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Delaware business insurance: requirements and costs

Delaware prices workers' comp through its own bureau, the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau (DCRB), rather than NCCI. For policies starting on or after December 1, 2025, the Insurance Commissioner cut voluntary market loss costs 11.60% and residual market rates 9.08%, the ninth decrease in a row.⁠1⁠2 Coverage is required from the first employee, and on construction work even independent contractors must be insured, either on their own policy or by the contractor that hires them.⁠3 Since January 1, 2025, employers with 10 or more Delaware employees have also paid into Delaware Paid Leave, which costs 0.8% of wages in 2026 for employers with 25 or more.⁠9⁠10

Checked against 18 sources Last reviewed How we check figures

Delaware at a glance

Workers’ comp required1+ employees; construction independent contractors must be covered
Where employers buy itPrivate insurers
Rates set byDelaware Compensation Rating Bureau
Employer comp cost, 2023$0.88 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024$0.97, ranked 32 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025$9,459 single, $25,600 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum25/50/10
Payroll insurance programsDelaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act)

There is no state fund and no NCCI filing in Delaware. The DCRB files two things each year: loss costs, which private insurers use to price the voluntary market, and the full rates charged in the residual market, the Delaware Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan.⁠1⁠6 Each insurer adds its own loss cost multiplier to the loss costs. An insurer can put its new rates into use as soon as it files them, provided no rate falls below the approved loss cost for the class.⁠1 Two outside checks shape each decision. The Department of Insurance hires an independent actuarial firm to review the filing. A Ratepayer Advocate, appointed by the Workers' Compensation Oversight Panel, retains a second actuary. The approved change is then negotiated among the three parties.⁠1

The 2025 decision ended deeper than DCRB asked. DCRB filed for -8.32% in loss costs and -5.71% in residual rates. After the compromise talks it submitted an amended filing at -11.60% and -9.08%, and Commissioner Trinidad Navarro approved it on October 20, 2025.⁠1 Announcing the cut, the Department pointed to meaningful movement from the residual market to the voluntary market over the last several years.⁠2 DCRB's implied loss cost multiplier, derived from the approved residual market rates and loss costs, rose from 1.2599 to 1.2958. Its approved residual market expense profile also builds in an underwriting loss (-3.30%).⁠1 The next filing is smaller. On July 31, 2026, DCRB proposed -1.40% in loss costs and -1.53% in residual rates for December 1, 2026; it was still pending when we checked on October 13, 2026.⁠5 A separate filing would rework the surcharge charged to some residual market employers. DCRB says the aim is to bring surcharges back to the levels that applied before its December 2024 experience rating changes.⁠6

Delaware's cost position has changed more than most states'. NASI puts employer comp costs at $1.29 per $100 of covered wages in 2019, above the national $1.17. By 2023 they were $0.88 against $0.98 nationally, a 32% drop by our calculation.⁠15 Oregon's 2024 ranking, which applies each state's manual rates to the same 50 classes, put Delaware 32nd of 51 at an index of $0.97, or 89% of the median state. Pennsylvania ranked 21st ($1.14), Maryland 37th ($0.89) and New Jersey 2nd ($2.16).⁠16 That ranking used rates in effect on January 1, 2024, before the two cuts that followed. Health premiums run the other way. AHRQ's 2025 survey put Delaware's average single premium at $9,459, against $9,025 nationally. Delaware workers paid $2,120 of it, against $1,817 nationally. At firms with fewer than 50 employees, the single premium averaged $10,589.⁠17

Two laws change what employers pay in 2026 and 2027. Delaware Paid Leave contributions started January 1, 2025, and benefits became payable January 1, 2026.⁠10 The statute fixed rates for 2025 and 2026 only. From 2027 the Department of Labor sets them actuarially, and if the combined rate would exceed 1.00% the law cuts benefits instead.⁠9 Senate Bill 248, signed June 10, 2026, doubles the weight in the Workplace Safety Program credit formula from 20% to 40% of (1 minus the employer's experience rating credibility).⁠8 The Commissioner approved the matching manual change on July 31, 2026. It raises the maximum credit from 6% to 12%, and DCRB expects the average available credit to rise from about 4.6% to 9.2%. The change applies to policies effective on or after August 1, 2027.⁠7

