Workers’ Comp for California Heavy Civil & Street/Road Contractors
Paving crews working live traffic, grading and excavation on public works, rail construction — this is work many standard carriers won’t write at all. If your company has 20 to 500 employees and spends $50,000 or more a year on workers’ comp, we work with markets built for exactly this risk.
California Workers’ Comp Class Codes We Place
| WCIRB Code | Classification |
|---|---|
| 5506 | Street or Road Construction — paving or repaving, surfacing or resurfacing or scraping |
| 5507 | Street or Road Construction — grading |
| 6218 / 6220 | Excavation and Grading Land — N.O.C. (dual-wage pair) |
| 7855 | Railroad Construction |
| 5040(2) | Bridge Building — metal |
Several construction classes are “dual-wage” pairs: employees at or above an hourly wage threshold set by WCIRB go in the lower-rated code. Missing wage records push payroll into the higher-rated code at audit — one of the most common reasons contractors overpay.
Why This Work Is Hard to Place
Road and civil work combines several of the highest-severity exposures in construction: workers on foot next to live traffic, heavy equipment rollovers and backovers, night work, and long summer days in California heat. Silica exposure from cutting and milling concrete adds occupational-disease risk on top of injury risk. A single struck-by fatality can swing an experience mod for years, so standard markets tend to decline the class outright.
What Underwriters Want to See
- A written traffic control plan and trained flaggers on every live-lane job
- Spotters and backup alarms or cameras on heavy equipment
- A Cal/OSHA heat illness prevention program with documented water, shade and rest
- A silica exposure control plan for saw cutting, milling and drilling
- Equipment operator training and certification records
How Specialty Markets Look at Your Account
Standard carriers often decide on class code alone. The specialty markets we work with for high-hazard classes underwrite the company in front of them: your safety program, training and certifications, loss frequency versus severity, how your experience mod is trending, and how claims are managed when they happen. A contractor that has invested in safety can be priced on that record instead of the worst operators in its class.
That doesn’t mean every account saves money — and if your current program is the right fit, we’ll tell you. But if your premium hasn’t moved after years of clean operations, it’s worth a second look.
Situations We Help With
Public works growth
You’re winning bigger Caltrans and municipal jobs and your payroll — and premium — jumped.
Stuck on State Fund
Standard carriers declined the class years ago and nobody has shopped it since.
Mod hit by one bad year
A single severe claim is dragging your X-Mod and your bids.
Audit surprises
Dual-wage grading and excavation payroll keeps landing in the higher-rated code.
On State Fund now? See how contractors move off State Fund at renewal, or browse all contractor workers’ comp classes we place.
What We Need to Shop Your Account
- Completed ACORD 130 workers’ comp application (we can help you fill it out)
- Your current experience mod worksheet from WCIRB
- 3–5 years of currently valued loss runs
- Your expiring policy and premium, plus payroll by class code
- Your written safety program or IIPP, if you have one
Missing something? Start anyway — with your authorization we can request loss runs and your mod worksheet for you.
Common Questions
Why won’t standard carriers write road construction?
Workers on foot next to live traffic and heavy equipment create high-severity claims, so many standard carriers exclude street, road and grading classes from their appetite entirely.
Does night work or freeway work change my rating?
The class code stays the same, but underwriters weigh where and when you work. Documented traffic control and night-work procedures help your account.
We do both grading and paving. How is payroll split?
Payroll is assigned to each classification based on the work employees actually perform, which requires clear time records. Without them, auditors can assign payroll to the highest-rated code.
What size companies do you work with?
Typically 20 to 500 employees with $50,000 or more in annual workers’ comp premium.
Request a Workers’ Comp Review
For California contractors paying $50,000+ a year in workers’ comp.
Class codes shown are California WCIRB classifications. Your actual classification depends on your operations and payroll records. Coverage is subject to underwriting; general information, not legal advice.