Workers Compensation Insurance (California)
A guide to workers compensation insurance (california): what it covers, what it excludes, what actually goes wrong, what reduces it, and what an underwriter asks. Every statement cites a published source.
Overview
What this line is, and who or what it is designed to protect.
California employers are required by statute to secure the payment of workers compensation. Labor Code section 3700 provides that every employer except the state shall secure the payment of compensation in one or more of the ways the section lists: being insured against liability to pay compensation by one or more insurers duly authorized to write compensation insurance in California; securing from the Director of Industrial Relations a certificate of consent to self-insure, either as an individual employer or as one employer in a group, upon proof satisfactory to the Director of ability to self-insure and to pay any compensation that may become due; or, for counties, cities, municipal corporations, public districts, public agencies and other political subdivisions, securing a certificate of consent to self-insure against workers compensation claims [1]. The Division of Workers' Compensation states that all California employers must provide workers compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code section 3700 [7]. The benefits themselves are set by statute rather than negotiated in the policy. CDI identifies five basic types of workers compensation benefits: medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, and death benefits [5]. CDI describes employers liability insurance as offered under Part Two of a workers compensation and employers liability insurance policy, and states that Part Two protects the employer against instances in which an employee's injury or disease is not subject to the workers compensation laws [5]. This page is general information about how the California system is structured, drawn from the statutes and regulator publications cited. It is not legal advice, it is not a coverage determination, and it does not decide whether any particular worker, owner, officer, contractor or business is covered, exempt, or in compliance. No workers compensation policy form is cited on this page, so nothing here describes what a specific carrier's form says; read the policy and endorsements actually issued, and take compliance and eligibility questions to DIR, to the carrier, and where they are legal questions, to a lawyer.
Employees, through the five basic types of benefits CDI identifies in the California system: medical care, temporary disability, permanent disability, supplemental job displacement benefits, and death benefits [5]
The employer against employee injury or disease claims that are not subject to the workers compensation laws, through Part Two employers liability coverage as CDI describes it [5]
Dependents of a deceased worker, through death benefits [5]
The employer against a gap the general liability policy leaves, since Coverage A of CG 00 01 04 13 excludes both obligations under workers compensation and similar laws and employers liability [9]
What it covers
Each note carries a policy-form caveat, because what a form covers is read in that form.
Medical care for work-related injury and illness
One of the five basic benefit types CDI identifies in the California system [5]. Benefit delivery is administered under the Labor Code and DIR regulations rather than set by the insurance policy. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page, so read the form and endorsements the carrier issued.
Temporary disability benefits
One of the five basic benefit types CDI identifies [5]. Amounts and duration come from the Labor Code, not from the policy. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page, so read the form and endorsements the carrier issued.
Permanent disability benefits
One of the five basic benefit types CDI identifies [5]. Amounts come from the Labor Code, not from the policy. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page, so read the form and endorsements the carrier issued.
Supplemental job displacement benefits
One of the five basic benefit types CDI identifies [5]. Eligibility and amount come from the Labor Code, not from the policy. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page, so read the form and endorsements the carrier issued.
Death benefits
One of the five basic benefit types CDI identifies [5]. Who qualifies as a dependent and what is payable come from the Labor Code, not from the policy. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page, so read the form and endorsements the carrier issued.
Employers liability, under Part Two
CDI states that employers liability insurance is offered under Part Two of a workers compensation and employers liability insurance policy, and that Part Two protects the employer against instances in which an employee's injury or disease is not subject to the workers compensation laws [5]. Part Two is not a substitute for general liability, because Coverage A of CG 00 01 04 13 excludes employers liability at exclusion e. and workers compensation obligations at exclusion d., so the two lines are written not to overlap [9]. No Part Two policy form was reviewed for this page, so whatever limits, conditions and exclusions Part Two carries are those of the form the carrier issued; read it.
Administration of the coverage obligation, whether insured or self-insured
Labor Code section 3700 lets the obligation be met either by insuring with an authorized insurer or by holding a certificate of consent to self-insure from the Director of Industrial Relations [1]. Who administers claims follows from which route the employer is on. No policy form or self-insurance program document was reviewed for this page.
What it excludes
Exclusions and limitations as the published forms state them.
Third-party bodily injury and property damage
Workers compensation and employers liability address injury to the employer's own workers. Injuries to customers, visitors and other third parties are a general liability exposure, and the two lines are written not to overlap: Coverage A of CG 00 01 04 13 excludes obligations under workers compensation and similar laws at exclusion d. and employers liability at exclusion e. [9]. That statement describes CG 00 01 04 13; no workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page.