For budgeting, the averages describe the market, not your policy. Each class moved by its own amount, and your insurer can change its multiplier when it adopts new loss costs.⁠1 Our calculation shows what an average class with an unchanged multiplier would see. A policy costing $10,000 before December 1, 2025 would cost about $8,840 after the 11.60% cut, before any change in your experience mod. The safety credit makes a larger difference for smaller rated employers, because they have lower credibility factors. At a credibility factor of 0.80, the credit is 4% under the old formula and 8% under the new one, by our calculation using the SB 248 formula.⁠8 Only employers that qualify for experience rating, or meet the Commissioner's other criteria, can take part. You must elect at least 5 months before renewal and pass two inspections, one of them unannounced.⁠4

Workers’ compensation in Delaware

Every employer with one or more employees must insure its comp liability with an authorized insurer or prove it can pay claims directly as a self-insurer.⁠3⁠4 When a licensed contractor hires independent contractors, those workers must be covered too, under their own policy or the contractor's.⁠3

Who is exempt

  • Sole proprietors and partners (they may elect coverage)
  • Up to 8 stockholder-officers of a corporation, or up to 8 LLC members, who agree in writing with the company to be exempt
  • Immediate family (parent, spouse, child, sibling) of a sole proprietor or partner who agree in writing to be exempt
  • Household or casual workers in a private home paid less than $750 in cash in any 3-month period by that household
  • Farm laborers, unless the farm employer chooses to carry insurance

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

Delaware has no state fund. You buy from a private insurer authorized in the state, which prices your policy from DCRB loss costs multiplied by its own loss cost multiplier.⁠1⁠4 If no insurer will write you voluntarily, coverage comes through the Delaware Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan. That is the residual market DCRB administers, at DCRB rates plus a surcharge for eligible employers.⁠1⁠6 Every insurer must offer a deductible of $500 to $5,000 per occurrence that applies only to medical and death benefits, with a premium credit.⁠4

Latest rate decision (1 Dec 2025): Commissioner approved DCRB Amended Filing No. 2501 on Oct. 20, 2025: voluntary market loss costs -11.60% and residual market rates -9.08% (collectible), for new and renewal policies on or after Dec. 1, 2025. DCRB had filed -8.32% and -5.71%. Filing No. 2602 (-1.40% loss costs, -1.53% residual rates, proposed for Dec. 1, 2026) was pending on Oct. 13, 2026. Official notice.

Allowed if you give the Department of Labor satisfactory proof that you can pay compensation directly. The Department may require a security deposit or bond. It issues a certificate for a fixed period and can revoke it after at least 60 days' notice and a hearing.⁠4

Penalties for going without

When a policy lapses, the insurer must notify the Department of Labor within 14 days, and you then have 14 days to show proof of coverage.⁠4 An uninsured employer owes a civil penalty of three times a year's premium. That is based on its last premium, or, with no prior coverage, on the most expensive premium any Delaware insurer charges for that business.⁠4 If you keep failing to comply after notice, you also owe $10 per employee per day, at least $250 a day.⁠4 While the failure continues, injured employees can also sue for damages, and you cannot defend by blaming their own negligence, assumed risk or a co-worker.⁠4 After 30 days in default, the Department can ask the Court of Chancery to stop you from doing business.⁠4

What Delaware employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
YearDelawareUnited States
2019$1.29$1.17
2020$1.21$1.08
2021$1.13$1.01
2022$0.96$1.00
2023$0.88$0.98

Employer cost per $100 of covered wages: premiums paid by insured employers plus benefits and administrative costs of self-insured employers, divided by the wages of workers covered by workers’ compensation. The United States figure is NASI’s national total, which includes federal programs. Source: National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), published 11 Aug 2026.

