Every new state is a new set of obligations.
Workers' compensation follows where your people actually work, not where the company is registered. Employment claims follow headcount.
- Workers' compensationStatutory, per state
- Employers liability (Part Two)$1M / $1M / $1M
- Employment practices liability$1M – $2M
- Third-party EPLIExtension, low cost
- Hired & non-owned auto$1M if anyone drives for work
Ranges commonly seen. Your contracts and exposure decide the answer.
If any of these are true right now, this is the situation you're in.
- You hired in a state you've never employed in before
- Headcount has moved past ten and there's no HR function yet
- You're coming off a PEO, or considering it
- A reduction in force is planned, or has just happened
- Payroll has grown materially since the policy was written
You hired in three new states this quarter.
Workers' compensation is a statutory obligation in nearly every state once you have employees, and it is written state by state. A distributed team typically needs more states on the policy, not fewer. Ohio, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming require coverage from a state fund rather than a private carrier, which catches companies out when the first hire lands there.
Employment practices liability is the other half. A technology company is far more likely to face an employment claim than a securities claim or a catastrophic breach, and the probability rises sharply with headcount, with hiring across states, and with any reduction in force. California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are meaningfully more active jurisdictions.
This is maintenance work rather than a one-time purchase, and it is exactly the kind of thing that gets forgotten until an audit or a claim. We keep the state schedule current as you hire.
The coverage this situation calls for
In priority order, with the reason each one is on the list.
Specifically, in this situation.
- Keep the state schedule current as you hire, including monopolistic states
- Right-size EPLI limits and retention against your headcount and jurisdictions
- Report payroll changes as they happen so the year-end audit holds no surprises
- Review the transition if you are coming off a PEO, so there is no gap on day one
- 01
Submission reviewed
Same business dayYou tell us about the business once. We read it the day it arrives and come back with anything still outstanding.
- 02
Coverage & requirements reviewed
Same business dayContracts, exposures, limits and requirements checked against what you actually need to carry — and what you don't.
- 03
Markets approached
Typically within 48 hoursWe approach carrier and wholesale markets suited to the risk, with a submission built to be read rather than skimmed.
- 04
Options compared
Typically 3–10 business daysCoverage, terms and pricing reviewed side by side — including the exclusions that decide whether a claim pays.
- 05
Bind & certificates
Promptly after approvalIssued promptly once you approve, with a plain-English summary of what you bought.
Answered.
Yes. Obligations follow where the employee works. A fully remote team usually needs more states on the policy than an office-based one.
Generally yes while you are on it. The risk is the transition — coming off a PEO without a policy in force on day one leaves a real gap, and customers will still ask for a certificate in your own name.
Ohio, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming require workers' compensation from a state fund. Private carriers cannot write it, and you also need a stop-gap employers liability endorsement.
Get covered without the runaround.
Tell us what changed. A broker reads it the same business day and comes back with what it means and what it costs.