West Virginia Concrete Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published West Virginia loss cost for concrete workers comp, class 5213 (Concrete Construction NOC), is $1.157 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $1.74.
A loss cost 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.
West Virginia class code for concrete
- 5213: Concrete Construction NOC
- 5215 (Concrete Work - Incidental to the Construction of Private Residence)
- 5221 (Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks & Drivers)
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 West Virginia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 760 cement masons and concrete finishers on payrolls in West Virginia (May 2025), the 41st largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $24.98 an hour, 9% below the US median of $27.41.
Cement masons and concrete finishers make up about the same share of West Virginia jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.82).
At a typical West Virginia premium of about $1.74 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $1.16 for class 5213 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.43 for every hour worked, or $904 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $3,616 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. West Virginia pay runs from $15.46 an hour at the 10th percentile to $30.67 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.27 an hour on a new hire and $0.53 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in West Virginia
- Coverage required: Any employee (from the first)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners not required to cover themselves; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (fully privatized in 2008)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if lost time exceeds 7 consecutive days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses statutory immunity and can be sued in tort
West Virginia is the most recent state to fully privatize, ending a roughly 90-year monopolistic fund in 2008.
West Virginia vs neighboring states
- Ohio: about $2.18 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $4.26 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia has the lowest concrete comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.