Delaware Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Delaware loss cost for roofing workers comp, class 0659 (Roofing), is $7.600 per $100 of payroll (effective December 1, 2025). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $11.40.
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 roofing
- 0659: Roofing
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.
Falls are the main hazard in roofing. In 2023 roofing contractors accounted for 110 fatal falls, 26 percent of all fatal falls in construction (BLS).
What comp costs per roofer in Delaware
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 230 roofers on payrolls in Delaware (May 2025), the 49th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $28.58 an hour, 7% above the US median of $26.65.
This trade is a smaller part of the Delaware job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 0.53 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical Delaware premium of about $11.40 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $7.60 for class 0659 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $3.26 for every hour worked, or $6,777 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $27,108 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Delaware pay runs from $17.14 an hour at the 10th percentile to $35.53 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.95 an hour on a new hire and $4.05 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 $25.33 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $11.32 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Pennsylvania is the cheapest for roofing comp at $11.32 and New Jersey the most expensive at $25.33 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 roofing comp bill
- Falls drive roofing claims, and one serious fall can push your experience mod well above 1.0 for three policy years. A written fall-protection plan and documented toolbox talks are what carriers ask to see before they offer a safety credit.
- Uninsured subcontractors are the most common audit surprise in roofing. If a sub cannot show you a certificate of insurance, the auditor adds what you paid them to your own payroll at the roofing rate.
- Estimators and salespeople who never go on a roof can often be classed separately at a far lower rate, but only if your payroll records show their hours apart from field work.
- Overtime premium (the extra half in time and a half) is excluded from comp payroll in most states. Record it separately so you are not charged the roofing rate on it.