Workers' comp for grocery stores: what you need and what it costs
A grocery store with employees needs workers' comp, and its price is set by the job codes your staff fall into, the payroll in each code, and your own claims record. Most stores land in one of two codes: one for a grocery store, and one for a supermarket whose staff cut, wrap or serve fresh meat. The final bill is settled after the policy year, when an auditor checks actual payroll.
- You pay a price per $100 of payroll for each job code, then your insurer's own charges, then a multiplier built from your claims record once you are large enough to qualify.
- Part-timers, family members on the payroll and drivers you employ all count. Whether the meat counter is rated in the store's code or a different one is worth asking about.
- New York and Pennsylvania use their own rating bureaus and code numbers; Washington prices by the hour through a state fund.
Which job codes apply to a grocery store?
The rating system sorts every business into a numbered category — insurers call it a class code — and prices each per $100 of payroll. A grocery store usually lands in one of two codes, and the deciding question is whether your staff handle fresh meat.
Insurance that pays an injured employee's medical bills and lost wagesWorkers' 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 → is rated in most states from the codes of the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the national rating bureau. Its list has code 8006 for a grocery store without a meat counter and code 8033 for a supermarket; code 8031 is for stores that sell mainly fresh or cured meat, fish and poultry. New York's board uses the same two numbers and calls them “Grocery Store — Retail — No Fresh Meat” and “Supermarket — Retail”. (Source: New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board)
The council's wording, as a meat-processing trade group reproduced it, puts a store that sells groceries along with meat, fish and poultry in the supermarket code when the cost of the meat, fish and poultry did not exceed 65% of everything it bought to sell. (Source: National Institute for Meat Processing Resources, text last updated December 2008) The current manual governs, and your insurer's class review decides, so ask which code you are in and why.
A deli, bakery or in-store pharmacy raises a second question: is its payroll rated in the store's code or on its own? The answer differs by state, as the state section below shows. Our workers' compensation coverage page explains what the policy pays for.
Who counts as an employee in my grocery store?
Almost everyone who works for you and takes your direction, whatever the paperwork says. An auditor adds back the people a store leaves off.
- Cashiers, stockers and meat cutters: all count, and each job's pay goes into the payroll the premium is figured on. Which code that pay sits in depends on the store's class.
- Part-timers and seasonal help: a student who works weekends is an employee like anyone else. Premium follows what you pay them, so fewer hours means less payroll, not a different rule.
- Family members: a spouse or child on the payroll is an employee, unless your state's rules or an owner election reach them. Each state page below says how.
- Delivery drivers: a driver you pay to deliver in your van is your employee, and calling the person a contractor does not change that if you direct the work. Getting that wrong is misclassification. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor) A driver who works for a third-party delivery app is that company's worker, not yours.
- Staffing-agency and cash-paid workers: an auditor may ask for the agency's proof of its own coverage, and cash-paid helpers can be added to your payroll.
About to make your first hire? Read what changes when you hire an employee.
What drives the rate?
Payroll in each code, the base price for each code, your insurer's own charges on top, and — once you are big enough — a multiplier built from your own claims. The base price is not what you pay.
The base price is the rating bureau's average injury cost per $100 of payroll in your code; each insurer then adds its expenses and profit to it. Larger accounts also get a multiplier built from your own claimsExperience 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 →, which insurers call the experience modifier: above 1.00 raises the premium, below 1.00 lowers it. Picture a supermarket with $500,000 of payroll in one code, a made-up base price of $2.00, and an insurer that adds 25% to it for its own expenses.
| What happens | Amount |
|---|---|
| Payroll in this code | $500K |
| Divided into $100 units ($500K ÷ $100) | 5,000 |
| Rating bureau's base price per unit (made-up, not what you pay) | $2.00 |
| Insurer adds its expenses and profit, here a made-up 25% ($2.00 × 1.25) | $2.50 |
| Premium before any modifier (5,000 × $2.50) | $12.5K |
| Modifier 1.00, average claims ($12.5K × 1.00) | $12.5K |
| Modifier 1.20, more claims than average ($12.5K × 1.20) | $15K |
| Modifier 0.85, fewer claims than average ($12.5K × 0.85) | $10,625 |
Illustration only, with round numbers, a made-up base price and a made-up expense load. It is not a statement of what any policy pays; your own policy wording governs.
For scale, one large grocery store with about $700K of payroll paid about $4.6K a year for workers' comp in 2026 (an anonymized Anvo client account). Your price depends on your state, your job classes and your claims record, so treat it as one example, not a range for your store.
Your starting premium is an estimate. After the year ends, the year-end payroll review checks actual payroll by code and bills or refunds the difference; that is where cash-paid helpers and misclassified drivers get found. Keep payroll by job title. Our premium audit guide lists what the auditor asks for, and the grocery store quote checklist covers the payroll split to have ready.
What changes by state?
Below is only the grocery angle in each state: how your meat counter, deli or pharmacy is classed. The full law for each state is on our workers' comp laws by state pages, and who must carry coverage is in grocery store insurance requirements by state.
Kansas. Insurers price from the national council's codes, so the two-code split and the meat test above apply as written. See our Kansas workers' comp law page.
Missouri. The national council's codes apply here too; ask whether a deli or bakery counter's payroll is rated with the rest of the store. See our Missouri workers' comp law page.
New York. The state's own rating board sets the codes, with the same two numbers: 8006 for no fresh meat, 8033 for a supermarket. (Source: New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board) See our New York workers' comp law page.
Pennsylvania. The state bureau uses its own number, 917, for a retail grocery store: a supermarket with a meat department, or a convenience grocer. It includes the supermarket's pharmacy and bakery, while a business mainly selling fresh or cured meat, fish or poultry goes under 915. (Source: Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau manual, April 2025) See our Pennsylvania workers' comp law page.
Massachusetts. The state has its own rating bureau, so ask your agent how it classes your meat counter rather than assuming the national codes. See our Massachusetts workers' comp law page.
Louisiana. The national council's codes apply, so a store that cuts or wraps fresh meat should expect the supermarket question at its class review. See our Louisiana workers' comp law page.
Maryland. The national council's codes apply here as well; settle the meat-counter code before the audit, not at it. See our Maryland workers' comp law page.
Washington. Coverage comes from the state fund, priced per hour worked rather than per $100 of payroll. Supermarkets share class 6402, with a 2026 base rate of about 62 cents an hour. (Source: Washington L&I) An in-store pharmacy is classed separately, as is a lunch counter. (Source: Washington Administrative Code 296-17A-6402) See our Washington workers' comp law page.
Common questions about workers' comp for grocery stores
No. The package that bundles your liability and property coverage does not include workers' comp. It is a separate policy, often with a different insurer, with its own renewal and audit.
It covers your employee's own injuries. Damage to the van and injuries to the other driver are generally handled by business auto coverage. Check your own policy wording and ask your agent.
It can. The code follows how the store runs, and whether staff handle fresh meat is the question insurers ask. Tell your agent how many people cut or wrap meat, and how often, before the audit does.
Check your grocery store's workers' comp codes and payroll
Send us your payroll by job title and the codes on your current policy, and we'll tell you whether they match how your store actually runs.