California Workers’ Compensation Insurance

It depends on your classification. A sole proprietor with no employees is generally not required to cover themselves, with one major exception: C-8 concrete, C-20 HVAC, C-22 asbestos abatement, C-39 roofing, and C-61/D-49 tree service contractors must carry workers’ compensation even with zero employees, and there is no exemption. Starting January 1, 2028, the exemption ends for nearly every license classification. Beyond the legal requirement, most general contractors and property managers will not let an uninsured sub on site, so many solo contractors carry a policy with the owner excluded simply to satisfy certificate requirements.

Workers’ compensation is priced per $100 of payroll using the class code assigned to each type of work. Clerical and estimating payroll rates are low, often near $1 per $100, while roofing and framing class codes commonly run well above $15 per $100. Your experience modification, based on claims history, then adjusts that rate up or down. Correct payroll classification matters: office payroll rated as field labor is one of the most common and most expensive audit errors.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office can issue a stop order prohibiting work until valid coverage is in place and cite the employer $1,500 for each employee not covered, and the CSLB can suspend the contractor license. Violating a stop order can bring further penalties, and an uninsured injury exposes the business owner personally to the full cost of the claim. Because the CSLB ties license status to workers’ compensation compliance, a lapse in coverage can suspend the license automatically even if no injury occurs.

Uninsured subcontractors are commonly treated as your employees at audit, which means their payroll gets added to yours and you pay premium on it. Collect a current certificate of insurance from every subcontractor before they start and keep it on file through your audit period. This single habit prevents the largest surprise premium charges California contractors face at year-end audit.

An experience modification, often called an X-Mod, compares your claims history to the expected losses for your class codes and payroll size. A modification below 1.0 lowers your premium; above 1.0 raises it. Frequency of small claims tends to hurt the modification more than one large loss, which is why documented safety programs and prompt return-to-work matter. WCIRB California administers the rating framework.

Once the policy is bound, certificates are typically issued the same day. If a general contractor is holding your crew off a California jobsite pending proof of coverage, call and we will issue the certificate directly to the requesting party with the correct additional insured and waiver language where the contract requires it.