Delaware Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Delaware loss cost for fencing workers comp, class 0651 (Carpentry - Commercial Structures), is $2.400 per $100 of payroll (effective December 1, 2025). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $3.60.
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.
Delaware class code for fencing
- 0651: Carpentry - Commercial Structures
Delaware uses its own classification codes (largely the same numbering as Pennsylvania, e.g. 659 Roofing) and gives construction employers a wage-based premium credit through the Delaware Construction Classification Premium Adjustment Program instead of using NCCI codes.
Fence work carries hand tool injury, post-hole digger / auger risks, lifting, and underground utility strike risks. Chain-link work uses cutting tools with finger injury exposure.
What comp costs per fence installer in Delaware
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,240 construction laborers on payrolls in Delaware (May 2025), the 47th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $21.90 an hour, 3% below the US median of $22.66.
Construction laborers make up about the same share of Delaware jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.95).
At a typical Delaware premium of about $3.60 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $2.40 for class 0651 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.79 for every hour worked, or $1,640 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $4,920 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Delaware pay runs from $15.98 an hour at the 10th percentile to $30.64 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.58 an hour on a new hire and $1.10 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Delaware
- Coverage required: 1 employee; construction workers cannot be classified as independent contractors
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau residual market)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive from day one if disability reaches 7 days
- Penalty for going without: Fine up to three times the annual premium owed, plus $10 per employee per day
Delaware statutorily deems construction crews employees, so they cannot be 1099'd out of the coverage mandate.
Delaware vs neighboring states
- New Jersey: about $6.35 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $3.99 per $100 of payroll
Delaware has the lowest fencing comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
If your crews work across the line, list those states under item 3.A or 3.C of your policy before the job starts. Rates follow the state where the work is done, not where your office is.
What moves a fencing comp bill
- Fence erection rates sit above most interior trades because of post-hole augers, heavy material, and power tools. Auger training cuts the most serious claims.
- Fence crews often add decks, gates, or ornamental metal work, and those can rate in different classes. Tell your carrier what share of the work each represents.
- Seasonal crews and day labor are common in fencing. Every worker you pay counts at audit, so keep records for temporary hires.
- If you only sell and subcontract the installs, your own exposure is mostly sales and clerical, but only if every installer carries their own coverage.