Employment practices claims
Discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination claims are the subject of a separate line, employment practices liability insurance. That reflects common practice rather than a legal or filed requirement. Whether any particular claim falls under a workers compensation and employers liability policy or an employment practices policy depends on the forms involved and is a claim determination the insurer makes, not something this page decides. No workers compensation, employers liability or employment practices form was reviewed for this page.
Injuries to people who are not covered employees
Whether a particular sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer, director, family member or independent contractor is a covered employee, and whether any election to include or exclude has been properly made, turns on the Labor Code definitions and on the endorsements attached to the policy. That is a compliance and legal question, not something a reference page can settle. Confirm the specific person's status with DIR and with the carrier before relying on any assumption. No source cited on this page addresses who counts as a covered employee, and no workers compensation policy form or inclusion or exclusion endorsement was reviewed for this page.
Benefit amounts set by the policy
The five basic benefit types and their statutory basis come from the California system, not from a negotiated policy term [5][1]. What the insurance arrangement changes is who pays and how premium is calculated. No workers compensation policy form was reviewed for this page.
Work outside California
This page describes the California system only. CDI's description of classification, rating and experience modification is a description of the California mechanism [5]. Whether a policy addresses employees who work in or travel to other states depends on the endorsements attached to it, and each other state sets its own requirements. Confirm with the carrier and with that state's regulator rather than assuming. No workers compensation policy form or other-states endorsement was reviewed for this page.
What goes wrong
The loss drivers, as distinct from what the policy protects. This is the question an underwriter is asking.
Injury to an employee in the course of employment
California law requires employers to secure the payment of compensation [1], so this exposure is addressed by statute rather than by election.
An experience modification driven by open claim reserves
The regulator's commercial guide describes how experience rating works in the California system [5]. Reserves on open claims are part of what the calculation reads.
Employers liability, which the general liability policy excludes
The general liability form excludes bodily injury to an employee of the insured arising out of and in the course of employment [9], so this exposure has to sit on the workers compensation and employers liability policy.
A dispute about whether someone is an employee at all
The Division of Workers Compensation publishes employer guidance on the obligations that attach [7]. Employment status is a statutory question, and it is the threshold one.
What reduces it
Things you can do, each tied to a source. None of these is a promise about price; whether an insurer credits any of them is an underwriting decision.
Pull and read the unit statistical report rather than waiting for the renewal
Experience rating reads reported data, and the regulator's guide explains how the mechanism works [5]. Reading the report is how an error becomes visible while it can still be raised.
Offer documented modified duty where the treating physician allows it
The Division of Workers Compensation publishes employer guidance covering return-to-work obligations and processes [7]. Whether an offer is appropriate in a given case is a medical and legal question, not one this page answers.
Establish employment status before an injury forces the question
Employer obligations and the questions that attach are published by the Division [7]. Where status is genuinely unclear, that is a question for an employment lawyer rather than a classification decision.
Underwriting
Information commonly requested. Common practice rather than a filed requirement.
A detailed description of operations, so that classification codes can be assigned. CDI states that classifications grouping distinct and identifiable occupations, industries or businesses are developed and assigned codes by the WCIRB and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner [5]
Payroll by classification, since CDI describes the base premium calculation as estimating the payroll for each classification and multiplying it, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate [5]
The current experience modification and the loss and payroll data behind it. CDI describes a modification of less than 100 percent as reflecting better than average experience and more than 100 percent as worse than average [5]
Loss history, typically several years of currently valued loss runs, including open claim reserves
Employee count, job duties, use of heavy equipment, height exposure, and driving exposure
The states where employees work or travel, since this page and the classification and rating mechanics it describes are California only [5]
Owner, officer, partner and family member information, and any inclusion or exclusion elections that have been made. Confirm any specific person's status with DIR and the carrier rather than assuming; no source cited on this page addresses those elections
Use of subcontractors and labor contractors, and whether certificates of insurance are collected from them
Payroll records adequate to support an audit, since CDI states that final premium cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited [5]
Safety, injury and illness prevention, and return to work programs, and any prior stop order. DIR states that a stop order can be issued prohibiting the use of employee labor until coverage is obtained [7]
Whether the employer is seeking guaranteed cost, a deductible program, or self-insurance. CDI states that to become self-insured a business must obtain a certificate from the DIR Office of Self-Insurance Plans [5]
Whether coverage is being sought from a private insurer or from State Compensation Insurance Fund, which DIR describes as competing with private insurers and also operating as the insurer of last resort if private companies are not willing to offer workers compensation insurance [7]
This list describes information commonly requested in practice. It is common practice rather than a legal or filed requirement, and whether any specific employer is accepted, and at what price, is a carrier underwriting decision
Limits and endorsements
How the limit is structured, and the endorsements that change it.
