One of the most common questions we hear from small business owners is whether they need to carry workers compensation coverage on themselves. If you own an LLC in Missouri, the answer has a few layers — you’re generally allowed to exclude yourself, but the way owner coverage is priced, classified, and shown on your certificate of insurance surprises almost everyone. Here’s how it actually works.
Are LLC Owners Required to Carry Workers Comp on Themselves in Missouri?
In most cases, no. Missouri law allows LLC members to exclude themselves from workers compensation coverage, even when the business is required to carry a policy for its employees. Sole proprietors and partners work the same way — coverage on the owner is an election, not a mandate.
But “not required” and “not needed” are two different questions. If you’re injured doing the work of your business and you’ve excluded yourself, your workers comp policy pays you nothing — no medical bills, no lost wages. For an owner who swings a hammer, climbs a ladder, or drives to jobsites, that’s often the single biggest unprotected risk in the business.
How Is Owner Payroll Calculated? (Hint: It’s Not Your Actual Pay)
Here’s the part that catches most LLC owners off guard: if you include yourself on your policy, your premium is not based on what you actually pay yourself. Missouri sets a statutory payroll amount for owners and LLC members, and your premium is calculated on that figure — regardless of what you actually took out of the business that year. For 2026, that amount is $57,100.
This cuts both ways. An owner who pays himself very little still pays premium on the full $57,100. An owner who takes large distributions pays premium on only $57,100 — the statutory figure acts as both the floor and the ceiling. The number adjusts annually, and the current rates and values are published by the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. Once owners see how the cap works, the real cost of covering themselves is often less than they assumed. You’ll find this question and more answered in the FAQ on our Missouri Workers Compensation Insurance page, along with our full library of workers comp articles and resources.
The 10% Clerical Rule Most Owners Never Hear About
Workers compensation premium is driven by classification codes, and owners usually get assigned to the governing class of the business — which for a contractor means a construction rate. But if a portion of your time is spent running the business rather than working in it, up to 10% of your payroll may be assigned to class code 8810, the clerical office classification, for the paperwork side of your job.
The clerical rate is a small fraction of most construction and service class rates, so that split matters. It’s also exactly the kind of detail that gets missed when a policy is written fast over the phone — and one more reason owner classification is worth a real conversation with an agent who will ask how you actually spend your time.
The Certificate Problem: That Checked Box Follows You
If you exclude yourself from coverage, it doesn’t stay a private decision. Every certificate of insurance your agency issues will have a box checked indicating that officers, members, or proprietors are excluded from the policy — in other words, the certificate itself announces that not everyone in your business is covered.
Some general contractors, project owners, and commercial clients take issue with that checked box. They know what it means: if you’re hurt on their jobsite, you’re an uninsured injured worker, and that risk can flow uphill to them. We’ve seen subcontractors lose jobs — or get told to fix their coverage before setting foot on site — over that single checkbox. If the contracts you work under require full coverage, excluding yourself may cost you more in lost work than including yourself costs in premium.
So Should You Include Yourself or Exclude Yourself?
It depends on three things: what your contracts require, what your body does all day, and what the statutory payroll math actually costs. An office-based LLC owner with strong health and disability coverage may reasonably exclude themselves. A working contractor whose GCs scrutinize certificates usually shouldn’t — the exclusion saves premium right up until it costs you a job or leaves you injured with no benefits.
At MBG Insurance, we walk Missouri LLC owners through this decision with the real numbers: the current statutory payroll figures, the classification split you qualify for, and what the certificate will say either way. Explore our workers compensation resource library for more, or call our Springfield office at (417) 773-7822 and we’ll review your setup with you — before a certificate holder or an injury forces the question.
Kirk Reisner | Partner & Chief Financial Officer, MBG Insurance
Kirk has worked in the insurance industry since 1998, starting as a claims adjuster before becoming a licensed agent in 2001 — this August marks his 25th year as an agent and 20th as an independent agency owner. He holds a B.S. in Insurance and Risk Management from Missouri State University and the Associate in Claims (AIC) designation. Kirk works with contractors and small business owners across Missouri from MBG’s Springfield office.
📞 (417) 218-0762 | ✉️ kirk@insurancenerd.net