vs. low-risk occupations such as lawyers and doctors.

In Connecticut, the base rates provided by the NCCI are one of the highest in the state, luckily businesses have the option to seek a competitive base rate with a private insurance company. Daigle & Travers Insurance represents over 30 insurance carriers and is able to shop the market for the most competitive rates for our clients.

An Experience Modification Rate (or MOD)

A MOD essentially becomes a debit or credit applied to premium based on your prior claims history.

A business begins with a modifier of 1:

If the business has not made any claims on their workers compensation, the MOD may decrease each year. We have seen Mods as low as .75.

If the business has a history of frequent claims, the modifier will increase.  This increase is a debit put on your workers compensation premium. These debits can sometimes double your premium.

**Disclaimer, for a company to receive an experience mod, they usually need to generate a premium over $5,000 annually and it may take 2 or 3 years for an experience mod to be generated**

Managing your claims is one of the best ways for a business 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. Employees payroll is assigned a classification code and the total annual payroll is divided by 100 and then multiplied by the workers compensation rate.

 

Let’s look at how this calculation might look for a law office:

Class Code	×	Rate	×	Payroll	÷	100	=	Workers Comp Premium
8810	×	.18	×	$1,500,000	÷	100	=	$2,700

 

Common Class Codes

Here are other common class codes and the rate provided by the NCCI and the New York State Fund 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	9.99
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

 

Daigle and Travers has three convenient locations in lower Fairfield County: Darien, Westport, and Wilton nestled between Stamford, Norwalk, and New Canaan. We also serve 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