California workers compensation benefits are statutory rather than a negotiated policy limit; CDI identifies the five basic benefit types and the Labor Code supplies the amounts [5].
Employers liability under Part Two carries stated limits, and those are a policy term rather than a statutory benefit [5]. No Part Two form was reviewed for this page, so the actual limits and their conditions are whatever the issued policy says.
Premium starts from classification and payroll. CDI states that classifications grouping distinct and identifiable occupations, industries or businesses are developed and assigned codes by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner, and describes the base calculation as estimating the payroll for each classification and multiplying it, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate [5].
Experience modification adjusts that base premium. CDI describes the modification as comparing an employer's loss history against similar-sized employers in the same industry classification, and states that a modification of less than 100 percent reflects better than average experience while more than 100 percent reflects worse than average experience [5]. The statutory hook is Insurance Code section 11734(a), which provides that every workers compensation insurer shall adhere to a uniform experience rating plan filed with the commissioner by a rating organization designated by the commissioner and subject to the commissioner's disapproval [2].
Advisory pure premium rates are a benchmark rather than a price. For the rate effective September 1, 2026, the Insurance Commissioner adopted an average advisory pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll, a 6.6 percent increase from the 2025 approved rate and below the 10.4 percent increase the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau had requested [6]. CDI states that the adopted rate is advisory, meaning that insurance companies are not bound by it and are free to set their own rates [6].
California uses open rating. CDI states that individual companies set rates based on their ability to adequately cover losses and expenses in each industry classification, that insurers assign a specific rate to each industry classification code, and that these rates must be filed with the CDI [5]. Insurance Code section 11735 requires every insurer to file with the commissioner all rates and supplementary rate information that are to be used in this state, not later than 30 days prior to the effective date, and provides that filings are open to public inspection as soon as filed [3]. Two insurers can quote different premiums on the same classification and payroll and both be operating within that system.
Premium is estimated at inception and trued up afterward. CDI states that the final premium of a workers compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited [5].
A dividend plan is a type of rating plan that allows an employer to share in the profits of its workers compensation insurer in the form of a dividend [5]. It is a share of profit rather than a guaranteed rate reduction.
Deductible programs are handled inside the rate filing system. Insurance Code section 11735 addresses deductible offerings as part of what an insurer files, and provides that a filing of supplementary rate information for a deductible is complete only if it contains stated items, including a copy of the deductible endorsement that is to be attached to the policy [3]. Whether a particular program structure falls inside that provision, and what it requires in a given case, is a legal and compliance question rather than something this page decides.
Self-insurance replaces premium with a retained obligation. Labor Code section 3700 requires an employer that self-insures to secure from the Director of Industrial Relations a certificate of consent to self-insure, upon proof satisfactory to the Director of ability to self-insure and to pay any compensation that may become due [1], and CDI states that to become self-insured a business must obtain a certificate from the DIR Office of Self-Insurance Plans [5].
Officer, partner, and owner inclusion or exclusion endorsements
Used to record elections about whether specified owners or officers are covered. Whether a given person may be included or excluded, and what documentation that takes, turns on the Labor Code and on the carrier's filed endorsements. That is a compliance question; confirm the specific person's status with DIR and the carrier rather than assuming. No source cited on this page addresses officer or owner inclusion and exclusion elections, and no such endorsement was reviewed for this page.
Waiver of subrogation endorsement
Construction and service contracts sometimes require this endorsement. That is common practice rather than a legal or filed requirement. It is an endorsement to the policy, so it operates only where it has actually been issued and only as to the parties it describes. No waiver of subrogation endorsement was reviewed for this page; read the one attached to the policy.
Alternate employer and other-states endorsements
Used where employees are loaned to another employer or work outside California. What each covers depends entirely on the endorsement wording and on the states named in it. No such endorsement was reviewed for this page; read the one attached to the policy.
Deductible programs and retrospective rating plans
These change how the employer pays rather than what the injured worker receives, because benefits are statutory [5]. Insurance Code section 11735 treats a deductible offering as part of what an insurer files with the commissioner and states that the supplementary rate information filing for a deductible is complete only if it includes stated items, including a copy of the deductible endorsement to be attached to the policy [3]. Availability on a given account is a carrier underwriting decision.
