About $64 a month
Workers’ comp in Pennsylvania
Insureon average for Pennsylvania small business customers, updated April 2026
Pennsylvania · state requirements
Workers’ comp insurance in Pennsylvania
For Pennsylvania employers, contractors and growing small businesses: who must carry workers’ comp, what going without can cost, what coverage costs and how to pay less.
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Get workers’ compensation quotes in Pennsylvania
What similar businesses pay
- Workers’ comp in Pennsylvania
- About $64 a month
- Workers’ comp, national
- About $54 a month
- Construction and contracting
- About $179 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What workers’ comp insurance in Pennsylvania costs
About $54 a month
Workers’ comp, national
Insureon average for small business customers nationwide, updated April 2026
About $179 a month
Construction and contracting
Insureon national average for construction and contracting businesses, updated April 2026
Insureon reports that its Pennsylvania customers pay an average of $64 a month, or $767 a year, for workers’ comp, above its $54 national average. Most of those customers have fewer than five employees, so expect more as you grow: nationally, Insureon puts businesses with 10 or more employees at $160 a month and construction firms at $179. Pennsylvania prices start from Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB) loss costs, which fell 1.22% for policies written on or after April 1, 2026, according to the Insurance Department. Your premium is your job classification rate times your payroll, adjusted for your claims record, and the Department says about 375 insurers write the line in the state, so quotes can differ widely.
What moves your price
- The PCRB classification code assigned to each type of work you do
- Annual payroll in each classification, checked at a year-end audit
- Your claims record: experience rating applies once premium reaches about $5,000, and smaller employers are merit rated
- Each insurer’s rate on top of the PCRB loss costs, which fell 1.22% in April 2026
- Benefit levels: the maximum weekly wage-loss benefit rose to $1,394 for 2026 injuries, from $1,347 in 2025
- Whether you have a state-certified workplace safety committee, worth a 5% discount
Pennsylvania
What’s different in Pennsylvania
Coverage starts with your first employee
Pennsylvania requires coverage once you employ at least one person who could be hurt at work in the state. The Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) says part-time workers and family members, including a spouse or children, count unless every worker falls into an excluded group.
Every day uninsured is a separate crime
Under Section 305 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, each day without coverage is a separate offense. L&I says a misdemeanor can bring a $2,500 fine and up to one year in jail per day, and an intentional violation a $15,000 fine and up to seven years per day, for the company and the people responsible for it.
Uninsured employers repay the state fund and can be sued
If an uninsured worker is hurt, the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund pays and L&I pursues you for reimbursement plus interest, penalties and attorney fees. The worker can also sue you in court for more than comp would pay, and competitors can seek a private criminal complaint.
Contractors pay for uninsured subcontractors
Section 302(a) makes a contractor and its insurer liable for comp owed to a subcontractor’s employees if the sub has no coverage, and Section 302(d) bars subcontracting work to anyone who has not shown proof of insurance.
Construction has a strict independent contractor test
Under Act 72, a construction worker paid as a contractor must, among other tests, have a written contract, a separate business location and at least $50,000 of liability insurance. L&I can fine up to $1,000 for the first misclassification and $2,500 for each after that, and seek stop-work orders.
No building permit without proof
Section 302(e) requires municipalities to see proof of workers’ comp, or an affidavit that you have no employees, before issuing a contractor a building permit. A permit issued on that affidavit bars you from employing anyone on the job.
Coverage
Coverage Pennsylvania businesses need
Workers’ compensation
Pays medical treatment for work injuries and, once disability passes seven days, wage-loss benefits of two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, capped at $1,394 a week for 2026 injuries. Payments must start within 21 days of notice unless the claim is denied.
How workers’ compensation works →Cover for work outside Pennsylvania
L&I says the requirement reaches employees hurt outside the state if their job is principally based in Pennsylvania. List every state your crews work in so the policy follows them.
How workers’ compensation works →State Workers’ Insurance Fund (SWIF)
The state-run fund sells comp policies directly and describes itself as an assured source of coverage, which matters for new or higher-risk employers that private insurers decline.
How workers’ compensation works →Liability cover for construction subcontractors
Act 72 requires anyone working as an independent contractor in construction to carry at least $50,000 of liability insurance during the contract. If you work as a sub, a general liability policy is how you meet that test.
