Ray ran an electrical contracting company in Phoenix for fifteen years before moving his family and business to Vancouver, Washington. He brought three of his journeyman electricians with him and hired four more locally. In Arizona, his broker handled workers comp every year along with his other policies.
He called us with what he thought was a routine question: "Which carrier do you use for workers comp in Washington?"
What he asked for
A workers compensation quote.
What the review found
Workers comp in Washington does not come from a private carrier. Washington is one of a handful of monopolistic states. Employers get workers compensation from the Department of Labor & Industries, not from insurance companies, and no broker can sell a standard Washington workers comp policy. Ray needed an L&I account, and he needed it before his crew started work.
L&I does not include employers liability. In Arizona, Ray's workers comp policy included employers liability coverage automatically, protecting the company when an employee's injury leads to a lawsuit against it. L&I provides benefits to injured workers, but no employers liability. In Washington, that coverage is bought separately as stop-gap.
His general contractor clients would require it. Most commercial GCs in Washington require subcontractors to carry stop-gap, and commercial umbrellas usually list it as a required underlying policy.
His auto and GL were still Arizona policies. His general liability and commercial auto were written for an Arizona business, with Arizona garaging addresses and no Washington filings. Washington contractor registration requires proof of general liability filed with L&I.
What we put in place
We walked Ray through opening his L&I account and choosing the right risk classifications for electrical work, which drive his L&I premium rates. (We cannot sell L&I coverage, but we can make sure the business is set up correctly.)
We placed stop-gap employers liability at $1 million per accident, typically added to the general liability policy.
We moved his general liability to a Washington contractor program, filed proof with L&I for his contractor registration, and added blanket additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements for GC contracts.
We re-wrote his commercial auto for Washington, with correct garaging and drivers. For the one electrician who still takes jobs across the river in Oregon, we flagged that ongoing Oregon work may require Oregon workers comp coverage, which comes from private carriers or SAIF there, and placed it.
Why it mattered
Ray's first large subcontract, for a medical office building in Vancouver, required stop-gap, and he had it. The following spring, an electrician was injured when a lift tipped, and the lift rental company was sued. It then sued Ray's company. Stop-gap defended the claim. Without it, the only coverage Ray had assumed existed would not have been there.
If you are new to Washington
- Workers comp comes from L&I, not a private insurer
- L&I does not include employers liability; buy stop-gap separately
- Contractor registration requires general liability filed with L&I
- Work in Oregon or Idaho may need that state's workers comp too
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