Dividend plans
CDI describes a dividend plan as a type of rating plan that allows an employer to share in the profits of its workers compensation insurer in the form of a dividend [5]. No dividend plan document was reviewed for this page; the plan the carrier files and issues controls.
By state
Where a state changes the answer. Only the states read for this page appear.
CA
Statutory basis: Labor Code section 3700 requires every employer except the state to secure the payment of compensation by insuring with one or more insurers duly authorized to write compensation insurance in California, by securing a certificate of consent to self-insure from the Director of Industrial Relations individually or as one employer in a group, or, for counties, cities, municipal corporations, public districts, public agencies and other political subdivisions, by securing a public-entity certificate of consent to self-insure [1]. Enforcement: DIR states that Labor Code section 3700.5 makes failing to have coverage a misdemeanor punishable by either a fine of not less than $10,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or both; that the state issues penalties of up to $100,000 against illegally uninsured employers; that a stop order can be issued prohibiting the use of employee labor until coverage is obtained, with violation of the stop order itself punishable by up to 60 days in county jail or a fine of up to $10,000, or both; and that additional civil penalties can reach $10,000 per employee where there is a compensable claim or $2,000 per employee where there is not, up to a maximum of $100,000 [7]. Rating: CDI states that WCIRB classifications are approved by the Insurance Commissioner and describes the per-$100-of-payroll base premium calculation and the experience modification [5], and Insurance Code section 11734(a) requires every workers compensation insurer to adhere to a uniform experience rating plan filed with the commissioner by a rating organization designated by the commissioner and subject to the commissioner's disapproval [2]. Regulator role: for the rate effective September 1, 2026 the Commissioner adopted an average advisory pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll, a 6.6 percent increase from the 2025 approved rate and below the WCIRB's requested 10.4 percent increase, and CDI states that the adopted rate is advisory and that insurance companies are not bound by it and are free to set their own rates [6]; insurers must file all rates and supplementary rate information with the commissioner not later than 30 days prior to the effective date, and those filings are open to public inspection as soon as filed [3]. State Fund: Insurance Code section 11770(a) continues the State Compensation Insurance Fund in existence, administered by its board of directors, for the purpose of transacting workers compensation insurance and the related statutory coverages [4], and DIR and CDI both describe it as competing with private insurers and operating as the insurer of last resort if private companies are not willing to offer coverage [7][5]. Nothing in this section determines whether a specific employer is in compliance, is exempt, or will be accepted by any insurer.
US
This page describes the California system only. Other states set their own statutory benefits, their own coverage requirements and exemptions, their own rating or advisory organizations, and their own residual market arrangements, and no source cited here speaks to any state other than California. Do not carry California rules, classification codes, or the uniform experience rating plan described in Insurance Code section 11734 into another state [2]. A multi-state employer should confirm requirements state by state with each state's own regulator.
Source ledger
Every numbered marker in this guide resolves to a record below. Each record lists the exact claims it supports, and each claim has its own address.
Source ledger
9 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.
- [1]California Labor Code Section 3700(opens the original record on California Legislative Information (California Legislature))California Legislative Information (California Legislature)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended by the Legislature; check leginfo for the current version before relying on it.ID
ca-labor-code-3700What this source supports (5)
- Labor Code section 3700 provides that every employer except the state shall secure the payment of compensation in one or more of the ways the section lists.
- One listed method is being insured against liability to pay compensation by one or more insurers duly authorized to write compensation insurance in California.
- Another listed method is securing from the Director of Industrial Relations a certificate of consent to self-insure, either as an individual employer or as one employer in a group of employers, upon proof satisfactory to the Director of ability to self-insure and to pay any compensation that may become due.
- A third listed method applies to counties, cities, municipal corporations, public districts, public agencies and other political subdivisions of the state, which may secure a certificate of consent to self-insure against workers compensation claims from the Director of Industrial Relations.
- The section states that for purposes of the section, state includes the superior courts.
Published: 2003-01-01 Effective: 2003-01-01
Active - [2]California Insurance Code Section 11734(opens the original record on California Legislative Information (California Legislature))California Legislative Information (California Legislature)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended by the Legislature; verify current text at leginfo.ID
ca-ins-code-11734What this source supports (3)
- Insurance Code section 11734(a) provides that every workers compensation insurer shall adhere to a uniform experience rating plan filed with the commissioner by a rating organization designated by the commissioner and subject to the commissioner's disapproval.