Oregon’s biennial comparison of workers’ comp rates puts Delaware’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $0.97 per $100 of payroll, 11% below the national median of $1.09 (rank 32 of 51, where 1 is the most expensive). The index prices the same 50 risk classes, weighted by Oregon payroll, in every state, so it compares rate levels rather than what employers actually pay. Compare every state.

Disability and paid leave insurance

Delaware runs a payroll-funded program that employers must register for, fund or insure on top of workers’ compensation.

Delaware disability and paid leave programs, 2026
Program2026 contributionEmployer’s part
Delaware Paid Leave (Healthy Delaware Families Act)0.8% of wages in 2025 and 2026 for employers with 25+ Delaware employees: 0.40% medical, 0.08% family caregiving, 0.32% parental. Employers with 10-24 pay only the 0.32% parental rate. From 2027 the Department of Labor sets the rates; the combined rate is held to 1.00%.⁠9The employer remits contributions every quarter. It may deduct up to 50% of each contribution from the employee's wages, and may pay the whole amount itself.⁠9 Approved private plans can stand in for the state program.⁠9

Employers with 9 or fewer Delaware employees are not covered but may opt in for at least 3 years. Benefits began Jan. 1, 2026: up to 12 weeks of parental leave, and 6 weeks of medical or family caregiving leave in any 24 months. The maximum weekly benefit is $900 in 2026 and 2027.

Employer health insurance in Delaware

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
MeasureDelawareFirms under 50United States
Single coverage, total premium$9,459$10,589$9,025
Family coverage, total premium$25,600$22,354$26,281
Employee share, single$2,120–$1,817
Employers offering coverage54.4%34.2%49.2%

Average total annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector establishments that offer health insurance; the offer rate is the share of establishments offering coverage. Small firms have fewer than 50 employees. Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, 2025 survey year. All states.

Commercial auto in Delaware

Every vehicle registered in Delaware, including business vehicles, must carry at least 25/50/10 in liability limits (bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars). Official source.

Personal injury protection (PIP) is also mandatory: $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, covering medical bills, lost earnings and funeral costs up to $5,000. Section 2118 also requires $10,000 of coverage per accident for damage to property other than vehicles. The Delaware Code still set these minimums when we checked on October 13, 2026.

Trucks and buses used in interstate commerce must also meet federal minimums of $750,000 to $5 million: see commercial auto minimums and what commercial auto costs.

Other Delaware rules that affect insurance costs

Contractors: comp proof for the license, and for subs

The Division of Revenue will not issue a contractor's business license until you file a certificate of comp insurance, or proof that you are an approved self-insurer.⁠13 Contractors also pay a monthly license fee of 0.6472% of gross receipts, after a $100,000 monthly deduction.⁠13 If you hire independent contractors or subcontractors, collect their certificate of insurance or written officer/member exemption and keep it for 3 years. Without it, you are treated as their comp insurer for any claim.⁠3 The Office of Workers' Compensation's online employer look-up shows whether a Delaware business has coverage in force.⁠18

Workplace Fraud Act in construction

On construction work, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor brings a civil penalty of $5,000 to $20,000 per misclassified worker. An employer found in violation twice in two years is assessed $20,000 per worker and can be barred from public construction contracts for 5 years.⁠14 General contractors are jointly and severally liable for their subcontractors' penalties and restitution.⁠14

Workplace Safety Program credit

The Department of Insurance tells eligible employers 7 months before renewal. You must elect at least 5 months before renewal. In the first year an independent safety inspector visits twice, the second time unannounced; later years need one unannounced inspection. You pay for the inspections (at least $150 per location), and the credit applies only to Delaware premium.⁠4 For policies effective on or after Aug. 1, 2027, the maximum credit rises from 6% to 12%.⁠7

Delaware compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, Delaware and neighboring states
Delaware$0.88$0.97$9,459
Maryland$0.74$0.89$8,760
Pennsylvania$1.08$1.14$9,421
New Jersey$1.27$2.16$9,743

Sources

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National figures: NASI (employer comp costs), Oregon DCBS (rate index), AHRQ MEPS-IC (health premiums).

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Other states

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