We shopped workers’ compensation for one Oregon moving and storage company and got back three real offers and several flat declines. On identical payroll and class code, the lowest quote and the highest were about $2,614 a year apart. This is that real comparison, with the client’s name and account details removed and the actual quote figures kept in.
The company we quoted
The account was a moving and storage operation with about $218,000 in estimated annual payroll. Every quote was rated under class code 8293, which covers furniture moving, storage, and drivers. That single code carries the whole exposure story for this business: people driving trucks, people lifting and carrying, and people working in and around a warehouse. It is not an office class, and carriers price it accordingly.
Because all three quotes used the same $218,000 payroll and the same 8293 classification, the comparison is clean. The only thing that changed from quote to quote was the carrier.
On price, SAIF came in lowest
SAIF quoted $10,340 a year, about $862 a month. Pie Insurance was $11,843, roughly $987 a month. biBERK came in at $12,954, about $1,080 a month. From the lowest offer to the highest was about $2,614 a year on the exact same account. That is real money on a $218,000 payroll, and it is the difference a market check can find.
SAIF, the lowest price
At $10,340 a year, SAIF was the lowest of the three. The quote included Oregon workers’ compensation coverage, $1 million in employer’s liability limits, standard annual payroll reporting, and SAIF’s safety, loss-control, and Oregon-based claims support. SAIF is Oregon’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, and for an Oregon moving company that support is not a throwaway line. Claims on this class tend to be lifting injuries and vehicle incidents, and having Oregon-focused claims and return-to-work help behind the policy has real value.
Vantage Point Risk is an independent agency actively appointed with SAIF, so we can quote and service SAIF directly. We are not SAIF Corporation or a government agency, and an employer is never required to use SAIF.
Pie Insurance, the second option
Pie Insurance quoted $11,843 a year, about $1,503 more than SAIF. Pie structured the payment as roughly $2,191 down and about $981 a month after that. Pie is a technology-forward small-business workers’ comp carrier that quotes many classes quickly, and it was a legitimate second option here. On this account, it simply landed above SAIF on total cost.
biBERK, the highest total
biBERK quoted $12,954 a year, about $2,614 more than SAIF and the highest of the three. Its payment schedule was appealing at the start: roughly $1,079.07 down and eleven monthly payments of about $1,079.54. The biBERK quote included $1 million in employer’s liability limits, and it excluded both owners from workers’ compensation coverage.
That exclusion matters for a fair comparison. biBERK’s higher premium was for a policy covering fewer people, because the two owners were carved out. A low first payment can also hide a higher total, and that is what happened here: the smallest amount due at signing sat on top of the largest annual cost. If you only look at the down payment, biBERK looks like the easy yes. On the full year, it was the most expensive.
The markets that passed
The three offers above are only part of the story. Before we had any of them, several standard carriers declined the account outright. Markets including The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, AmTrust, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, and CNA did not offer terms for this moving and storage operation.
That is not a knock on those carriers. Moving and storage is a harder class to place, because it combines driving, heavy lifting, and the loss history the class tends to carry. Plenty of strong markets simply do not have an appetite for it. That is exactly why the account went to an independent agency in the first place. When several standard carriers pass, the answer is not a higher price by default. It is a market, usually SAIF and a short list of specialty carriers, that actually wants the class. Reaching those markets is the difference between one expensive option and a real comparison. Our guide to state fund versus private workers’ comp explains why the state fund is so often the answer for classes the standard market avoids.
What each option costs above SAIF
Lined up against the lowest quote, Pie cost about $1,503 more a year and biBERK about $2,614 more, with biBERK also covering two fewer people. On a small business’s budget, that spread is worth a market check every renewal, not just at the start.
Our recommendation
Our recommendation on this account was SAIF. It gave this moving company the lowest annual premium, strong workers’ compensation coverage with $1 million employer’s liability, and access to SAIF’s Oregon-specific safety, claims, and loss-control resources. Pie was the second-lowest option and a reasonable choice. biBERK offered the lowest initial payment, but it carried the highest total annual cost and excluded both owners, which made it the weakest fit here.
None of this makes SAIF the right answer for every moving company. It was the right answer for this one, on this payroll, class code, and loss profile. The point of shopping the account is to find that out with real numbers instead of assuming.
What this comparison shows
A few lessons hold up well beyond this one company. The same account, quoted on identical payroll and the same class code, priced about $2,614 apart across three carriers. The lowest down payment came with the highest annual cost. One quote quietly covered fewer people than the others. And several respected carriers would not touch the class at all, which is normal for movers and a reason to shop rather than settle.
For a moving and storage business, the class code does a lot of work, so it is worth getting right and worth checking at audit. Two of the biggest drivers of your premium over time are your experience modification and how your payroll is classified and reconciled at the annual premium audit. Those mechanics matter as much as which carrier you start with.
Questions to ask your advisor
Before you accept a moving-company workers’ comp quote, ask a few specific things. Ask which class codes the quote is built on and whether the payroll split is right for your operation. Ask whether the owners are included or excluded, because that changes both the price and who is protected. Ask what the full annual premium is, not just the down payment. And ask how many markets were actually approached, because on a class like this the value is in reaching the carriers that will write it.
About this example
The figures here come from a real Vantage Point Risk workers’ compensation comparison completed in 2026 for one Oregon moving and storage company. The client’s name and any account numbers are removed. Carrier names and the real premium figures are kept so the comparison is useful, not to rank one insurer over another. Because pricing depends on payroll, class codes, experience modification, loss history, and each carrier’s appetite, this is an illustration of how the same account can price differently by carrier, not a rate to expect on your own policy.
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