- Subdivision (b) provides for the commissioner to designate a rating organization to gather statistical information and develop a classification system, permits an insurer to use its own classification system if it is filed with the commissioner 30 days prior to use and the commissioner approves it, and requires insurers to report experience to the designated rating organization under the uniform statistical reporting plan.
- Subdivision (c) provides that the designated rating organization shall develop and file manual rules, subject to the approval of the commissioner, reasonably related to the recording and reporting of data pursuant to the uniform statistical plan, uniform experience rating plan, and any classification systems in effect.
Published: 2003-01-01 Effective: 2003-01-01
Active - [3]California Insurance Code Section 11735(opens the original record on California Legislative Information (California Legislature))California Legislative Information (California Legislature)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended by the Legislature; verify current text at leginfo.ID
ca-ins-code-11735What this source supports (3)
- Insurance Code section 11735(a) provides that every insurer shall file with the commissioner all rates and supplementary rate information that are to be used in this state, and requires the filing to be made not later than 30 days prior to the effective date.
- Filings of rates, supplementary rate information and supporting information are open to public inspection at any reasonable time as soon as filed.
- Subdivision (e) addresses deductible offerings and provides that a filing of supplementary rate information for a deductible is deemed complete only if it contains stated items, including a copy of the deductible endorsement that is to be attached to the policy and endorsement language addressing the injured worker's entitlement to benefits regardless of the deductible.
Published: 2003-01-01 Effective: 2003-01-01
Active - [4]California Insurance Code Section 11770 (State Compensation Insurance Fund)(opens the original record on California Legislative Information (California Legislature))California Legislative Information (California Legislature)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended by the Legislature; verify current text at leginfo.ID
ca-ins-code-11770What this source supports (2)
- Insurance Code section 11770(a) provides that the State Compensation Insurance Fund is continued in existence, to be administered by its board of directors, for the purpose of transacting workers compensation insurance.
- The stated statutory purposes also include insurance against the expense of defending any suit for serious and willful misconduct against an employer or the employer's agent, and insurance to employees and other persons of the compensation fixed by the workers compensation laws for employees and their dependents.
Published: 2012-06-27 Effective: 2012-06-27
Active - [5]Workers' Compensation (Commercial Insurance Guide series)(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance)California Department of InsuranceRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Updated periodically by CDI; the page carries its own revision date, so re-check it before each content review cycle.ID
cdi-wc-commercial-guideWhat this source supports (22)
- CDI states that all California employers must provide workers compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code Section 3700.
- CDI states that there are five basic types of workers compensation benefits: medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, and death benefits.
- CDI states that employers' liability insurance is offered under Part Two of a workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance policy, and that Part Two protects the employer against instances in which an employee's injury or disease is not subject to the workers' compensation laws.
- CDI states that classifications that group distinct and identifiable occupations, industries, or businesses are developed and assigned codes by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
- CDI states that the payroll for each classification is estimated and then multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate.
- CDI states that generally an experience modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience and an experience modification of more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience, and describes the modification as comparing an employer's loss history against similar-sized employers in the same industry classification.
- CDI states that California workers compensation insurers operate under an open rating system, meaning individual companies set rates based on their ability to adequately cover losses and expenses in each industry classification.
- CDI states that workers' compensation insurers assign a specific rate to each industry classification code and that these rates must be filed with the CDI.
- CDI states that the final premium of a workers' compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited.
- CDI states that a dividend plan is a type of rating plan that allows an employer to share in the profits of its workers' compensation insurer in the form of a dividend.
- CDI states that to become self-insured a business must obtain a certificate from the DIR's Office of Self-Insurance Plans (OSIP).
- CDI states that State Fund is a state-operated entity that exists in order to transact workers' compensation on a non-profit basis, competes with private workers' compensation insurance companies for business, and also operates as the insurer of last resort if private companies are not willing to offer workers' compensation insurance.
- Classifications that group distinct and identifiable occupations, industries, or business are developed and assigned codes by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
- Workers' compensation insurers generally use these classifications when writing workers' compensation policies.
- Insurance companies are allowed to develop and submit their own classification system to the CDI for approval, but this is uncommon due to the strict standards required to file a separate workers' compensation classification system.
- The payroll for each classification is estimated and then multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate, and the sum of the equation is referred to as the base premium.
- The base premium continues to be modified, increased or decreased, using rating plans (usually schedule or judgment rating) and by experience modification.
- An employer's experience modification is calculated from payroll and loss information that insurance companies are required to submit to the WCIRB on an annual basis, using a mathematical formula approved by the CDI.
