How much do you pay for Workers Comp. insurance??

Clean County PW

Active member
I just landed a nice size commercial account and they want proof of Insurance that has the following $1,000,000 Aggregate and also fo each occurrence. I have $2,000,000 and $1,000,000. For this I pay about $800/yr which is a great deal.

Now the problem. I need to show proof of Workers Comp. insurance which I don't have and for me to get it, it will cost $2600/yr for a sole proprieter that claims less then $30,000/yr and it goes up from there. I have workers Comp. thru my other job but thru this it does not matter here.

So how much do you all pay??? Workers Comp. insurance is thru the state so there really is no negotiating with there price even though I tried and ended up driving the agent nuts.

Either way I will get the Workers Comp. tomorrow and I will have to give them $1300 payment up front(ouch) :(
 
ron p

you should into this much further
im almost sure sole pro. are exsempt now
do some digging before you pay
 
SORRY..WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD. I PAY $8.25 PER $100. OF PAYROLL. KEEP IN MIND EVERYCLAIM MADE WILL INCREASE YOUR MOD RATE (RIGHT OFF YOUR BOTTOM LINE) AND IT TAKES ABOUT A YEAR TO BRING IT BACK DOWN. ROOFERS IN CALIF PAY ABOUT $125. PER $100. OF PAYROLL. (GULP) DAN
 
I always thought if you were the owner of the business, you are not required to obtain work comp insurance. Are you sure you cant find a way around this?

Call your state.
 
I pay 6.3%, which I obtain through our HBA. When I first got into business I paid 17%!

Here are some steps I would take:
1. Defer myself from the plan. This requires that you demonstrate proof of health insurance. If you can't pull ourself out of the pool, consider forming a Sub S Corp and take a portion of your compensation as a distribution instead of salary. The former is not subject to WC and unemployment. Consult your CPA and / or attny.
2. Have your agent look into a couple of different plans. Be sure to understand what the MINIMUM cost is for each plan. For example, last year when I switched to the HBA plan my minimum went from $600 to $1000. That meant that I could have a payroll of up to $16000 and still pay the $1000.
3. Also be sure that you know how you may be rebated. For example, you may think your cost is $3000, but in reality you may find that after a financial audit next year that you will get some money back based on actual payroll/minimum. For this reason, don't automatically overstate your expected payroll - that may be the reason for the high payments.

Good luck.
 
I pay $800.00 year for workers comp.,I have no payroll and I am exempt. It is a requirement for most comm. acct.. I just accept it as a buisness expense and enjoy all the comm. work.,It will keep food on the table in the winter.:cool:
 
Different states different rates, and it might be wise to watch how you try to skate around this one.

If you go the exempt route a company has the right to ask for Certificates from any "helpers" you may have on a given day presuming they're Contractors also. Admittedly I got my clock cleaned on this issue about 10 years ago and gave up trying to scheme my way around it, bit the bullet and now pay the rates.

I'm still amazed and in awe of the $800 Business Liability rate you have. It's none of my biz how you got that rate but consider yourself very lucky to have it.

I think Lance G. talked about this in another thread but there's probably an angle you can play if you're incorporated.

Insurance is a can of worms.
 
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