OKC Insurance Brokers is an independent workers compensation insurance broker in Oklahoma City. One application goes to several workers comp carriers instead of one, the class codes get set right so the audit does not turn into a bill, and certificates of insurance go out the day a general contractor or a permit office asks for one. We write employers with payroll, and we write ghost policies for owner-only contractors who need a certificate and have nobody to cover. Commercial coverage rarely stands alone; how workers comp fits with the rest is on our Oklahoma business insurance page.
QUOTE ONLINE IN MINUTES Class codes, payroll and owner details; we come back the same business day.
Who has to carry workers compensation in Oklahoma
Almost every employer with at least one employee, part-time or full-time. That is the rule, and the exemptions are narrow:
- Owners can usually exclude themselves. A sole proprietor, the partners in a partnership and the members of an LLC can generally elect out of coverage on their own bodies. Their employees cannot be excluded.
- Certain small family-run operations with only family members working qualify for an exemption. Most businesses that think they qualify do not; ask before you assume.
- Independent contractors are not your employees only if they carry their own coverage. A subcontractor without a policy is treated as your employee at the audit, and his payments are charged to your premium.
The penalty for operating without required coverage can reach $1,000 a day, before any civil liability to the injured worker, and Oklahoma City's contractor registration requires proof of workers compensation alongside general liability. Full detail on Oklahoma's rules, and what an audit does with uninsured subs, is on our work comp audit page.
What the policy pays
Medical treatment
Every reasonable medical cost from a work injury or occupational illness, with no deductible to the worker.
Lost wages
A portion of the worker's wages while they cannot work, set by Oklahoma's schedule, plus rehabilitation when they cannot return to the same job.
Employer's liability
The second half of the policy: defends the business when a claim falls outside the statutory benefits, such as a spouse's suit or a third party pulled in.
The trade
An employee who accepts benefits generally cannot sue the employer for the injury. That protection is what the premium buys the owner.
Ghost policies: workers comp with no employees
An owner-only contractor, a one-truck electrician, a solo painter, has nobody to insure and still gets asked for a workers compensation certificate by every general contractor and most permit offices. A ghost policy answers that: a workers comp policy written with the owner excluded, covering no one, that satisfies the certificate requirement at the lowest premium the carrier files. We write them every week. Two warnings we give with every one: the moment you hire anyone, even a day laborer paid in cash, the ghost policy has to become a real policy, and the audit will find the payroll if you do not tell us first; and a ghost policy does not cover you, so if you want your own injuries paid you need to include yourself instead.
How much does workers comp insurance cost in Oklahoma?
We do not print a figure, because the same payroll in two trades can differ by ten times. What sets it:
- The class code. Every job has a rate per $100 of payroll set for its class: clerical, retail, landscaping, roofing, trucking. Getting the code right is the single largest lever, and the most common audit dispute.
- Payroll. The estimate you give at the start, corrected to actual at the audit. Estimate honestly; an underestimate is a bill, an overestimate is money loaned to the carrier for a year.
- Your claims history, once the business is large enough to carry an experience modifier. Clean years lower it below 1.0; a bad year raises it for three.
- Which market writes you. Standard carriers price the classes they want; a class nobody wants goes to the state's carrier of last resort at its rates. A broker's job is to find a standard carrier first.
- How you pay. Pay-as-you-go billing off actual payroll runs is available with several carriers and ends the audit surprise for seasonal trades.
Why a workers comp broker, not one company
Carriers pick their classes. The company that writes a landscaper competitively may decline a roofer or a tow operator outright, and the owner never learns why the quote never came. As an independent broker we send one application to several workers comp carriers, place the hard classes with the state's carrier of last resort only when nothing else will write them, set the class codes with the audit in mind, and issue certificates the same day. Roofers and other high-hazard trades are the clients this matters most for; our roofing liability and workers comp guide covers that trade.
Workers comp for contractors: the permit, the certificate, the subs
The search that brings most contractors here is some version of "instant online quote for general contractor liability and workers comp for a city permit." The honest answer: general liability quotes fast, workers comp needs a payroll figure, and with class codes, payroll and owner details in hand we bind both and issue the certificates the same business day. Oklahoma City's registration wants both. Keep a certificate from every subcontractor before they start; the audit page shows what an uninsured sub costs you. Everything else a contractor carries, tools, commercial auto and the CIB license bonds, is on the contractors insurance page.
Oklahoma City, Edmond and statewide
Workers comp is priced on class and payroll, not on your city, so the same application works from Edmond to Tulsa to the Texas side of the Red River. Most of the employers we write are Oklahoma City metro contractors, restaurants, medical and dental offices and small retail, and the office at 11901 N MacArthur Blvd handles certificates for all of them by email the same day.
Workers comp questions we get asked
Is workers compensation insurance required in Oklahoma?
Yes, for almost every employer with at least one employee, part-time or full-time. The exemptions are narrow: owners can usually exclude themselves, and certain small family-run operations qualify. Going without it can cost up to $1,000 a day in penalties before any liability to the injured worker, and Oklahoma City will not register a contractor without proof of coverage.
How much is workers comp insurance in Oklahoma?
It is priced as a rate per $100 of payroll, and the rate depends on the class code of the work: an office clerk and a roofer are far apart. Your payroll, your claims history (the experience modifier once you are large enough to have one), and whether a standard carrier or the state's carrier of last resort writes you decide the rest. We do not print a figure because the same payroll in two trades can differ by ten times. Send us the class codes and payroll and we quote it the same business day.
What is a ghost policy?
A workers compensation policy for a business with no employees, written so the owner is excluded and nobody is actually covered. It exists because general contractors, municipalities and permit offices require a certificate of workers compensation from everyone on the job, owner-only subcontractors included. It is the cheapest way to satisfy that requirement. The moment you hire someone, even a day laborer, it has to become a real policy, and we convert it.
Why use a workers comp broker instead of calling one company?
Because carriers pick their classes. The company that writes a landscaper competitively may decline a roofer or a trucking operation outright, and the owner never learns why. An independent broker sends one application to several carriers, places the hard classes with the state's carrier of last resort when nothing else will write them, gets the class codes right so the audit does not produce a bill, and issues the certificates the same day. That is what the premium buys you beyond the policy.
What does workers compensation pay for?
The injured worker's medical treatment, a portion of lost wages while they cannot work, rehabilitation, and death benefits to dependents. The employer's liability section of the same policy defends the business when a claim falls outside the statutory benefits. In exchange, an employee who accepts benefits generally cannot sue the employer for the injury.
What happens at the workers comp audit?
At the end of the policy year the carrier checks your actual payroll against what the policy was priced on. Payroll that was underestimated produces an additional premium bill; overestimated payroll produces a refund. The surprise most Oklahoma employers hit is subcontractors: any sub who worked for you without their own coverage is treated as your employee and their payments are charged to your policy. Collect a certificate from every sub before they start. Our work comp audit page walks through it.
Can I get a workers comp certificate for a city permit today?
Usually, yes. Oklahoma City's contractor registration asks for general liability and workers compensation, and both can be bound and certificated the same business day once we have the class codes, payroll and owner information. General liability quotes fast; workers comp needs the payroll figure, so have it ready and the whole packet moves at once.
Do you write workers comp in Edmond and the rest of Oklahoma?
Yes. Statewide, including Edmond, Yukon, Mustang and Tulsa, plus Texas. Workers comp is priced on class and payroll, not on your city, so the same application works anywhere in the state.
Related: Oklahoma business insurance, general liability, commercial auto, surety bonds for the license, and the work comp audit guide.