- An experience modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience, and an experience modification of more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience.
- The WCIRB provides a policyholder ombudsman, who is available to answer questions from employers on classification, experience modification, and rating issues.
- The final premium of a workers' compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited.
- Title 10, California Code of Regulations Sections 2509.40 through 2509.78 list detailed procedures for disputing experience modifications and classification assignments, including appeals to the CDI.
Published: 2025-06-23
Active - [6]Commissioner Lara takes action to maintain stable workers' compensation market amid rising costs (Release 024-2026)(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance)California Department of InsuranceRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: CDI issues a pure premium rate decision at least annually; the figures change each cycle, so re-check before each content review.ID
cdi-release-024-2026What this source supports (7)
- The Insurance Commissioner adopted a workers' compensation insurance average advisory pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll, a 6.6 percent increase from the 2025 approved rate.
- The release states that the new rate will be effective on September 1, 2026.
- The release states that the adopted rate is below the 10.4 percent requested rate increase of the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.
- The release states that the adopted rate is advisory, meaning that insurance companies are not bound by it and are free to set their own rates.
- The release states that the adopted rate is in line with the analysis and recommendation of Department of Insurance actuaries reviewing the WCIRB filing.
- The California Insurance Commissioner adopted an average advisory workers compensation pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll effective September 1, 2026, a 6.6 percent increase from the 2025 approved rate.
- The Department states that the adopted rate is advisory, meaning that insurance companies are not bound by it and are free to set their own rates.
Published: 2026-07-10 Effective: 2026-09-01
Active - [7]Answers to frequently asked questions about workers' compensation for employers(opens the original record on California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation)California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' CompensationRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Updated periodically by DIR; the penalty figures are statutory and can change by amendment, so re-check before each content review.ID
dir-dwc-employer-faqsWhat this source supports (11)
- DIR states that all California employers must provide workers' compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code Section 3700.
- DIR states that Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code makes failing to have workers' compensation coverage a misdemeanor punishable by either a fine of not less than $10,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or both.
- DIR states that the state issues penalties of up to $100,000 against illegally uninsured employers.
- DIR states that a stop order can be issued prohibiting the use of employee labor until coverage is obtained, and that violation of the stop order is itself punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to 60 days or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
- DIR states that additional civil penalties can reach $10,000 per employee where there is a compensable claim, or $2,000 per employee where there is no compensable claim, up to a maximum of $100,000.
- DIR states that State Fund is a state-operated entity that exists in order to transact workers' compensation on a non-profit basis, competes with private workers' compensation insurance companies for business, and also operates as the insurer of last resort if private companies are not willing to offer workers' compensation insurance.
- The page states that all California employers must provide workers' compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code Section 3700.
- The page states that executive officers and directors of corporations must be included in workers' compensation coverage, unless the corporation is fully owned by the directors and officers, and that if the directors and officers fully own the corporation then they may elect to be excluded from workers' compensation benefits.
- The page states that Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code makes it a misdemeanor punishable by either a fine of not less than $10,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or both.
- The page states that a stop order prohibits the use of employee labor until coverage is obtained, and that failure to observe it is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to 60 days, or by a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
- The page states that penalties of up to $100,000 are issued against illegally uninsured employers, calculated as either twice the amount of unpaid premium or $1,500 per employee, whichever is greater.
Active - [8]State Fund Facts(opens the original record on State Compensation Insurance Fund)State Compensation Insurance FundCarrier officialPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Carrier-maintained page; content changes without notice.ID
statefund-fact-sheetWhat this source supports (3)
- State Compensation Insurance Fund states on its own fact sheet that it was established in 1914 by the state legislature.
- State Fund describes itself as completely self-supporting and as maintaining an open door policy so that all employers have a strong and stable option for their workers compensation needs.
- State Fund describes itself as the only workers' compensation provider with a commitment to providing workers' compensation insurance to all California businesses, from the smallest start-up to the largest operations. This is the carrier's own characterization of itself, not an independently verified fact.
Active - [9]Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 04 13 (ISO)(opens the original record on Insurance Services Office, Inc. (form text); published as a downloadable coverage form specimen by Berxi (Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance))Insurance Services Office, Inc. (form text); published as a downloadable coverage form specimen by Berxi (Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: ISO revises the CGL coverage form periodically; edition dates and state-specific variants differ, and carriers may use their own non-ISO forms.ID
iso-cg-00-01-04-13What this source supports (37)
- In CG 00 01 04 13, the Coverage A insuring agreement states that the insurer will pay those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage to which the insurance applies, and that the insurer will have the right and duty to defend the insured against any suit seeking those damages.
