Maryland Workers’ Comp Insurance
CompShield is licensed to write workers’ comp directly in Maryland, License #3003445098, and we’re an independent agency comparing real carriers, not a single-carrier storefront. Maryland’s government, healthcare, and logistics sectors, anchored by federal contracting and the Port of Baltimore, mean the businesses we work with here carry real, specific risk.
Maryland requires coverage from your very first employee, one of the lowest thresholds in the country. And corporate officers and LLC managers can be held personally liable for a penalty that was recently increased to as much as $25,000 if they knowingly went uninsured.
Maryland Requires Coverage From Employee One
Maryland law requires any employer with at least one covered employee to carry workers’ comp, one of the lowest thresholds in the country, with no general “3+ employees” or “5+ employees” carve-out. Narrow exemptions exist for certain agricultural and casual/domestic labor arrangements.
Sole proprietors, partners, and LLC owners aren’t automatically covered, they need to file an affirmative election to be covered themselves, and owners who want to opt out of their own coverage use a separate exclusion form.
Source: Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission, Insurance, Compliance & Reporting
Up to $25,000, With Personal Liability for Officers
The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission can order an uninsured employer to pay a penalty of up to $25,000 to the Uninsured Employers’ Fund, a figure that was increased effective July 1, 2024. Corporate officers or LLC members with general management responsibility can be held personally, jointly liable for that penalty if they knowingly failed to secure coverage and the business’s assets fall short.
Maryland Is Not a Monopolistic State
Maryland allows private carriers to write workers’ comp, unlike the four monopolistic states, Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming, where coverage has to come through a state fund. Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company operates here as a competitive, not exclusive, option alongside private carriers, which is exactly where an independent agent comparing real options adds value.
How Much Does Workers’ Comp Cost in Maryland?
Maryland’s government, healthcare, and logistics-heavy economy, anchored by federal contracting and the Port of Baltimore, means rates for those specific classifications reflect real, documented risk differences. The formula behind your real number is the same regardless of trade:
- Payroll. Your total insurable payroll, starting from your very first employee.
- Class code rate. Healthcare, logistics, and professional-services classifications reflect Maryland’s real economic mix and are rated accordingly.
- Experience mod. Compares your claims history to similar Maryland businesses in your class code.
We’ll run the real number against your actual payroll and classification, not a generic Maryland average.
Maryland Workers’ Comp, Answered
Workers’ Comp by Trade in Maryland
Healthcare, logistics, and professional services anchor Maryland’s economy. Here’s where we focus in-state.
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