Best Cheap Workers' Comp Insurance in New York (2026)

New York requires workers’ comp for nearly every business with employees, including part-time, seasonal and unpaid family workers, though sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs and one- or two-person corporations owned entirely by their officers don’t need it if no one else works for them. No trade has to carry it without employees, but many exempt contractors buy a policy anyway because general contractors often want proof of coverage before a subcontractor starts. If you need a city or state permit, license or contract, your insurer has to send the agency Form C-105.2, since New York doesn’t accept a standard certificate of insurance as proof. Going without coverage can bring fines of up to $2,000 for every 10 days and an order to stop all work until you’re insured. Any licensed insurer’s policy meets these requirements, so your choice comes down to price and how each insurer handles claims.

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Construction costs more to insure than any other industry in New York, and ERGO NEXT has the lowest rates for most of it, averaging $650 a month per employee, 35% below the $998 industry average, with the cheapest price for 38 of the 45 trades we analyzed. It’s a good fit for subcontractors, since an owner who isn’t legally required to carry coverage can add themselves to a policy online when a general contractor asks for it, and a blanket waiver of subrogation can be added from the account. The catch is that ERGO NEXT doesn’t offer scheduled waivers, so a project owner who wants its own named waiver won’t get one. Thimble is next at $799 and suits the general contractor’s side of the job, with a free tool for collecting each sub’s proof of coverage and a waiver of subrogation included whenever a client is added to the policy. It’s also cheapest for lawn care and snow removal, so seasonal outdoor crews should quote Thimble first. Rates for 15 common trades are in the table below.

Every healthcare business type we analyzed gets its lowest New York rate from The Hartford, which averages $99 a month per employee for the industry, 34% below the $151 average. Its coverage fits the work, too. Its needle stick program pays for testing both the employee and the patient after an accidental stick, and nurse case managers coordinate care when a nurse or aide is hurt lifting a patient. Practices can also get New York’s required disability and paid family leave coverage from The Hartford, so both mandatory employee policies stay with one insurer. ERGO NEXT is next at $129 and makes sense mainly for a new practice that needs coverage in place quickly, since the whole purchase happens online in about 10 minutes. The table shows rates for 15 common healthcare businesses.

Food and beverage is split between two insurers in New York, so the kind of food business you run decides which one to call first. ERGO NEXT has the lowest industry average at $75 a month per employee, 19% below the $93 average, and is cheapest for 16 of the 26 business types we analyzed, mostly restaurants, bars, caterers and food trucks. Caterers and food trucks often have to show proof of coverage before working an event, and ERGO NEXT lets you send a certificate for free from its app. The Hartford averages $78 and wins most of the rest, including bakeries, coffee shops and pizzerias, and a pizzeria that delivers in company cars can save 10% on commercial auto by carrying The Hartford’s workers’ comp too. Here’s how 15 common food businesses compare.

Retail is where The Hartford’s price lead is widest. It averages $68 a month per employee for New York stores, 30% below the $97 industry average, and it’s the cheapest insurer for 32 of the 39 retail types we analyzed, from groceries and hardware stores to online sellers with warehouses. Beyond price, a store owner can keep workers’ comp, New York’s required disability and paid family leave coverage and a business owner’s policy for inventory and fixtures with The Hartford, and it takes 10% off commercial auto for shops that deliver with their own vans. ERGO NEXT is next at $78 and is cheapest for most vendors and rental businesses, such as craft vendors and party rental companies. Those businesses often have to show proof of coverage before a market or event, and ERGO NEXT lets you send a certificate for free from its app, so it’s the better fit for them. The table covers 15 kinds of stores and rental businesses.

The cheapest insurer for a New York cleaning business depends on the kind of cleaning you do. House cleaners, maid services and janitorial companies usually pay the least with ERGO NEXT, which is cheapest for 9 of the 15 cleaning types we analyzed and lets you send a client or property manager proof of coverage for free from its app. The Hartford has the lowest average for the industry at $232 a month per employee, 28% below the $321 average, because it’s much cheaper for heavier work like garbage collection, carpet cleaning and window cleaning, and ERGO NEXT is next at $247. Garbage haulers get an extra reason to choose The Hartford, since it takes 10% off commercial auto when the trucks are insured alongside its workers’ comp. The table covers all 15 cleaning business types we analyzed.

