Industries We Serve

Workers’ Comp Insurance for Contractors

CompShield is an independent workers’ comp agency, not tied to a single carrier, and we specialize in nothing but workers’ comp. Contracting trades cover a wide range of real risk, a solo handyman and a 40-person mechanical crew aren’t rated the same way, so we start by getting your specific trade classified correctly instead of dropping every contractor into one generic construction bucket.

Construction consistently records more workplace fatalities than any other industry sector, and within that broad category, individual trades carry meaningfully different risk profiles, an electrician’s exposure isn’t a landscaper’s exposure. That’s exactly why we build coverage around your specific trade, not the industry as a whole.

Why It Matters

One “Contractor” Classification Doesn’t Fit Every Contractor

Workers’ comp rates a general contractor’s own executive-supervisor role differently than the field labor of an electrician, plumber, or roofer working underneath them. Getting that classification wrong in either direction costs you: too broad a code and you’re overpaying for risk you don’t carry, too narrow and an audit reclassifies your payroll retroactively.

Subcontractor exposure adds another layer. Whatever trade you’re in, an uninsured sub’s payroll can become your own at audit time if their certificate of insurance has lapsed, expired, or was never valid in the first place.

Pricing

How Contractor Premiums Actually Get Set

Payroll ÷ 100 × Class Code Rate × Experience Mod = Premium

Payroll. Your total insurable payroll, correctly reported by trade and role.
Class code rate. Varies significantly between trades, an electrician, a roofer, and an executive-only GC are rated very differently even within the same broad contracting category.
Experience mod. Compares your claims history to similar contractors in your exact class code, not “construction” as a whole.

We won’t publish a fake average across every contracting trade, real numbers come from your specific classification and payroll.

Get Your Real Number

Contracting Trades

Find Your Specific Trade

Each trade below has its own dedicated coverage guide, real risk factors, real class codes, and real FAQs for that exact classification.

General ContractorsView Coverage Guide

ElectriciansView Coverage Guide

PlumbersView Coverage Guide

HVAC ContractorsView Coverage Guide

Excavation ContractorsView Coverage Guide

LandscapersView Coverage Guide

Roofing ContractorsView Coverage Guide

Framing & Carpentry ContractorsView Coverage Guide

Masonry ContractorsView Coverage Guide

Painting ContractorsView Coverage Guide

Common Questions

Workers’ Comp for Contractors, Answered

No. Rates are set per class code, and different trades, electricians, roofers, general contractors, carry different rates because they carry different real risk. Lumping every contractor into one generic code either overpays or under-covers your actual exposure.

Generally yes, a bona fide 1099 subcontractor is expected to carry their own coverage rather than ride on the hiring contractor’s policy. An expired or missing certificate of insurance is one of the most common causes of a surprise audit adjustment.

A GC who purely supervises, without directly performing or directly overseeing hands-on construction work, may qualify for a lower-rated executive-supervisor code. A GC or specialty contractor who works the job alongside their crew gets rated under the applicable field labor code instead, which typically runs higher.

Not tracking subcontractor certificates of insurance continuously. A certificate collected at contract signing can go stale, if the sub’s policy lapses mid-project, an auditor can reclassify that payroll as the hiring contractor’s own, driving a retroactive premium increase.

This depends heavily on your state, some let a sole owner with no employees exclude themselves, others still require coverage for construction-related work regardless of headcount. It’s worth confirming your specific state’s rule rather than assuming.

Yes. New businesses are typically quoted on estimated payroll for the first policy term, then trued up at audit once real payroll numbers are in. That first-year estimate shifting once actual numbers are known is normal.

Yes, falls are one of the leading causes of construction workers’ comp claims, and coverage generally applies regardless of fault for an on-the-job injury. Trades with elevated fall exposure, roofing especially, are rated accordingly.

Start with your primary scope of work, framing, electrical, plumbing, excavation, and we’ll confirm the correct class code against your actual operations. Businesses doing multiple trades under one roof sometimes need more than one classification.

No, they cover different things. Workers’ comp covers your own employees’ on-the-job injuries. General liability covers damage or injury your work causes to third parties or their property. Most contractors need both, priced and classified separately.

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Other Industries We Cover

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