Best Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Restaurants (2026)
Restaurant workers' compensation is mostly decided by payroll details: which pay counts toward premium, whether part-time, young and delivery staff are treated as employees, and whether your state requires coverage at all. Ask how the quote treats tips and service charges, and what your state's rules are.1,9,10
5 providers document Workers’ Compensation Insurance for restaurants. Founder Shield, Coverdash and The Hartford rank highest on Spot’s evidence ranking.
Updated
Which Providers Document Workers’ Compensation for Restaurants?
- Rank 1
Named for Restaurants
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Foundershield LLC/Founder Shield brokerage activity and the separate The Baldwin Group Specialty Solutions, LLC entity named by the website…
Founder Shield's page says most states require workers' compensation as soon as a company hires its first employee, and highlights construction, restaurants/hospitality, professional offices, healthcare and retail as buyer segments. 14
Company-reportedWorkers' Compensation Insurance product page.
Read the Full Founder Shield Workers’ Compensation Insurance Page
- Rank 2
Named for Restaurants
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Coverdash Insurance Services, LLC as the licensed broker/agent and Coverdash, Inc. as the technology/brand entity. The cited materials do…
Coverdash markets workers' compensation to small businesses, startups and e-commerce sellers across industries including construction, restaurants, hotels and professional services. 15
Company-reportedProduct-page eligibility description; actual acceptance and class-specific rates depend on underwriting.
Read the Full Coverdash Workers’ Compensation Insurance Page
- Rank 3
Named for Restaurants
- Carrier & MGA Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-23 · The Hartford's US property-and-casualty carrier activity at named insurer level, centered on Hartford Fire Insurance Company and related…
The Hartford says coverage requirements vary by state, and in some states (monopolistic states) workers' compensation can only be bought through a state-run fund, not from a private insurer like The Hartford. Common industries it names include gyms, manufacturing, medical offices, restaurants and retailers. 16
Company-reportedWorkers' compensation product page as read 2026-09-23.
Read the Full The Hartford Workers’ Compensation Insurance Page
- Rank 4
Named for Restaurants
No review scoreReview Score
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Kinro Insurance Services LLC and the Kinro/Kinro AI technology-enabled distribution service for U.S. small-business commercial insurance.…
Kinro says workers' compensation commonly fits restaurants, contractors, cleaning crews and retail teams, and typically comes up when a business hires W-2 employees, a customer or contract requires it before work starts, or the business operates in a state where employee count triggers a coverage requirement. 17
Company-reportedWorkers Compensation page "Common fit" and "Triggers" sections.
- Rank 5
Named for Restaurants
No review scoreReview Score
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · With Coverage's US commercial-insurance brokerage and risk-advisory activity at the named-entity level, including With Coverage Inc. and…
WithCoverage frames workers' compensation risk specifically for construction operators managing project profit margins and for restaurant operators managing thin service margins, rather than as a generic offering. 18,19
Company-reportedConstruction and restaurant page hero copy.
Read the Full WithCoverage Workers’ Compensation Insurance Page
How Did Spot Rank Workers’ Compensation Providers for Restaurants?
Spot lists a provider only when its published Workers’ Compensation Insurance information includes a documented claim (verified or company-reported) about eligibility, role, coverage or application that mentions restaurants. “Named for Restaurants” marks a provider’s own statement of who it serves; “Related mention” marks a role, coverage or application claim.
Providers with both a Spot Score and a Review Score rank first, then providers with one of the two, then providers with neither. Within each group the order is the equal-weight average of the scores the provider has, as in the industry guides; ties break on fit, then the number of documented claims, then name.
The Spot Score comes from Spot’s reliability assessments and the Review Score from the provider’s rated review sources. Neither measures whether a policy fits your business or what it costs. How Spot Scores work.
Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. Editorial policy.
What Do Restaurants Need From Workers' Compensation Insurance?
NAIC says workers' compensation is mandatory for most employers in every state except Texas, though many states set an employee-count or payroll threshold, so check yours. In Texas, the state insurance department says private employers can choose to carry it, that coverage limits their liability if an employee sues, and that employers without coverage must report that to the state.1,2
Part-time and young staff can be employees. Wisconsin's workforce agency says a part-time employee is covered by the state's act, that minors are covered, and that part-time staff count toward the headcount that triggers the requirement. OSHA's young-worker restaurant guide says nearly 30% of the people working in restaurants and other eating and drinking businesses are under 20, so confirm how your state treats them.3,4
Delivery drivers need a closer look. California applies its ABC test to workers' compensation, which starts from the assumption that a worker is an employee, and Washington presumes every worker is covered unless a narrow exception applies, whatever the label on the arrangement. Both are state tests, and in California app-based drivers fall under a separate Proposition 22 rule, so check how your state classifies drivers you schedule and pay yourself.5,6
Which Workers' Compensation Exposures Do Restaurants Face?