- The form states that the insurer will have no duty to defend the insured against any suit seeking damages for bodily injury or property damage to which the insurance does not apply.
- The form states that the insurer's right and duty to defend ends when it has used up the applicable limit of insurance in the payment of judgments or settlements under Coverages A or B or medical expenses under Coverage C.
- Coverage A applies to bodily injury and property damage only if the injury or damage is caused by an occurrence that takes place in the coverage territory and occurs during the policy period, subject to the form's prior-knowledge provisions.
- The form defines occurrence as an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions.
- Supplementary Payments under Coverages A and B include all expenses the insurer incurs, and the form states that these payments will not reduce the limits of insurance.
- Section III Limits Of Insurance sets a General Aggregate Limit, a Products-Completed Operations Aggregate Limit, a Personal And Advertising Injury Limit, an Each Occurrence Limit, a Damage To Premises Rented To You Limit, and a Medical Expense Limit.
- The General Aggregate Limit is the most the insurer will pay for the sum of medical expenses under Coverage C, damages under Coverage A other than damages included in the products-completed operations hazard, and damages under Coverage B.
- The Products-Completed Operations Aggregate Limit is the most the insurer will pay under Coverage A for damages because of bodily injury and property damage included in the products-completed operations hazard.
- The Each Occurrence Limit is the most the insurer will pay for the sum of damages under Coverage A and medical expenses under Coverage C because of all bodily injury and property damage arising out of any one occurrence.
- The Damage To Premises Rented To You Limit, subject to the Each Occurrence Limit, is the most the insurer will pay under Coverage A for damages because of property damage to any one premises while rented to the insured, or in the case of damage by fire, while rented to or temporarily occupied by the insured with permission of the owner.
- The Medical Expense Limit, subject to the Each Occurrence Limit, is the most the insurer will pay under Coverage C for all medical expenses because of bodily injury sustained by any one person.
- The form states that the Limits of Insurance of the Coverage Part apply separately to each consecutive annual period and to any remaining period of less than 12 months, starting with the beginning of the policy period shown in the Declarations.
- The Coverage A exclusions in CG 00 01 04 13 are lettered a. through q.: Expected Or Intended Injury; Contractual Liability; Liquor Liability; Workers' Compensation And Similar Laws; Employer's Liability; Pollution; Aircraft, Auto Or Watercraft; Mobile Equipment; War; Damage To Property; Damage To Your Product; Damage To Your Work; Damage To Impaired Property Or Property Not Physically Injured; Recall Of Products, Work Or Impaired Property; Personal And Advertising Injury; Electronic Data; and Recording And Distribution Of Material Or Information In Violation Of Law.
- The Coverage A list of exclusions in this base form does not include a professional services exclusion.
- Exclusion b. Contractual Liability removes bodily injury or property damage for which the insured is obligated to pay damages by reason of the assumption of liability in a contract or agreement, and states that the exclusion does not apply to liability for damages that the insured would have in the absence of the contract or agreement, or to liability assumed in a contract or agreement that is an insured contract, provided the bodily injury or property damage occurs subsequent to the execution of the contract or agreement.
- The form defines insured contract to include a contract for a lease of premises with a stated fire-damage carve-out, a sidetrack agreement, an easement or license agreement with a stated railroad exception, an obligation required by ordinance to indemnify a municipality with a stated exception, an elevator maintenance agreement, and that part of any other contract or agreement pertaining to the insured's business under which the insured assumes the tort liability of another party to pay for bodily injury or property damage to a third person or organization.
- Nothing in the Contractual Liability exclusion or its insured contract exception amends Section II Who Is An Insured or confers additional insured status.
- Coverage A exclusion a. Expected Or Intended Injury states, in the same paragraph, that the exclusion does not apply to bodily injury resulting from the use of reasonable force to protect persons or property.
- The insured contract exception in exclusion b. also provides that, solely for the purposes of liability assumed in an insured contract, reasonable attorneys' fees and necessary litigation expenses incurred by or for a party other than an insured are deemed to be damages because of bodily injury or property damage, provided liability for that party's defense was also assumed in the same insured contract and the fees and expenses are for defense of that party against a civil or alternative dispute resolution proceeding in which damages to which the insurance applies are alleged.
- Coverage A exclusion c. Liquor Liability removes bodily injury or property damage for which any insured may be held liable by reason of causing or contributing to the intoxication of any person, the furnishing of alcoholic beverages to a person under the legal drinking age or under the influence of alcohol, or any statute, ordinance or regulation relating to the sale, gift, distribution or use of alcoholic beverages.
