Best Workers’ Compensation Insurance Of 2025

Workers’ compensation insurance pays out when employees become injured on the job or sick because of their work—such as when an employee gets sick from chemicals at work.

Coverage includes an employee’s medical treatment and ongoing care, missed wages, disability benefits and funeral costs if the employee dies in a work-related incident.

If you’re shopping for workers’ comp, you may be wondering who the biggest workers’ comp insurers are. See a ranking of market share below.

Rank	Company	Market share for workers’ comp insurance
1	Travelers	6.68%
2	The Hartford	6.38%
3	AmTrust Financial	5.55%
4	Zurich	4.82%
5	Chubb	4.28%
6	Liberty Mutual	4.06%
7	Berkshire Hathaway Inc.	3.65%
8	AF Group	3.07%
9	State Insurance Fund Workers' Comp	2.75%
10	Old Republic Insurance	2.51%
11	Great American Insurance	2.22%
12	W. R. Berkley Corp.	2.11%
13	AIG	2.10%
14	State Compensation Insurance  Fund	2.06%
15	Texas Mutual Insurance Co.	1.86%
16	ICW	1.72%
17	CNA	1.66%
18	Fairfax Financial	1.33%
19	Arch Capital	1.32%
20	Employers	1.24%
21	STARR Cos.	1.08%
22	Markel	1.07%
23	SAIF Corp.	0.95%
24	Encova Insurance	0.93%
25	CopperPoint Insurance Companies	0.91%
26	Pinnacol Assurance	0.90%
27	Sentry	0.88%
28	Everest Re	0.88%
29	Erie Insurance	0.87%
30	WCF Insurance	0.82%
31	The Hanover Insurance Group	0.80%
32	NJM Insurance	0.76%
33	QBE	0.74%
34	MEMIC	0.70%
35	Nationwide	0.68%
36	Tokio Marine	0.66%
37	Federated Insurance	0.66%
38	Selective	0.65%
39	Idaho State Insurance Fund	0.63%
40	Trean Insurance Group	0.63%
41	Gray Family	0.61%
42	Amerisure	0.60%
43	Sirius	0.58%
44	AXA SA	0.57%
45	West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.	0.56%
46	StarStone	0.53%
47	State Farm	0.52%
48	EMC Insurance	0.51%
49	The Cincinnati Insurance Cos.	0.50%
50	Builders Mutual	0.48

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, based on 2022 direct premiums written.

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Workers’ compensation laws are based on state statutes, so requirements vary depending on where you are doing business. Check the workers’ compensation insurance laws in your state to see how much insurance you are required to buy.

If your business operates in additional states, you will have to follow those state statutes as well.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rules by State

State	Workers' compensation insurance requirements
Alabama	Businesses with five or more employees must have coverage
Alaska	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Arizona	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage.
Arkansas	Businesses with three or more employees must have coverage.
California	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Colorado	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Connecticut	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Delaware	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
District of Columbia	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Florida	Construction businesses with one or more employees, non-construction businesses with four or more employees, and agricultural businesses with six or more regular employees and/or 12 or more seasonal workers who work for over 30 days must have coverage
Georgia	Businesses with three or more employees must have coverage
Hawaii	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Idaho	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Illinois	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Indiana	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Iowa	Most businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Kansas	Businesses with a gross payroll of over $20,000 must have coverage unless exempted
Kentucky	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Louisiana	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Maine	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Maryland	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Massachusetts	Businesses with one or more employees and employees with domestic services who work at least 16 hours must have coverage
Michigan	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Minnesota	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Mississippi	Businesses with five or more regular employees must have coverage
Missouri	Businesses with five or more employees and construction businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Montana	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Nebraska	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Nevada	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
New Hampshire	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
New Jersey	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
New Mexico	Businesses with three or more employees must have coverage
New York	Nearly all businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
North Carolina	Businesses with three or more employees must have coverage
North Dakota	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage Must purchase from the state fund workers' compensation program, which makes it “monopolistic”
Ohio	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage Must purchase from the state fund workers' compensation program, which makes it “monopolistic”
Oklahoma	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Oregon	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Pennsylvania	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Rhode Island	Businesses with four or more employees must have coverage
South Carolina	Businesses with four or more employees must have coverage
South Dakota	Coverage is optional in South Dakota
Tennessee	Businesses with five or more employees and all construction and coal mining companies must have coverage
Texas	Coverage is optional in Texas except for construction companies performing governmental work
Utah	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Vermont	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Virginia	Businesses with two or more regular employees must have coverage
Washington	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverage Must purchase from the state fund workers' compensation program, which makes it “monopolistic”
West Virginia	Nearly all businesses with one or more employees must have coverage
Wisconsin	Businesses with three or more employees must have coverage.
Wyoming	Businesses with one or more employees must have coverageMust purchase from the state fund workers' compensation program, which makes it “monopolistic”

Source: National Federation of Independent Business

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What Happens if I Don’t Have Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Workers’ compensation insurance is state-mandated, so each state has its own laws and penalties. Employers who don’t carry the required coverage could face fines, criminal charges or jail time.

