A ghost policy is a minimum-premium workers' comp policy for a business with no employees except the owner, where the owner is excluded from coverage. Its entire job is to produce a certificate of insurance — the document a general contractor demands before letting a sub on the job — without actually insuring anyone. It's cheap (often a few hundred to around a thousand dollars a year), it's a legitimate policy, and it covers essentially no one. That's the point, and also the danger: it satisfies a contract, not an injury. And every ghost policy is auditable, which is where one-person contractors get surprised.
The name comes from what it covers: nobody. A sole proprietor or single-member LLC with no employees usually falls below the state's mandatory-coverage threshold, so the owner isn't legally required to buy workers' comp. But the contract they just signed with a general contractor requires a comp certificate anyway — GCs demand it so that an injured sub can't climb up the chain and land on the GC's own policy. The ghost policy resolves that standoff: the owner buys a real comp policy, excludes themselves from it, and the carrier issues a certificate. No payroll, no covered lives, minimum premium.
You're a candidate for a ghost policy if all of these are true:
If any of those isn't true — especially the last one — a ghost policy is probably the wrong tool.
The most important sentence on the page: on a ghost policy, the owner is excluded, so if the owner is injured on the job the policy pays nothing. It covers no employees because there are none, and it covers not the owner because the owner is carved out. If you want your own on-the-job injuries covered, you have to either elect to include yourself on the policy — which loads in a set owner payroll and turns it into a real-premium policy — or arrange separate accident/health or occupational-accident coverage. A one-person roofer who buys a ghost policy, falls off a ladder, and expects comp to respond is in for a very bad day.
Because there's little or no payroll to rate, a ghost policy is written at the carrier's or state's minimum premium. In 2026 that commonly lands somewhere in the range below, depending on the state, class code, and carrier:
| Item | Typical 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Annual minimum premium (ghost) | ~$300 – $1,000 |
| Owner injury coverage included? | No (owner excluded) |
| Employees covered | None |
| Auditable? | Yes — every year |
These figures are illustrative, not a quote — the real number depends on your class code, state, and carrier. The cost that hurts contractors isn't the premium; it's the audit.
Every comp policy, ghost included, is audited at the end of the term. If during the year you paid uninsured subcontractors or day labor and can't produce a valid certificate of insurance for each of them, the auditor can treat that payroll as yours and charge premium on it at your class-code rate. A policy you bought expecting to cost $500 can generate a four- or five-figure audit bill when a season's worth of uninsured helpers gets added back in.
The defense is simple and non-negotiable: collect and keep a current comp certificate for every sub you pay, and don't put uninsured labor on your jobs. The same discipline that protects the GC protects you. Our guide to the audit and mod mechanics walks through why documentation is everything at audit time.
A ghost policy is a legitimate, properly-issued workers' comp policy — not a fake certificate or a workaround. Whether it satisfies a specific contract, though, depends on the wording. Some GCs accept a ghost policy plus a signed sole-proprietor exclusion; others require the owner to be included in coverage, or demand higher employer's-liability limits. Read the insurance requirements in the contract before you buy — buying the owner-excluded version when the GC requires owner-included means going back to reissue, and occasionally the GC won't accept an excluded certificate at all.
The mandatory-coverage threshold that makes a ghost policy relevant varies by state:
Because it's the interaction between the state rule and the GC's contract that determines what you actually need, confirm the current rule with your state's workers' comp agency and match it to the contract in front of you.
A ghost policy is the wrong tool the moment any of these is true:
Plenty of growing contractors outgrow a ghost policy within a single season and never notice until the audit bill or the injury lands. If you're adding people, price a real policy now. See our Georgia contractor workers' comp cost breakdown for what a real, payroll-rated policy looks like.
Bettr Coverage sets one-person contractors up with the right certificate — ghost policy, owner-included, or a real payroll-rated policy — matched to what your contract actually requires, so you don't get bounced off the job or blindsided at audit. One local agent, straight answers.
Get a free coverage reviewNo. The owner is excluded, so an owner injury pays nothing, and there are no employees to cover. It provides a certificate, not protection. To cover yourself you must elect to be included (which adds premium) or buy separate accident coverage.
Usually the carrier's or state's minimum premium — commonly a few hundred to around a thousand dollars a year in 2026, depending on state, class code, and carrier.
Every ghost policy is auditable. If you paid uninsured subs or day labor without valid certificates, that payroll can be added to your policy at audit and billed at your class-code rate — turning a cheap policy into a big bill.
Yes — it's a real, properly-issued comp policy, not a fake certificate. Whether it meets a given contract depends on the wording; some GCs require the owner to be included rather than excluded.
As soon as you have employees, use uninsured subs, or want your own injuries covered. A payroll-rated policy covers your crew and can include you as the owner.
Yes. Thresholds vary — three employees in GA/TN/NC, five in AL/MS, and a construction-specific rule in FL that can require coverage at one and needs filed exemptions.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. A ghost policy is a legitimate workers' compensation policy that excludes the owner and covers no employees; it provides a certificate of insurance, not injury coverage. Premium figures are illustrative and vary by state, class code, and carrier. Workers' compensation requirements, exemptions, and thresholds are set by state law — confirm current rules with your state workers' compensation agency and match them to your contract. Coverage subject to policy terms, audit, and carrier appetite. Serving Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.