Loggers' Workers' Compensation for logging & forestry
Logging is consistently ranked one of the deadliest jobs in America — above roofing, steel, and trucking. Your workers' comp policy isn't a commodity; it's the policy most likely to sink or save your business. We write logging class codes (2702, 2710, 2712) with real EMOD strategy and A-rated specialty markets that actually know what a feller buncher does.
What it covers
- Class code 2702 — logging (felling, bucking, skidding, yarding)
- Class code 2710 — sawmill or planing mill operations
- Class code 2712 — logging road construction & maintenance
- Cable logging / high-lead yarding crews
- Chainsaw operators, chokersetters, rigging slingers
- Feller buncher, skidder, forwarder, and loader operators
- Medical, indemnity, and rehab for work injuries
- EMOD / experience rating review and dispute strategy
- Alternative markets: self-insured groups, PEOs, captive options
Who it's for
- Independent logging contractors & timber harvesters
- Cable / high-lead logging operations on steep terrain
- Mechanized logging crews running feller bunchers + skidders
- Sawmill and planing mill operators (class 2710)
- Logging road builders and site prep contractors
- Forestry contractors with a climbing experience mod (1.10+)
Why CCA
We read your loss runs before we quote
A bad mod year shouldn't follow you for three. We pull your experience rating sheet, walk through every claim, and build a submission that tells the real story — not just the numbers.
Specialty markets that write logging
The standard carriers decline class 2702 on sight. We have direct appointments with the A-rated specialty programs that underwrite logging operations every day — and we know what they need to see to offer their best terms.
Safety program support that lowers the mod
We help you build the documented safety program the underwriter wants to see — fall protection, chainsaw PPE, daily job-briefs — which translates into lower premiums and a falling experience mod.
The experience modification factor (EMOD): your single biggest lever
Your EMOD is a multiplier applied to your workers' comp premium, calculated from your actual claims history over a rolling three-year period. A mod of 1.00 means you pay the manual rate; 0.80 means you pay 20% less; 1.30 means you pay 30% more. For a logging operation with a sizable class-2702 payroll, a single point of EMOD can mean tens of thousands of dollars a year. The levers that move it: documented safety programs, prompt injury reporting, a return-to-work policy, and aggressive claim management. We help you put all four in place — and we review your annual mod worksheets for errors before they cost you a year of inflated premium.
Why standard carriers decline logging — and who writes it instead
Most standard workers' comp carriers decline logging class codes outright. The losses are severe and frequent, and the data shows it. The markets that write logging are a handful of A-rated specialty programs, regional mutual carriers, and in some states, self-insured group funds (SIGs). Contractors Choice Agency has direct appointments with these specialty markets. That means your submission goes straight to an underwriter who writes logging every day — not into a generalist queue where it gets declined on the class code alone.
Need this coverage for your crew?
Get a real quote in about a day — we shop A-rated specialty markets that write logging.
Loggers' Workers' Compensation, in plain English.
The three core logging class codes are 2702 (logging — felling, bucking, skidding, yarding, and related woods work), 2710 (sawmill or planing mill operations, including portable mills), and 2712 (logging road construction and maintenance). Your payroll must be assigned to the correct code for each operation; miscoding between 2702 and 2710 alone can shift your premium 30%+.
Because the losses are real. Logging has one of the highest fatal and severe-injury rates of any US occupation — struck-by-tree, chainsaw laceration, cable snap-back, and equipment rollover. Base rates for class 2702 are among the highest in the workers' comp manual. The good news: your experience modification factor (EMOD) lets a safe operator pay well below the manual rate, and we build submissions that show underwriters exactly that.
Yes. A mod above 1.0 means you pay more than the average logger, but it is not uninsurable. We work with specialty excess-and-surplus markets and group self-insurance pools that write climbing-mod operators. The key is getting ahead of it — the longer you stay uninsured or in the residual market, the harder and more expensive it gets.
Yes. Contractors Choice Agency is licensed in all 50 states, including the four monopolistic-fund states (Ohio, Washington, North Dakota, Wyoming) where we coordinate coverage through the state fund and handle the UW and service. We also handle Oregon SAIF and Idaho submissions.
Most logging workers' comp quotes are turned around within one business day of receiving your loss runs and payroll data — and we quote a complete program, not just a number. Call 844-967-5247 and ask for the logging desk.
Related coverage
Ready to quote loggers' workers' compensation?
Tell us about your operation — we'll come back with real markets in about a day.