Georgia Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)

The published Georgia loss cost for roofing workers comp, class 5551 (Roofing - All Kinds and Drivers), is $11.540 per $100 of payroll (effective March 1, 2025). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $17.31.

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.

Georgia class code for roofing

5551: Roofing - All Kinds & Drivers

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 Georgia

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,160 roofers on payrolls in Georgia (May 2025), the 17th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $22.57 an hour, 15% below the US median of $26.65.

This trade is a smaller part of the Georgia job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 0.51 times their national share of jobs there.

At a typical Georgia premium of about $17.31 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $11.54 for class 5551 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $3.91 for every hour worked, or $8,126 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $32,505 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Georgia pay runs from $15.42 an hour at the 10th percentile to $30.63 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $2.67 an hour on a new hire and $5.30 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Georgia

Coverage required: 3+ employees (lowered from 5 on Jan 1, 2026)
Owners and sole proprietors: Sole proprietors and partners excluded by default; officers count toward the threshold even if exempt
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if disability lasts 21+ days
Penalty for going without: Willful failure is a misdemeanor ($1,000-$10,000 fine) plus civil penalties of $500-$5,000

Georgia lowered its threshold from five to three employees effective January 1, 2026, pulling many small contractors newly into the mandate.

Georgia vs neighboring states

Alabama: about $6.36 per $100 of payroll
North Carolina: about $10.25 per $100 of payroll

Georgia has the highest roofing comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges less 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.