The premium is set by your class code, not by your carrier.
Workers comp is usually a contractor's largest insurance line, and it is priced by a formula rather than a negotiation: rate per $100 of payroll, by class code, times your experience mod. That means the biggest savings almost never come from switching carriers. They come from making sure your payroll is classified correctly and your audit is not full of surprises. We are independent and based in Eugene, so we check the codes before we shop the rate.
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Rates between construction class codes differ by an order of magnitude, not a few percent. Tree work (code 0106) is commonly quoted somewhere around $8 to $15 per $100 of payroll depending on state and loss history, while clerical payroll is a small fraction of that. On a $200,000 crew payroll, sitting in the wrong code is a five-figure annual error.
How the price is actually built
The formula is simple enough to check yourself. Take your payroll in each class code, multiply by that code's rate per $100, add them together, then multiply by your experience modification factor. Carriers apply their own scheduled credits and debits around the edges, but that is the structure.
The consequence is worth sitting with: two contractors doing identical work with identical payroll pay very different premiums if one is classified correctly and the other is not. The carrier is a minor variable. The classification is the major one, and it is the one almost nobody audits.
Class codes, and the payroll split
Construction codes are granular and the rate gaps are wide. Landscaping is the cleanest illustration: installation work and lawn maintenance carry different codes, and depending on the state the installation rate can approach double. A landscaper whose entire payroll sits in the installation code, when a real share of the year is maintenance, overpays continuously.
Where a carrier permits a split, it generally requires genuine, contemporaneous records of who worked which operation and for how long. Reconstructing it at audit does not survive scrutiny. Keeping those records as you go is one of the highest-return administrative habits available to a contractor, because the split is worth real money and it is only defensible with documentation.
The experience mod
Your experience modification factor compares your loss history to the average for contractors in your class and size. A 1.0 is average, below earns a credit, above is a debit. You typically need enough payroll across several years to qualify for one at all, so smaller operations are often rated at 1.0 by default.
Once you have a mod, it is slow-moving in both directions. A bad year follows you for roughly three years, and a good record takes about as long to earn the credit. That lag is why safety programs and claims handling are a pricing decision, not just a compliance one.
The audit, and how subs land on your bill
Your policy starts on estimated payroll and is trued up at audit. Two things produce the unpleasant version. Payroll that grew during the year generates an additional premium. And subcontractors who cannot produce a valid certificate are generally treated as your employees and charged to your policy at your rate.
That second one catches good contractors regularly. A sub who was insured when you hired them and lapsed mid-project still shows up on your audit. Collecting the certificate at the start is necessary; confirming it stayed in force is what actually protects the bill.
Owners, officers, and Oregon specifics
Whether owners are covered varies by state and entity, and the default is often that they are not. Sole proprietors generally have no coverage on themselves unless they elect it. In Oregon, the exemption for a partnership, LLC, or corporation doing construction generally applies only where the entity is registered with the CCB and all owners are family. Non-family co-owners with employees typically trigger coverage.
Oregon is also an open, competitive market. SAIF is a state-chartered carrier but it competes with private insurers, so there is no state monopoly to buy from. We are actively appointed with SAIF, it costs you nothing extra to place through us rather than direct, and we can put it alongside the private market on the same submission.
Questions worth asking before you sign
Ask which class codes your payroll is sitting in and whether they match the work performed. Ask whether a payroll split is available for your operation and what records it would require. Ask what your experience mod is and what is driving it. Ask how the carrier treats uninsured subcontractors at audit. If the answer to the first question is vague, that is where your money is going.
Trades that need workers compensation
How this coverage applies changes with the work. These are the trades where it does the most, each with the exposure spelled out for that trade.
Roofers
One of the highest-rated codes in construction. Fall exposure drives the rate more than anything you can negotiate.
Roofer insurance →Tree Service
Class code 0106 is among the most expensive in the book, commonly quoted around $8 to $15 per $100 of payroll.
Tree service insurance →Electricians
Rated on 5190, a mid-hazard code where the split between shop and field payroll matters at audit.
Electrician insurance →Landscaping
The 0042 versus 9102 split is the single most expensive detail in the trade, and it is routinely wrong.
Landscaping insurance →General Contractors
Uninsured subs land on your audit as your payroll, which is where GC comp bills go wrong.
GC insurance →Excavation Contractors
Heavy equipment and trench work put this in the higher construction codes.
Excavation insurance →Requirements change at the state line
Licensing, bonds, and workers comp rules vary by state, and so do the limits contracts ask for. Pick yours.
Go deeper in the Learning Center
Plain-language articles on how this coverage behaves in a real claim.
Contractor workers comp questions
How is contractor workers comp actually priced?
What is an experience mod and when does it start affecting me?
Why does the class code matter so much?
Can I split payroll between two class codes?
What happens at the audit?
Do I need workers comp if my subs carry their own?
Are owners and officers covered?
Is SAIF my only option in Oregon?
Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, Vantage Point Risk. Last reviewed July 20, 2026. How we review this.
Is your payroll in the right class code?
It is the single biggest lever on a contractor comp premium, and it is the one almost nobody checks. We audit it before we shop the rate.
Fix the classification, then shop the rate.
Tell us your trades and payroll and we will check the codes, look at whether a split applies, and place it across the market including SAIF.