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Business Insurance / Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation Insurance in Pennsylvania

Workers' compensation covers your own employees when they are hurt at work. Pennsylvania generally requires it from the first employee, with limited exceptions, and the two things that decide what you pay are your payroll and your class code. Both are worth getting right, because both are checked at audit.

What It Covers

The parts of the policy, in plain terms.

  • Medical treatment

    Care for a work-related injury or illness, without the employee going through their own health plan.

  • Wage replacement

    A portion of lost wages while an injured employee cannot work.

  • Employers liability

    The part that responds when an injury turns into a suit against you rather than a straightforward claim.

  • Class codes

    Your rate is driven by what your people actually do. A wrong class code is expensive in both directions, and it is the most common thing we find wrong on a policy written elsewhere.

  • Payroll audits

    Premium is set on estimated payroll and trued up at the end. If you grew, the difference gets billed. Knowing that in October beats discovering it in December.

  • Subcontractor exposure

    An uninsured sub can end up on your audit as if they were your payroll. Collecting their certificates is not paperwork for its own sake.

How it plays out

A helper you brought on in April slips off a ladder in July and is out for six weeks. Workers' compensation handles the medical care and part of the lost wages. Your general liability policy does not, because he works for you.

Placed with

  • Next Insurance
  • Travelers
  • Utica First

Frequently Asked Questions

Workers' Compensation questions we get.

Do I need workers' compensation if it is just me?
Pennsylvania generally does not require a sole proprietor to carry it on themselves. General contractors frequently require it anyway before letting you on site, and the City of Scranton licensing checklist accepts an affidavit that you do not employ anyone in place of a certificate. So the legal answer and the practical answer are often different.
Why did I get a bill after my policy ended?
That is the payroll audit. Premium is estimated at the start and reconciled against actual payroll at the end. A good year means more payroll than estimated, and the difference is billed. It is not a penalty. Reviewing real payroll against the estimate partway through the year stops it being a surprise.
My subcontractor says he is covered. Is that enough?
Get the certificate, not the assurance. If a sub cannot produce proof of their own coverage, an auditor can treat what you paid them as your payroll and charge you accordingly. This is one of the most expensive avoidable findings in a contractor audit.
What is a ghost policy?
A minimum-premium policy written for a business with no employees, which exists mainly to produce a certificate a general contractor will accept. Whether it suits your situation depends on who is asking and why, and it is worth a conversation rather than a form.

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Also worth a look

Other coverage we write.

  • General Liability

    The third-party coverage every contract, landlord and city licence asks you to carry.

  • Commercial Insurance

    General liability, property, commercial auto and BOPs, sized to how the business actually runs.

  • Vacant Building

    For a building sitting empty, where a standard property policy quietly stops working.

Let's get you a real number.

Tell us what you're insuring and David will shop it across our carriers. No obligation, and no pressure if your current policy turns out to be the better deal.

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