Workers' comp for food manufacturers: what you need and what it costs
Most food plants with employees must carry workers' comp. Its price comes from the class each job falls into (bakery, meat, beverage and canning each have their own), the payroll in each class, and your own claims record. An auditor settles the final bill after the policy year.
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- You pay a base price per $100 of payroll for each class, then your insurer's own charges, then a multiplier from your claims record once you are large enough.
- The plant floor, an on-site store, the office and the drivers can each sit in a different class. Ask your agent how your payroll is split.
- This guide prints class numbers for Pennsylvania and Washington only; Washington prices by the hour worked through a state fund.
Which job class applies to my food plant?
It depends on what you make. The rating system sorts every business into a numbered category, and food plants are split by product: bakery, candy, meat, dairy, beverage, canning and others.
Workers' compWorkers' Compensation Insurance that pays medical bills and lost wages when an employee is hurt or sick because of work. Insurers call it workers' compensation. more → pays an employee's medical bills and lost wages after a work injury, and each class carries its own price per $100 of payroll. The same product can carry a different number from one state to the next, because some states keep their own tables. (Source: New York Workers' Compensation Board, 2019 table) Pennsylvania's own manual does the same. (Source: Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau manual, April 2025)
One plant can also have more than one class. A bakery with a store counter may split its payroll if the rating rules allow it, and in states that use the national council's classes, a counter that sells only take-away food is generally rated as a shop, not as the plant. That is the national council's 2008 classification wording, not your state's; your own state's rating bureau confirms the code that goes on your policy. (Source: NCCI classification wording, 2008) Ask your agent which class each group of workers is in, and why. Our workers' comp coverage page explains what the policy pays for.
Who counts as an employee at my plant?
Most people on your payroll count. Whether a hauler, temp or contractor counts depends on how your state treats them; ask your agent and check your state's page.
- Production and warehouse staff: they usually count, and their pay goes into the payroll the price is figured on.
- Drivers and office staff: they usually count too, and may sit in their own classes.
- Owners and family: some states leave owners out unless they opt in. Each state page below says how.
- Temp-agency and contract workers: an auditor may ask for the agency's proof of its own coverage.
Hiring for the first time? Read what changes when you hire an employee.
How is the price built?
Payroll in each class, times the base price for that class, plus your insurer's own charges, then adjusted for your claims. The base price is not what you pay.
The base price is the rating body's average injury cost per $100 of payroll in a class. Your insurer then adds its own expenses and profit. Larger plants also get an experience modifierExperience Modification Factor (E-Mod) A number, with 1.0 as average, that raises or lowers your workers' compensation price based on your claims compared with similar businesses. Insurers call it the experience modification factor. more →, a multiplier from your claims compared with similar businesses: above 1.00 raises the price, below 1.00 lowers it. The example below follows a plant with $400K of payroll in one class, an example base price of $3.00 and an example 25% for the insurer's expenses.
| What happens | Amount |
|---|---|
| Payroll in this class | $400K |
| Divided into $100 units ($400K ÷ $100) | 4,000 |
| Rating body's base price per unit (example, not what you pay) | $3.00 |
| Insurer adds its own charges, an example 25% ($3.00 × 1.25) | $3.75 |
| Price before any modifier (4,000 × $3.75) | $15K |
| Modifier 1.20, more claims than similar plants ($15K × 1.20) | $18K |
| Modifier 0.85, fewer claims than similar plants ($15K × 0.85) | $12.75K |
Illustration only, with round numbers, an example base price and an example expense charge. It is not a statement of what any policy pays; your own policy wording governs.
Your own price will follow your state, your classes and your claims. Food plants see more injuries than most workplaces: 3.3 recordable cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024, against 2.3 for all private industry. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics) Because claims move the modifier, report every injury promptly and keep the record by job.
The starting price is an estimate. After the year ends, a premium audit checks actual payroll by class and bills or refunds the difference. Our premium audit guide lists what the auditor asks for, and the food manufacturing quote checklist covers the payroll split to have ready.
What changes by state?
Mostly who sets the classes and how the price is counted. The table shows only what is different for a food plant; who must carry coverage is in food manufacturing insurance requirements by state.
| State | Class codes | What is different here | Cost standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | NCCI classes (the national council's), sorted by product | A farm arm can sit outside workers' comp while the plant sits inside | Rank 35, 83% of median |
| Missouri | NCCI classes, sorted by product | Owners and officers can count as employees | Rank 16, 120% of median |
| New York | New York's own table, with separate classes for bakery, meat, beverage and canning | A state rating bureau sets the base price per $100; each insurer applies its own charges | Rank 3, 182% of median |
| Pennsylvania | 105 bakery, 106 processed meat, 107 candy, 109 dairy, 113 canning | The state bureau's own numbers, not the national council's | Rank 21, 105% of median |
| Massachusetts | State bureau's own manual, sorted by product | Ask how a plant and an on-site store are split | Rank 31, 89% of median |
| Louisiana | NCCI classes, sorted by product | An owner holding at least 10% can opt out in writing with the insurer | Rank 9, 129% of median |
| Maryland | NCCI classes, sorted by product | A state fund takes any employer that applies | Rank 37, 82% of median |
| Washington | 3906-00 bakery, 3902-14 food sundries, 3702-03 beverage, 4301-12 meat | Priced by hours worked in most classes; state fund unless self-insured | Rank 12, 123% of median |
Cost standing is Oregon's 2024 ranking of each state's whole workers' comp system, where rank 1 is the highest priced. It does not say what a food plant pays. (Source: Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services) We print class numbers only for the two states whose published tables are current; for the others, ask your agent which class fits your product. NCCI is the National Council on Compensation Insurance, whose classes many states use.
In Washington, an employer buys workers' comp from the state fund unless it is approved to self-insure, and most classes are priced per hour worked rather than per $100 of payroll, so keep hours by class. (Source: Washington Department of Labor & Industries) If you run plants in more than one state, each one needs its own state listed on the policy.
Common questions about workers' comp for food manufacturers
Usually no. The package that bundles liability and property coverage does not normally include workers' comp. It is a separate policy with its own renewal and its own year-end audit.
It is designed for your own employees. A visitor or a vendor's driver hurt at your plant is generally a general liability matter. Check your policy wording and ask your agent.
No. The class follows the work people actually do, and the year-end audit checks it. Tell your agent how many people work on the floor, in the warehouse, on the road and in the office.
Send your payroll and classes with a quote request
Send us your payroll by job title and the classes on your current policy with your quote request.