Missouri Employer Guide
Workers’ compensation in Missouri pays medical care and disability benefits to employees hurt on the job, and in exchange it gives employers a structured system instead of open-ended injury lawsuits. Whether you must buy it depends on headcount and industry. This guide walks Missouri owners through the state’s thresholds, who counts as an employee, what happens after an injury, and how a policy is priced and audited. Freedom Insurance Group is an independent agency licensed in Missouri, based in Flower Mound, Texas, and serving Texas since 2005.
Get a Missouri workers’ comp quote
Tell us your payroll, job duties, and headcount. A licensed agent compares carriers for you.
Who Has to Carry It in Missouri
The Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation puts the rule plainly: you are required to carry workers’ compensation if you have five or more employees, unless you are in the construction industry, in which case one employee is enough to trigger the requirement. Employers below the threshold, or in exempt categories, may elect to come under the law and buy a policy anyway.
The Division adds an important warning for owners who decide not to: exempt employers that do not purchase coverage or self-insure remain exposed to civil lawsuits from employees injured at work. A four-person shop that skips coverage is not avoiding the injury—it is choosing the courtroom over the comp system.
Who counts
- Sole proprietors and partners are not covered themselves unless they elect coverage.
- Close family members who work for you are presumed covered unless they opt out.
- LLC members are presumed covered unless they opt out.
- Part-time and seasonal staff matter. Count everyone on payroll when you check the threshold, and ask us if you are close to the line.
Missouri also gives general contractors a way to check whether subcontractors carry coverage. If you hire subs, use it before they start—an uninsured sub’s injured worker can end up looking to your policy.
After an Injury: The Missouri Timeline
- Employee notice. The Division says the injured worker should notify the employer in writing, including the date, time, and place of the injury, the nature of the injury, and the worker’s name and address.
- Your report to the carrier. The employer must report the injury to the insurance company or third-party administrator within five days of the date of injury or within five days of when the employee reported it, whichever is later.
- Carrier’s filing. The insurer or TPA files the First Report of Injury with the Division within 30 days after it knows about the injury.
- Benefits. Depending on the injury, benefits can include medical care, temporary total disability, and permanent partial or permanent total disability. If a worker dies from a compensable injury, certain survivors may receive weekly benefits, and the Division states that funeral expenses are paid up to $5,000.
From the agency side, the most common avoidable problem we see is delay: a supervisor tells the injured employee to “see how it feels tomorrow,” and the report reaches the carrier late. Put a one-page injury procedure in the break room and make reporting the default.
How a Missouri Policy Is Priced
We do not quote a “typical” Missouri workers’ comp price, because there isn’t one. The premium is built from a few inputs you control and a few you don’t:
Class codes
Each job type carries its own rate. An office manager and a roofer at the same company are classified separately.
Payroll
Premium is charged per unit of payroll in each class. Estimate it honestly; the carrier will check.
Experience
Larger employers may have an experience modification factor that rewards or penalizes past claims.
Year-end audit
After the term, the carrier compares actual payroll and duties to the estimate and bills or refunds the difference.
Uninsured subcontractors are a frequent audit surprise. If you pay a sub who cannot show a certificate, many carriers add that payroll to your policy at audit. Collect certificates up front.
What the Policy Actually Includes
A standard policy has two parts. Part One pays the benefits Missouri law requires. Part Two, employers liability, responds to certain injury lawsuits that fall outside the comp system—for example, a suit from a third party connected to an employee’s injury. Employers liability has its own limits, and umbrella carriers often require minimum limits there.
Workers’ comp is one piece of a business program. Customer injuries belong on Missouri general liability; crashes in a work truck belong on commercial auto in Missouri. For a full package view, see Missouri business insurance. If you own the building you operate from and lease part of it, our Missouri lessor’s risk page covers the owner side.
Missouri Workers’ Comp FAQs
I have four employees. Should I still buy coverage?
It is your choice outside construction, but the Division notes that employers who skip coverage stay exposed to employee lawsuits. Many owners buy it for that reason and because customers ask for certificates.
Does a roofing company with one helper need a policy?
Yes. Construction employers must carry workers’ compensation with one or more employees.
Am I covered as the owner?
Sole proprietors and partners are not covered unless they elect coverage. LLC members and close family employees are presumed covered unless they opt out. Tell us how you want it set up.
How fast do I report an injury?
To your insurer or TPA within five days of the injury or of the employee’s report, whichever is later.
Can I pay a minor injury myself to avoid a claim?
Report it to the carrier anyway. Paying quietly can leave you outside the reporting rules and without help if the injury turns out worse.
Sources and further reading
- Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation: Employers, Insurers and TPAs — coverage thresholds, owner and family rules, injury reporting, benefits. Accessed November 2026.
- Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Who is required to carry workers’ compensation. Accessed November 2026.
- Freedom Insurance Group — ask an agent.
