Use of class codes 0042 and 9102
Workers’ compensation insurance in Florida, and roughly 40 other states, uses a classification code system designed by the National Council for Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to rate insurance premiums differently for groups of employees. There are approximately 600 class codes, and the two main codes used for employees in the landscaping industry are 0042 and 9102.
I often come across landscape maintenance companies that have their employees misclassified and not only can they receive a 50% reduction in their current insurance premiums, but they can also request refunds for overpayment of workers’ compensation policies. previous.
These experiences, and many other questions about how these classification codes can be used together in a policy, have drawn my attention to the need to communicate specific information to the landscaping industry about the uses of workers’ compensation codes 0042 and 9102.
First, let’s start with a brief description of each classification code with citations from the official NCCI descriptions:
Class Code 0042 – It applies to employees who are primarily engaged in the planning, cleaning, leveling, lawn laying, seeding and planting required for landscaping operations. Planting trees, shrubs and flowers is classified in this code along with general gardening activities.
Class Code 9102 – Applies to employees who maintain lawns, grounds, and gardens. “Maintenance may include mowing, raking, applying liquid or granular fertilizer, spraying and pruning shrubs or small trees from the ground, and thatching or aerating. If one or all of the above operations are performed for a lawn maintenance hazard classified in Code 9102, then minor and incidental landscaping operations performed for the same hazard, such as replacing dead shrubs, planting some flowers, and placing rocks or bricks as border designs are included in Code 9102. This landscaping operation is distinguished from work performed by an insured at a job or location where the main job at the job or location is landscaping. Since spraying of lawns is a maintenance operation, a risk involved exclusively in a job of this nature is classified in Code 9102. “
In Florida, the 2010 rates for these class codes are 6.36 for code 0042 and 3.49 for code 9102. In the other states, class code 0042 also has a significantly higher rating than class code 9102. For companies in the landscaping industry, this emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between the two classification codes.
In many states, employees who are involved in both landscape installation and landscape maintenance activities can have their payroll divided between class codes if proper records are kept. Check with your insurance agent for the specific classification rules in your local state. According to the wording of the state exception under class code 9102, Florida landscaping companies may use class codes 0042 and 9102 in their workers’ compensation policy only if those “operations described in these classifications are performed by separate teams “.