Not having workers’ comp insurance also opens businesses up to lawsuits. If you don’t carry workers’ comp insurance and an employee gets injured or becomes ill because of the job, they could sue you in an effort to recoup their medical expenses.

This is especially important to keep in mind as work-related injuries and illnesses are on the rise. Private industry employers reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2022, up 7.5% from 2021, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Injuries increased 4.5% to 2.3 million cases, and illnesses jumped 26% percent to 460,700 cases.

Workers’ compensation insurance costs small business owners an average of $47 a month, or $560 annually, according to Trusted Choice, a group for independent insurance agents.

This is an average for “middle of the pack” small businesses, in terms of business size and risk level. Larger companies in an industry with more risk, such as construction, will pay much more.

Median Workers’ Compensation Premium by Industry

Industry	Median workers' comp insurance cost per year
Real estate	$255
Hotels/motels	$1,586
Wholesale trade	$1,800
Transportation and warehousing	$3,300
Construction	$4,101

Source: Trusted Choice

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What Factors Affect My Workers’ Comp Insurance Premium?

There are several factors that can impact how much you pay for workers’ compensation insurance, including:

• Location: Your state dictates how much workers’ comp coverage you need. Employers in states with higher requirements are likely to pay more for their workers’ comp insurance.
• Type of business: Your industry will affect how much you pay for your workers’ comp insurance. Some jobs are more dangerous than others, such as a building designer compared to a construction worker.
• Claims history: Your insurer will look at your company’s history of workers’ compensation claims to determine your company’s likelihood of filing a claim.
• Payroll size: Businesses with more employees and higher payroll pay more in workers’ comp premiums.

There are several facets of a workers’ comp policy, including:

• Medical expenses: A workers’ compensation insurance policy provides coverage for injured or ill employees’ medical treatment when the cause relates to their job. This can include payments for doctor’s visits, emergency room visits, surgery, medication and ongoing care.
• Lost wages: When an employee is injured or becomes ill because of the job, it often leads to time off for treatment and recovery. During this time, workers’ compensation insurance typically pays partial wages. This helps ensure the employees still have income during their recovery period.
• Disability benefits: If your employee sustains a job-related injury or illness that results in a disability, full or partial disability benefits can help them supplement some of their lost wages.
• Continuing care: If an employee has a work-related injury or illness that requires extended care, workers’ comp can pay for ongoing care like physical therapy.
• Death benefits: If the worst happens and an employee dies from a work-related injury or illness, workers’ compensation insurance will usually cover funeral and burial expenses as well as survivor benefits for their beneficiaries.

There are some work-related injuries and illnesses that workers’ compensation insurance generally will not cover.

• Commute. Accidents that happen on the way to or from work are usually not covered.
• Alcohol or drugs. If an injury occurs while the employee is under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, workers’ comp insurance will likely not cover it.
• Intentional injuries. Workers’ comp policies exclude injuries that occur intentionally.
• Recreation. Any injuries from recreational activities are typically excluded, even if they occur on the work premises.
• Food poisoning. If you get food poisoning on your lunch break from food you bought or brought from home, this does not qualify for workers’ compensation because the break was not work-related.

A workers’ compensation insurance policy may have other exclusions, so check your policy carefully.

To get the best workers’ comp insurance for your business, follow these steps.

1. Learn state requirements. Even for industries that are generally considered safe, some level of workers’ comp insurance may be required in each state where you have employees. Check your state workers’ compensation laws to make sure your company is in compliance.

2. Determine where to buy insurance. Your state also decides who sells and handles workers’ comp policies: a state-run agency, private insurance companies or the state itself. Four states—North Dakota, Ohio, Wyoming and Washington—require employers to buy workers’ comp insurance from a government-operated fund, rather than from a private insurer. If your company has employees in one of these monopolistic states, or sends employees to work there, you may need to purchase workers’ comp insurance from its state fund.

3. Work with an agent. In states where you’re permitted to buy workers’ comp insurance from a private insurer, you can work with an insurance agent to compare quotes. Note that these quotes may change after insurance companies have taken a closer look at your business risk factors.

4. Lower your risk to lower your premium. For lower workers’ comp premiums, focus on safety in the workplace. Assigning a safety manager, holding regular safety meetings and keeping your buildings and equipment up to code may get you a discount.

We scored the 25 largest workers’ compensation insurance companies (with available data) based on their financial strength and the level of workers’ comp complaints against them in 2022.

Level of complaints (90% of the score): We scored companies based on upheld complaints made to state insurance departments nationwide and collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Financial strength (10% of the score): We scored companies based on their financial strength ratings from AM Best.