Workers' comp for South Carolina contractors is priced per $100 of payroll, and the number that matters is your trade's class-code rate multiplied by payroll and then by your experience modification factor. As a rough 2026 guide, low-hazard trades like electrical and plumbing often run $3–$7 per $100 of payroll, general carpentry $6–$12, concrete and masonry $7–$14, and roofing — the highest-hazard common trade — frequently $18–$35+ per $100. A carpentry outfit with $400,000 of field payroll at $9 per $100 is looking at roughly $36,000 of base manual premium before the ex-mod and credits move it up or down.
Every workers' comp premium in South Carolina starts from three inputs:
Put together: (payroll ÷ 100) × class rate × ex-mod, then adjusted by scheduled credits/debits and carrier expenses. The formula is simple; getting the class codes and payroll right is where money is won or lost.
Rough per-$100-of-payroll ranges to frame the conversation — not filed rates:
| Trade | Common NCCI code | Illustrative rate / $100* |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical wiring | 5190 | ~$3–$7 |
| Plumbing | 5183 | ~$4–$8 |
| Carpentry (general) | 5645 / 5403 | ~$6–$12 |
| Concrete / masonry | 5213 / 5215 | ~$7–$14 |
| Excavation & grading | 6217 | ~$6–$12 |
| Roofing | 5551 | ~$18–$35+ |
| Project manager / exec supervisor (no manual labor) | 5606 | ~$1–$3 |
*Illustrative only — not filed rates. Actual rates depend on carrier loss-cost multipliers, your ex-mod, payroll, and loss history.
The comp line itself is fairly stable in South Carolina, but the overall contractor market tightened after the 2024 South Carolina tort reform changes reshaped the liability environment. A number of standard carriers pulled back appetite for SC contractors — non-renewing accounts or quoting punitively on general liability and umbrella. When a contractor loses their GL home, the whole program often has to move, comp included. So while comp is usually still writable, it increasingly has to be packaged deliberately alongside liability that standard markets are reluctant to touch. That's an agent-and-appetite problem more than a rate problem.
Yes. South Carolina generally requires employers with four or more employees (full or part time) to carry workers' compensation. Construction gets extra scrutiny because of subcontractor exposure: a general contractor can be held responsible for an uninsured sub's injured worker, and those sub payrolls get pulled into the GC's audit if valid certificates of insurance aren't on file. Even under four employees, most contractors carry comp anyway — because GCs, project owners, and their insurers require it to set foot on the job.
Workers' comp is only one piece. A South Carolina contractor also needs general liability (the line under the most pressure post-tort-reform), commercial auto, inland marine for tools and equipment, an umbrella, and often bonding for public and larger private work. The pieces have to be underwritten together — a carrier's comp appetite frequently depends on writing the package. Trying to place each line in isolation, especially in the current SC market, is how contractors end up with gaps or non-renewals.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving South Carolina and the wider Southeast. For SC contractors, the challenge in 2026 isn't usually the comp rate — it's finding a carrier who will write the whole program, liability included, after tort reform thinned the standard market. We place workers' comp, general liability, auto, equipment, and umbrella together, and coordinate bonding through our sister brand when public or larger projects call for it. One agency, one relationship, the full program built to survive audit and renewal.
Bettr Coverage reviews your full contractor program — workers' comp, general liability, auto, equipment, umbrella, and bonding — and places it with carriers who still want SC construction.
Get a free coverage reviewIt's priced per $100 of payroll by trade: roughly $3–$7 for electrical/plumbing, $6–$12 for carpentry, $7–$14 for concrete, and $18–$35+ for roofing, all before the ex-mod. A $400,000-payroll carpenter at $9 per $100 is near $36,000 base.
Generally yes for employers with four or more employees. Most contractors carry it regardless because GCs and project owners require it.
The 2024 SC tort reform changes tightened the liability market. Comp is still writable, but it increasingly has to be packaged with GL that standard carriers have pulled back from.
Your trade's class-code rate, your experience mod, and uninsured subcontractor payroll charged back at audit.
Keep the ex-mod down with safety and return-to-work, code employees accurately, collect COIs from every sub, and shop with an independent agent who has real construction markets.
Yes. Pay-as-you-go comp ties premium to reported payroll each pay period, which smooths cash flow for seasonal crews and reduces audit surprises.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Cost ranges and class-code rates are illustrative, not filed rates, and vary by trade, payroll, experience modification, carrier loss-cost multiplier, and loss history. Statutory thresholds, coverage terms, exclusions, and availability differ by policy and carrier — confirm specifics with a licensed South Carolina agent. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.