Michigan Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Michigan pure premium for fencing workers comp, class 6400 (Fence Erection: Metal), is $1.833 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $2.75.
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 fencing
- 6400: Fence Erection: Metal
- 5403: Fence Erection - Wood - Commercial (Carpentry NOC)
- 5645: Fence Erection - Wood - Residential (Carpentry: Detached One or Two Family Dwellings)
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.
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 Michigan
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 460 fence erectors on payrolls in Michigan (May 2025), the 16th largest workforce of the 35 states with published figures. The median wage is $22.02 an hour, 5% below the US median of $23.07.
This trade is a smaller part of the Michigan job market than it is nationally: fence erectors hold 0.67 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical Michigan premium of about $2.75 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $1.83 for class 6400 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.61 for every hour worked, or $1,260 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $3,779 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Michigan pay runs from $18.25 an hour at the 10th percentile to $23.74 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.50 an hour on a new hire and $0.65 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 $1.72 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $1.47 per $100 of payroll
- Wisconsin: about $5.09 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Ohio is the cheapest for fencing comp at $1.47 and Wisconsin the most expensive at $5.09 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 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.