How general liability works →Rules
Pennsylvania requirements
Pennsylvania’s rules come from the Workers’ Compensation Act, enforced by L&I’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, plus Act 72 for construction.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory coverage | Any employer with at least one employee who could be hurt at work in Pennsylvania | Insure through SWIF, a licensed insurer or approved self-insurance, per Section 305(a) of the Act and L&I form LIBC-200. |
| Exclusions | Employers whose workers all fall into excluded groups | Includes sole proprietors and partners with no employees, LLCs whose only workers are members, casual workers and domestic workers who have not opted in, per LIBC-200. |
| Agricultural labor | Farm employers | Coverage is required once you pay one farm worker $1,200 or more in a year or employ one on 30 or more days, under Section 302(c). |
| Executive officer exclusion | Corporate officers | Officers with ownership in an S corporation, at least 5% of a C corporation or unpaid nonprofit officers may apply to be excluded through the insurer or the Bureau, per LIBC-200. |
| Criminal penalties | Employers and the people responsible for them | Third-degree misdemeanor, or felony if intentional, with each day a separate offense under Section 305(b); fines up to $2,500 or $15,000 per day, per L&I. |
| Subcontractor proof | Contractors that subcontract work | You may not subcontract without proof of the sub’s insurance, and you owe comp to its employees if it has none, under Section 302(a) and (d). |
| Construction contractor test | Commercial and residential construction | Act 72 limits who counts as an independent contractor; penalties run to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,500 after and $1,000 a day for breaching a stop-work order. |
| Posted notice | All covered employers | Post the insurer’s name, address and phone number at your main place of business and work sites, per LIBC-200. |
| First Report of Injury | Injuries causing a lost day, shift or turn | File with the Bureau within seven days, or within 48 hours for a death, and give copies to the worker and insurer, per LIBC-200. |
Compare workers’ compensation options in Pennsylvania.
One application, quotes from several insurers, reviewed by a licensed agent. Start with your email and finish later if you need to.
Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Set up a state-certified workplace safety committee for a 5% annual discount, per L&I: at least two employer and two employee members, meeting monthly for six months, with the application filed 90 to 30 days before renewal.
- Post a compliant list of at least six designated medical providers, three of them physicians; L&I says you may then avoid paying for the first 90 days of treatment off the list.
- Offer injured workers available jobs they can do, which L&I says the law requires, to shorten wage-loss claims.
- Prevent lost-time injuries: small employers are merit rated on two years of accident history, and the PCRB experience rates employers with about $5,000 or more of premium.
- Put each worker in the right PCRB classification with accurate payroll; L&I treats understating payroll or misclassifying job codes as fraud.
- Compare quotes at renewal: the Insurance Department counts about 375 insurers writing comp in the state. Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- Federal employer identification number and legal business name
- Estimated annual payroll by type of work, including part-time and family workers
- A description of each job your employees do
- Owners or officers you want included or excluded
- Subcontractor list with written contracts and certificates of insurance
- Loss runs from current and prior insurers and any PCRB experience mod
- States outside Pennsylvania where employees work
- Your safety committee certification letter, if you have one
Common questions
Workers’ comp insurance in Pennsylvania: questions
Do part-time workers or family members count in Pennsylvania?
Yes. L&I says you must insure even part-time workers and family members such as a spouse or children unless every worker falls into an excluded group.
Does a sole proprietor need workers’ comp in Pennsylvania?
Not if you have no employees. Sole proprietors and general partners with no other workers, and LLCs whose only workers are members, are excluded, but hiring one employee changes that.
Can corporate officers opt out of workers’ comp in Pennsylvania?
Some can. Executive officers who own part of an S corporation, own at least 5% of a C corporation or serve unpaid at a nonprofit may apply for an exclusion through the insurer or the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
What is the maximum weekly workers’ comp benefit in Pennsylvania for 2026?
$1,394 a week for injuries on or after January 1, 2026, according to L&I. Most injured workers receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage up to that cap.
Where can I get coverage if insurers turn me down?
The State Workers’ Insurance Fund, run by L&I, sells policies directly and describes itself as an assured source of workers’ comp for Pennsylvania employers.
How fast do I have to report a work injury?
Report every injury to your insurer immediately. If it costs a day, shift or turn of work, you also file a First Report of Injury with the Bureau within seven days, or within 48 hours for a death.
Get covered.
Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.
Sources (11)
- Pennsylvania L&I: LIBC-200 workers’ compensation employer information
- Pennsylvania General Assembly: Workers’ Compensation Act of 1915, sections 302 and 305
- Pennsylvania L&I: Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72), LLC-73
- Pennsylvania L&I: statewide average weekly wage and 2026 maximum rate
- Pennsylvania L&I: state-certified workplace safety committee program
- Pennsylvania L&I: State Workers’ Insurance Fund
- Pennsylvania Insurance Department: 1.22% loss cost decrease approved (April 10, 2026)
- PCRB: Proposal C-387, April 1, 2026 loss cost filing
- PCRB: Experience Rating Plan
- Insureon: workers’ compensation insurance in Pennsylvania (updated April 2026)
- Insureon: workers’ compensation insurance cost (updated April 2026)
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.