ERGO NEXT is the cheapest insurer for most New York repair businesses, averaging $124 a month per employee, 22% below the $158 industry average, and winning 11 of the 16 types we analyzed. Much of that is work done at customers’ homes or on the road, like appliance repair, drain cleaning and mobile mechanics, and ERGO NEXT suits it well, since it has the highest-rated customer service of the insurers we compared and lets you send a homeowner or landlord proof of coverage for free. The Hartford is next at $136 and is cheapest for auto repair shops and building maintenance companies. A shop that also runs a tow truck or service van can save 10% on commercial auto by insuring it alongside The Hartford’s workers’ comp. The table covers 15 common repair and maintenance businesses.

New York counts nearly everyone who works for you, including part-time and day workers, family members and unpaid helpers, so you need coverage from your first hire. Sole proprietors, partnerships and LLCs with no employees are exempt, as are one- or two-person corporations whose owners hold every office and all of the stock, and if a government agency asks for proof of that, you file a Certificate of Attestation of Exemption (CE-200). Going uninsured is a misdemeanor with fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for five or fewer employees and a felony with fines of $5,000 to $50,000 for more than five, on top of civil penalties. Write down everyone you pay, on payroll or not, before you ask for quotes.

New York also requires employers to carry disability and paid family leave coverage, which pays employees for injuries and illnesses that happen off the job and for time off to care for family, and a workers’ comp policy doesn’t include it. You can buy it from a private insurer or the state fund, and The Hartford sells it alongside workers’ comp. Ask each insurer you quote whether it offers both, since keeping them together means one renewal date and one insurer to call.

New York doesn’t use the classifications from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), the main national rating organization. It uses those set by the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB), and employees at the same company can fall under different ones, such as office staff and a field crew. Each classification has a rate per $100 of payroll, so a $3 rate on $80,000 of payroll comes to $2,400 before other adjustments, and similar work can be priced very differently, with maid services averaging $98 a month per employee in our data and janitorial services $228. If you do commercial construction, New York’s payroll limitation program caps how much of each worker’s weekly pay counts toward premium, but only with accurate weekly payroll records, and it doesn’t cover one- or two-family home building.

You have to report most injuries to your insurer within 10 days, and missing that deadline can cost up to $2,500, so look for an insurer that takes claims around the clock by phone or online. Finding a doctor is harder in New York than in most states, because injured workers must see a Board-authorized provider until new rules take effect on January 1, 2028, and only about 10% of eligible providers are authorized today. Ask each insurer how it helps employees find an authorized doctor near your location, especially outside the New York City area, and whether it assigns nurse case managers for serious injuries.

NYCIRB sets loss costs for each classification, and every insurer multiplies them by its own state-approved factor, which is why a New York masonry contractor pays $1,475 a month per employee with ERGO NEXT but $2,595 with Hiscox, about $13,440 more a year per worker. Give each insurer the same payroll estimates by classification and your claims history from any current insurer, then compare business insurance quotes from at least three. If private insurers turn you down, the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) guarantees coverage to employers that can’t find it elsewhere.

Once your policy starts, post the state’s Notice of Compliance (Form C-105) in English and Spanish where employees can see it, and keep each worker’s pay, hours and duties on file, since New York requires four years of records. At the end of the term your insurer checks your real payroll against your estimate, and in construction it can also add premium for any subcontractor you paid who can’t show their own policy, so collect a certificate from every sub before they start. Pay-as-you-go billing, offered by The Hartford and ERGO NEXT, ties premium to each payroll run so the audit holds fewer surprises.

New York loss costs fell 21.9% for policies starting on or after October 1, 2026, so a policy you bought before then may be priced higher than today’s market. Your rate per employee also tends to drop as you grow, averaging $270 a month for businesses with one to four employees and $209 for those with 20 to 49. New York runs its own experience rating plan for every employer with New York payroll, so a clean claims record lowers your premium over time. At renewal, get fresh quotes and make sure the classifications on your policy still match the work your crew does.