Delaware workers’ compensation rates average about $1.34 per $100 of payroll, but what any single business actually pays swings hard based on the work being done, the company’s claims history, and which carrier writes the policy. A clerical-only office can land near $0.13 per $100 of payroll. A roofing contractor can pay over $25 for the same $100. The Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau’s most recent filing proposed an 8.32% reduction in voluntary market loss costs effective December 1, 2025, continuing a multi-year downward trend.1Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. DCRB Filing No. 2501 Actuarial Memorandum
How Your Premium Is Built
Two numbers combine to produce your base rate. The first is the advisory loss cost set by the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau (DCRB), which represents the pure expected cost of paying claims for a given type of work. The DCRB files these loss costs with the Delaware Insurance Commissioner, who reviews them before they take effect.
The second number is the loss cost multiplier, which each carrier sets individually to cover its operating expenses and profit. The Insurance Commissioner reviews these multipliers for actuarial soundness, but carriers set them independently, and the gap between carriers is real. Two insurers quoting the same business for the same policy can come in meaningfully apart because the loss cost underneath is identical and the markup on top is not. Shopping among carriers is where most Delaware employers find their biggest savings.
Classification Codes Drive the Range
Every job function gets a classification code tied to its injury risk, and each code carries a rate expressed as dollars per $100 of payroll.2Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Classification The spread across codes is the single biggest reason two Delaware businesses pay wildly different premiums.
- Clerical and office employees: $0.13–$0.17 per $100 of payroll
- Restaurants and fast food: $1.81–$2.46 per $100
- Electrical work: $3.07–$4.16 per $100
- Trucking (short and long haul): $7.72–$10.47 per $100
- Roofing contractors: $18.93–$25.67 per $100
The low and high ends of each range reflect different carriers’ multipliers applied to the same base loss cost. On $500,000 of payroll, a roofing operation could pay $95,000 to $128,000 a year. A similarly sized accounting office could come in under $1,000.
Delaware lets a single company carry multiple classification codes if different employees genuinely do different work. A manufacturing firm with a front office and a production floor classifies its clerical staff separately from its machine operators. Splitting payroll correctly keeps you from overpaying on low-risk employees. Splitting it wrong creates problems at audit time, when the carrier reviews actual payroll records against what you reported.
Experience Rating and Your E-Mod
Once a business generates at least $5,000 in audited premium over a three-year qualifying period, it becomes eligible for experience rating.3Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Experience Rating Plan The system compares your actual claims history against the average for employers in your classification and produces an experience modification factor, or E-Mod, that adjusts your premium up or down.
An E-Mod of 1.0 is average. Fewer or less severe claims than average earns a credit mod below 1.0, which reduces premium. Worse-than-average claims produces a debit mod above 1.0, which raises it. The arithmetic is straightforward. On a $20,000 base premium, an E-Mod of 0.85 means you pay $17,000. An E-Mod of 1.25 means you pay $25,000.3Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Experience Rating Plan
Merit Rating for Smaller Employers
Businesses that don’t hit the $5,000 premium threshold over three years go into the merit rating program instead, a simplified version that still adjusts premium based on claims history but uses a narrower range of modifications. About 62% of Delaware employers fall into this category.3Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Experience Rating Plan Clean records earn a modest credit. Claims produce a small debit. The swings are smaller than under full experience rating.
Safety Program Credits
Delaware’s Workplace Safety Program, administered through the DCRB, offers additional premium discounts to employers who complete a certified safety inspection. The credit ranges from 0.5% to 6.2% of modified premium.4Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Workplace Safety Program It applies after the E-Mod, so it stacks on top of any experience rating discount. Unlike the E-Mod, it’s available immediately after the inspection rather than after years of claims data have accumulated. For an employer with a sizable premium, the top end of that range is real money.
When Private Carriers Say No: The Assigned Risk Plan
Employers who can’t find a willing carrier in the voluntary market, usually because of a poor claims record or a high-hazard operation, can apply for coverage through the Delaware Workers’ Compensation Insurance Plan, known as the assigned risk plan. The application requires documentation that at least two carriers declined coverage within the past 60 days.5Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Application for Workers Compensation Assigned Risk Plan
Assigned risk coverage runs more expensive than voluntary market coverage. Employers with E-Mods above 1.0 face a surcharge calculated from their experience mod and credibility factor and applied as a multiplier on standard premium.6Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau. Delaware Workers Compensation Manual of Rules, Classifications and Rating Values Coverage binds at 12:01 a.m. the day after the completed application and deposit premium are postmarked, or on the expiration date of existing coverage, whichever is later.
The Premium Audit Changes the Final Number
Your initial premium is based on estimated payroll for the coming year. After the policy term ends, the carrier conducts an audit against actual payroll records. If payroll came in higher than estimated, you owe additional premium. If it came in lower, you get money back.
Delaware’s Department of Insurance requires carriers to provide a transparent breakdown of the payroll reviewed, the classification codes applied, any reclassifications or added exposures, and the complete premium calculation, with narrative explanations for any changes from the original estimate.7Delaware Department of Insurance. Regulatory Expectations for Payroll Audit Practices Under Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Policies When the audit shows an overpayment, the carrier has to issue a direct refund using the original payment method rather than roll the credit into future billing, unless the employer specifically requests otherwise.
If you disagree with the audit results, you can appeal to the DCRB during the policy period or within 12 months after the policy terminates.7Delaware Department of Insurance. Regulatory Expectations for Payroll Audit Practices Under Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Policies The deadline is firm. If a misclassification or payroll calculation looks wrong, don’t sit on it.
What You Need to Get a Quote
For an accurate quote, a carrier or broker will ask for your Federal Employer Identification Number, a description of all operations performed, estimated annual payroll broken down by classification code, and loss runs from the previous three to five years showing past claims and their outcomes. The standard application is the ACORD 130, which organizes all of this into a format underwriters across carriers recognize.
A licensed broker can submit the same package to multiple carriers at once, which is the fastest way to see how different loss cost multipliers compare for your specific operations. Underwriters verify the classification codes and check the payroll estimates against industry norms before issuing a quote. For businesses already declined by private carriers, the broker can submit to the assigned risk plan as a backstop. Coverage doesn’t begin until you accept the quote and pay the initial deposit premium.
Coverage Is Not Optional
One point worth flagging for anyone shopping rates: every Delaware employer with one or more employees must carry a policy. There is no small-business exception.8Delaware Department of Labor. Office of Workers’ Compensation Enforcement The civil penalty for going without is three times the premium that should have been paid for one year of coverage, plus $10 per employee per day (minimum $250 per day) if the violation continues more than 15 days after notice, plus personal liability for any injury that occurs during the uninsured period.9Delaware Code. Delaware Code Title 19 – Workers’ Compensation – Section 2374 The math is set up to make noncompliance far more expensive than any premium quote you’ll receive.