Michigan Concrete Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Michigan pure premium for concrete workers comp, class 5213 (Concrete Construction - NOC (incl. monolithic private residences)), is $2.194 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $3.29.
A pure premium covers expected claims only. Each carrier files its own multiplier for expenses; in the states that publish the full list, the median is about 1.5, which is what the typical premium here uses. Your quote can be lower or higher. Source.
Michigan class codes for concrete
- 5221: Concrete Construction: Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks; Paving or Repaving - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks
- 5213: Concrete Construction - NOC (incl. monolithic private residences)
- 5215: Concrete Construction: Private Residences - Not Monolithic
Michigan is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style four-digit codes (the manual contains NCCI copyrighted material) but has Michigan-specific classes for several trades, e.g. 5476 painting instead of 5474, 5550 HVAC instead of 5537, a 5551 pitched vs 5552 flat roofing split, and 9521 for carpet and resilient flooring instead of 5478.
Concrete work involves heavy lifting, silica dust from cutting and grinding, skin burns from wet cement, and equipment hazards from mixers, vibrators and pumps.
What comp costs per concrete finisher in Michigan
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 6,350 cement masons and concrete finishers on payrolls in Michigan (May 2025), the 6th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $28.78 an hour, 5% above the US median of $27.41.
Cement masons and concrete finishers make up about the same share of Michigan jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.09).
At a typical Michigan premium of about $3.29 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $2.19 for class 5213 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.95 for every hour worked, or $1,969 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $7,878 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Michigan pay runs from $21.09 an hour at the 10th percentile to $36.37 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.69 an hour on a new hire and $1.20 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Michigan
- Coverage required: 3+ employees, or 1 employee working 35+ hours/week for 13+ weeks
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners excluded for themselves; officers may exclude themselves if they own 10%+
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; first week also retroactive if disability continues 14+ days
- Penalty for going without: Misdemeanor: up to $1,000 and/or 6 months jail, each day a separate offense
Michigan pays wage loss at 80% of after-tax average weekly wage, not the roughly two-thirds of gross most states use.
Michigan vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $2.16 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.18 per $100 of payroll
- Wisconsin: about $3.93 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Indiana is the cheapest for concrete comp at $2.16 and Wisconsin the most expensive at $3.93 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Ohio needs separate coverage from that state's fund. A private policy's other-states coverage (item 3.C) does not reach monopolistic states.
What moves a concrete comp bill
- Concrete classes depend on the work: flatwork and driveways often rate differently from foundations and structural pours. Getting the class right is the first saving.
- Back and crush injuries from forms, rebar, and pump hoses drive claims. A short pre-pour safety check on every job helps your mod over three years.
- Concrete crews often hire short-term labor during the pour season. Every worker you pay counts at audit, so keep clean payroll records for temporary hires.
- Owner-operators who pour alone can often exclude themselves; the rules vary by state, so check before you skip coverage.