Most Tennessee restaurants pay roughly $1.05 to $2.10 per $100 of payroll for workers' compensation on the main restaurant class code, before credits and the experience mod. For a full-service restaurant with about $400,000 in annual payroll, that usually works out to somewhere in the $4,600 to $8,600 a year range — but the real number swings on your class-code mix, whether you run delivery, your claims history, your experience mod, and the individual carrier's loss-cost multiplier. These are general ranges to set expectations, not a quote.
Workers' comp premium isn't a flat fee — it's built from your payroll and the rate that applies to each class of work. For each class code, the carrier takes your payroll, divides by 100, and multiplies by the rate for that code. Then your experience modification factor (the "mod") adjusts the whole thing up or down based on your claims history, and the carrier applies its own credits or debits. Two identical-looking restaurants can pay very different premiums if one has clean claims and clean class-code splits and the other doesn't.
Tennessee uses NCCI class codes, the same national framework as most Southeastern states. The code that applies depends on the kind of operation you run:
| Class code | Type of operation | Typical rate per $100 payroll* |
|---|---|---|
| 9082 | Restaurant NOC (full-service, sit-down) | ~$1.10 – $1.80 |
| 9083 | Restaurant — fast food / limited service | ~$1.00 – $1.50 |
| 9084 | Bar, tavern, lounge (higher alcohol share) | ~$1.30 – $2.10 |
| 8810 | Clerical / office staff | ~$0.10 – $0.30 |
| 7380 | Outside delivery drivers | ~$3.40 – $6.40+ |
*Illustrative general ranges for setting expectations only, before experience mod and carrier loss-cost multipliers. Actual rates in Tennessee vary by carrier and change over time. Not a quote.
The takeaway from that table: not all restaurant payroll should be rated the same. A bookkeeper who never enters the kitchen shouldn't be rated at the 9082 restaurant rate, and a delivery driver shouldn't be buried inside kitchen payroll — delivery is a much higher-rated exposure. Getting these splits documented correctly is one of the most common ways Tennessee restaurants quietly overpay year after year.
Here's the part that trips up a lot of owners. Tennessee is an open-competition, loss-cost state. NCCI files advisory loss costs for each class code — essentially the raw claims cost of that class before profit and expenses. But Tennessee doesn't set the final rate. Each carrier files and applies its own loss-cost multiplier on top of those NCCI loss costs to arrive at the rate it actually charges. One carrier might use a multiplier of 1.15 and another 1.55 for the very same class code. That's why two insurers can look at the same restaurant, the same 9082 payroll, and the same claims history and still come back with noticeably different premiums. Practically speaking, it makes shopping the account valuable in Tennessee — the spread between the cheapest and most expensive quote on an identical restaurant can be substantial.
Say you run a full-service restaurant in Tennessee with $400,000 in total annual payroll, split as $320,000 in restaurant staff (9082), $50,000 in a manager/office role that can be partly clerical (8810), and $30,000 in delivery drivers (7380). Even at illustrative mid-range rates, the delivery slice carries a disproportionate share of the premium because its rate is several times higher than the kitchen rate. Lumping that $30,000 of delivery into 9082 would understate the risk and set you up for an audit surprise, while lumping the clerical role into 9082 would overstate it and cost you money now. The right answer is accurate splits — which is exactly what an audit-ready payroll record and an agent who checks the codes are for. Then, because each carrier layers its own multiplier, the same clean submission taken to three markets can come back with three very different numbers.
Tennessee generally requires most non-construction employers with five or more employees to carry workers' compensation, counting full-time and part-time workers alike. A restaurant with five or more people on the payroll almost always has to carry it. That threshold is higher than South Carolina's four-employee rule and North Carolina's three, so a very small Tennessee restaurant with, say, three or four total workers may technically fall below the line. But most working restaurants cross five quickly once you count cooks, servers, dishwashers, and part-timers — and construction and certain other operations have far lower thresholds. Even where coverage isn't legally required, a single serious kitchen burn or fall can dwarf a year of premium, and many landlords and lenders require it by contract regardless of headcount. Tennessee's Bureau of Workers' Compensation enforces the requirement with penalties for employers that should carry it and don't.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Tennessee and the Southeast. We write restaurant and bar workers' comp alongside the rest of the program — general liability, property, and commercial auto for delivery — and we shop each account across multiple carriers to match your class codes and claims history to the market that wants them and the most favorable loss-cost multiplier. We work owner-to-owner, we check the class-code splits most agents skip, and we review your whole restaurant program together instead of one line at a time.
Bettr Coverage shops your workers' comp, general liability, property, and delivery auto across multiple carriers — one agency, one relationship, the class codes checked and the whole program reviewed together.
Get a free coverage reviewRoughly $1.05–$2.10 per $100 of payroll on the main restaurant code before the mod and credits. A full-service restaurant with $400K payroll often lands around $4,600–$8,600/yr, depending on class mix, delivery, claims history, and carrier multiplier.
Full-service is usually NCCI 9082, fast food 9083, bars 9084, clerical 8810, and outside delivery drivers a separate higher-rated code (around 7380). Correct splits matter a lot.
Tennessee is an open-competition, loss-cost state. NCCI files advisory loss costs, and each carrier applies its own loss-cost multiplier on top. That layer means the same restaurant can get very different numbers from different carriers — so shopping pays off.
For most — Tennessee generally requires non-construction employers with five or more employees, full- or part-time, to carry it. That's a higher threshold than SC (four) or NC/GA (three), but most working restaurants cross five quickly.
Total payroll, class-code mix, experience mod, delivery exposure, the carrier's loss-cost multiplier, and safety practices. A mod above 1.0 and heavy delivery push it up; clean claims and accurate splits pull it down.
Yes — restaurant and bar workers' comp alongside GL, property, and delivery auto, shopped across multiple carriers.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Premium ranges and class-code rates shown are illustrative estimates for setting expectations, not filed rates, and vary by carrier, payroll, class code, experience mod, loss-cost multiplier, and underwriting; rates change over time. Workers' compensation requirements are set by Tennessee law and administered by the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, with advisory loss costs filed by NCCI — confirm current requirements with a licensed agent or the applicable state authority. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.