How to Buy Workers’ Comp Insurance Online

Trying to buy a workers’ comp policy can be tricky, especially in a rush! You need your policy yesterday and don’t know where to start. 

Here’s a quick guide on how to buy workers' comp insurance online quickly and get the right coverage for your small business.

The advantage to buying workers’ compensation insurance online is that you usually can get an instant quote, unlike the traditional methods, though an insurance agent, where it can take days or even weeks to get a ballpark number for a policy.

First know your business information and payroll numbers

Since workers’ comp insurance is based on your payroll and what your business does, most online applications will ask for most, if not all of these numbers. 

Annual Projected payroll

This is a fancy way of asking how much you think you will pay your employees in the 12 months that the policy will cover. If you are growing rapidly, and will have to hire more staff at some point, it can be hard to get an exact number. 

If you are an existing business, take the past 12 months numbers and adjust them based on what you think will happen.

The insurance companies aren’t expecting it to be 100 percent perfect, but try to give it a decent guess.

What your business and employees do

You will be asked to divide your big payroll amount by job categories. Every person can only be in one category but you can have multiple people in the same category.

Take a restaurateur for example: 

One category would include the secretary, HR and ordering department.

The waiters, and kitchen staff would be another category.

If you had a delivery person(s) on staff, that would be a third category.

The insurance company will match each role to a specific rate and it will pay a big role in determining what your insurance costs. 

Federal Employer Identification Number - FEIN

The Federal Employer Identification Number, better known as the FEIN, is like a social security number for your business.

The insurance company will use this number to search for information about your business that they need to create your policy. 

If you don’t know it offhand, go look it up. You are going to need it!

States in which you have a location or work in

This one may sound a bit silly, but if you have locations in multiple states, then it’s important to make sure you input that information in the quoting forms. Maybe your business is near the border of a state and you also operate in a sister state. 

Since rates are different in every state, it is important to include all locations in which you operate.

Get workers’ compensation insurance quotes online 

Now, you are all set to start getting workers’ comp insurance online. Fill out an online instant quote form with all your information. You can get an online quote from us at Kickstand Insurance right here.

Make sure you read the instructions very carefully. A little error can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Compare your online workers comp insurance quotes

Once you’ve gotten a quote or three, compare the quotes. See which roles, called class codes in insurance terms, were assigned to your business. If there is a discrepancy, you should speak to someone knowledgeable that can help you figure out which is the correct one. 

Why can’t you just use the cheaper class code?

You can, but you may regret it. At the end of the policy, the insurance company is required by law to conduct an audit. This means that someone will come down to your company, check all the payroll documents and other business papers. 

If they think your business was classified incorrectly, they can change it and you have to pay the difference. So it’s in your best interest to make sure you have the correct classification to start with.

Review the fine print

There are other factors that are included in the policy that can vary between companies. Employer liability limits (ELL), which protects the employer against a variety of claims or lawsuits that can be filed by an employee against them.

The basic and most common employer liability limit is usually $100,000/$500,000/$100,000. That's $100,000 per accident, $500,000 per policy, and $100,000 per employee. 

Some industries, especially construction, will use a higher range, $1,000,000/$1,000,000/$1,000,000. 

Another thing that can be different is if the owner was included or not. Owners generally don’t have to be included in the policy. If they are included, it will increase the cost. 

Double check that the quotes you are reviewing have the owner’s coverage the way you want it.

Make sure that when you are comparing the online workers’ compensation insurance quotes, that you are looking at the same thing and not a different level of coverage policy. Most of these items can be adjusted by the company and that will adjust the rate.

Need some help?

Buying workers’ compensation insurance online can be confusing. It’s also overwhelming to fill out quotes in a form that most of us aren’t familiar with.

If you want some guidance and clarity, call us at 866-338-6388. If you want to get a head start, you can fill out an instant quote.

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