- The Liquor Liability exclusion states that it applies even if the claims allege negligence or other wrongdoing in the supervision, hiring, employment, training or monitoring of others by that insured, or in providing or failing to provide transportation with respect to any person that may be under the influence of alcohol, if the occurrence involved one of the three listed grounds.
- The Liquor Liability exclusion closes with a limiting clause stating that the exclusion applies only if the named insured is in the business of manufacturing, distributing, selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages, and that permitting a person to bring alcoholic beverages on the named insured's premises for consumption on those premises, whether or not a fee is charged or a license is required for that activity, is not by itself considered the business of selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages.
- Coverage A exclusion e. Employer's Liability reaches bodily injury to an employee of the insured arising out of and in the course of employment by the insured or of performing duties related to the conduct of the insured's business, and to that employee's spouse, child, parent, brother or sister as a consequence, and applies whether the insured may be liable as an employer or in any other capacity and to any obligation to share damages with or repay someone else. The form then states that the exclusion does not apply to liability assumed by the insured under an insured contract.
- Coverage A exclusion f. Pollution excludes bodily injury or property damage arising out of the actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape of pollutants at or from premises the insured owns, occupies, rents or borrows, and at or from premises where the insured or its contractors are performing operations if the pollutants are brought on in connection with those operations, subject to stated subparagraph exceptions.
- One stated exception to the pollution exclusion is bodily injury sustained within a building and caused by smoke, fumes, vapor or soot produced by or originating from equipment used to heat, cool or dehumidify the building.
- Exclusion f.(2) also excludes loss, cost or expense arising out of a request, demand, order or statutory or regulatory requirement that any insured or others test for, monitor, clean up, remove, contain, treat, detoxify or neutralize pollutants, or a claim or suit by or on behalf of a governmental authority for such damages.
- Exclusion f.(2) closes with a stated exception providing that the paragraph does not apply to liability for damages because of property damage that the insured would have in the absence of such request, demand, order or statutory or regulatory requirement, or of such claim or suit by or on behalf of a governmental authority.
- Coverage A exclusion k. Damage To Your Product removes property damage to the insured's product arising out of it or any part of it, and carries no stated exception in this form.
- Coverage A exclusion l. Damage To Your Work removes property damage to the insured's work arising out of it or any part of it and included in the products-completed operations hazard, and states that the exclusion does not apply if the damaged work, or the work out of which the damage arises, was performed on the named insured's behalf by a subcontractor.
- Coverage A exclusion m. Damage To Impaired Property Or Property Not Physically Injured removes property damage to impaired property or to property that has not been physically injured arising out of a defect, deficiency, inadequacy or dangerous condition in the insured's product or work, or out of a delay or failure by the insured or anyone acting on its behalf to perform a contract or agreement in accordance with its terms, and states that the exclusion does not apply to the loss of use of other property arising out of sudden and accidental physical injury to the insured's product or work after it has been put to its intended use.
- Coverage A exclusion n. Recall Of Products, Work Or Impaired Property removes damages claimed for any loss, cost or expense incurred by the insured or others for the loss of use, withdrawal, recall, inspection, repair, replacement, adjustment, removal or disposal of the insured's product, work or impaired property, and applies only if such product, work or property is withdrawn or recalled from the market or from use by any person or organization because of a known or suspected defect, deficiency, inadequacy or dangerous condition in it.
- Coverage A exclusion p. Electronic Data removes damages arising out of the loss of, loss of use of, damage to, corruption of, inability to access or inability to manipulate electronic data, and states in the same paragraph that the exclusion does not apply to liability for damages because of bodily injury.
- Coverage A exclusion i. War excludes bodily injury or property damage arising directly or indirectly out of war including undeclared or civil war, warlike action by a military force, and insurrection, rebellion, revolution, usurped power or action taken by governmental authority in hindering or defending against any of these.
- Coverage A exclusion q. excludes bodily injury or property damage arising directly or indirectly out of any action or omission that violates or is alleged to violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the Fair Credit Reporting Act including the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act amendment, or any other similar statute, ordinance or regulation.
- Section III Limits Of Insurance in this base form sets limits only and contains no liability deductible provision.
- Coverage B is Personal And Advertising Injury Liability, has its own limit of insurance and its own exclusions including a pollution exclusion, and Coverage C is Medical Payments, whose payments are made regardless of fault and cannot exceed the applicable limit of insurance.
Published: 2013-04
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