Kitchen injuries are routine and specific. OSHA's restaurant guide says burns are common among teen employees and that deep fat fryers are the number one cause, and that slicers and dicers cause cuts and amputations during use and cleaning. It also flags wet floors, spills and clutter as slip, trip and fall hazards.4
Restaurants run near the private-industry average for recordable injuries, not far above it. For 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 2.4 total recordable cases per 100 full-time workers in restaurants and other eating places, against 2.3 for private industry; full-service restaurants are at 2.2 and limited-service at 2.6.7
Young staff and machines are a compliance risk as well as a claims risk. Under federal child-labor rules, no one under 18 may operate, set up, adjust, repair or clean power-driven meat slicers, grinders, choppers or commercial mixers. OSHA notes that state child labor laws may be more stringent, so check yours before you let a teenager near the slicer.4,8
Tips and service charges can change your audit. NCCI's manual excludes tips from premium payroll but includes adjustments that raise wages to the minimum wage. North Carolina's bureau also includes service charges and automatic gratuities, meaning set percentages or fees added to a bill where the customer does not determine the amount. Pennsylvania's bureau counts the employer's adjustment that brings tipped employees up to the federal minimum wage; tips beyond that are excluded.9,10,11
What Should Restaurants Check Before Buying Workers' Compensation Insurance?
Ask how your state treats tips before the first audit. NCCI's 2017 rule tags its list of payroll exclusions, which includes tips, with exceptions for Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia, so the national rule is not your answer, and the state list may have changed since that edition. Oregon's workers' compensation division, in a bulletin to self-insured employers, says exclusions are allowed only if payroll records identify them separately by employee and by class; set up your payroll system to report tips, service charges and wages separately.9,12
Find out where you buy. NAIC lists North Dakota, Ohio, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington and Wyoming as places where a monopolistic state fund provides coverage; in most states private insurers compete for the business. In those places the state fund is the source of coverage.1
Do not assume a package covers your staff. NAIC's small-business guidance says a business owners policy typically does not include workers' compensation, and that business owners and independent contractors are typically exempt from workers' compensation eligibility. Ask for workers' compensation as its own policy and confirm which owners and drivers it names.13
What Do Restaurants Ask About Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
Do Restaurants Need Workers' Compensation Insurance?
In most states, yes. NAIC says coverage is mandatory for most employers in every state except Texas, where the state insurance department says private employers can choose, with consequences if an employee sues.1,2
Are Tips Included in Restaurants' Workers' Compensation Payroll?
Usually not, but it depends on the state. NCCI's 2017 rule excludes tips and tags its exclusions with exceptions in nine states, and North Carolina's bureau includes service charges and automatic gratuities. Pennsylvania's bureau includes the employer's adjustment that brings tipped employees up to the federal minimum wage.9,10,11
Does Workers' Compensation Cover Part-Time Staff at Restaurants?
In Wisconsin, yes: its workforce agency says part-time employees and minors are covered by its act, and that part-time headcount counts toward the threshold. Other states have their own rules, so confirm yours.3
Does a Business Owners Policy Include Workers' Compensation for Restaurants?
Typically not. NAIC's small-business guidance says a business owners policy typically does not include workers' compensation, so ask for it as a separate policy.13
Sources for Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Restaurants
Sources for the Segment Guidance
- Workers' Compensation Insurance. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Opening; mandatory coverage except Texas; monopolistic state funds (page last updated 1/21/2026). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Employer resources. Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation; Private employers can choose coverage; coverage limits liability if an employee sues; non-subscribers report to the state. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Employee Coverage Exceptions Under the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Act. Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; Part-time employees; minors; employer threshold. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Young Worker Safety in Restaurants eTool. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Overview; Cooking (burns); Food prep (cuts and amputations); General (slips, trips and falls). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Independent Contractor versus Employee. California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement; ABC test; workers' compensation insurance: ABC test applied beginning July 1, 2020. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Independent Contractor Guide (F101-063-000). Washington State Department of Labor & Industries; Opening: every worker presumed covered; the independent contractor label does not exempt. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Table 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry and case types, 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Total recordable cases: private industry; restaurants and other eating places (7225); full-service (722511); limited-service (722513). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Fact Sheet #2A: Child Labor Provisions for Restaurants and Quick-Service Establishments. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division; Prohibited machines for employees under 18. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Rule 2 Premium Basis and Payroll Allocation, B. Payroll (effective 10/01/2017). NCCI Basic Manual; B.1 Includes; B.2 Excludes: tips or other gratuities, with state exceptions. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Rule 2 Premium and Payroll. North Carolina Rate Bureau; Includes: service charges and automatic gratuities; Excludes: tips or other gratuities. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Rule V Premium Basis. Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau; Inclusions: adjustments to bring tipped employees to federal minimum wage; Exclusions: tips after the adjustment. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Bulletin No. 394 (June 16, 2025). Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Workers' Compensation Division; Payroll inclusions and exclusions: tips and voluntary gratuities; records must identify exclusions separately. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Small Business Insurance. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Business owners policy; workers' compensation eligibility. Accessed 2026-10-01.
Sources for the Ranked Providers
- Workers' Compensation Insurance. Founder Shield. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Workers' Compensation Insurance. Coverdash. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Workers' Compensation Insurance Plans. The Hartford. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Workers Compensation. Kinro. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Construction Insurance & Risk Management. WithCoverage. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Restaurant Insurance & Risk Management. WithCoverage. Accessed 2026-09-23.
