Top Workers’ Compensation Insurance Companies in California | 5-Star Workers’ Compensation Californi – Go Health Pro

Insurance Business America enlisted some of the industry’s top experts during a 15-week process and conducted one-on-one interviews with specialist brokers to gain their insight. Those insurers that offered the best services were recognized as 5-Star winners in 2025.

Underlining the importance of why California needs robust and responsive workers’ comp insurers is it has the largest state workforce – 19.7 million according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data (February 2025).  This is compounded by the state being the world’s fifth biggest economy, above the UK, France, Canada and India, with a GDP in 2024 of $4.1 trillion.

Specifically with regard to workers’ comp insurance, several key issues are shaping the market:

• Medical inflation – The average cost of employer-sponsored health care coverage in the US is expected to increase 9.0 percent, surpassing $16,000 per employee in 2025, according to Aon. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts health care spending will rise by 5.4 percent each year up to 2028.
  
   

• Marijuana reimbursements – California is at the forefront here, considering it was the first state to introduce legalization for medical use in 1996. Law firm Cantrell Green, which specializes in workers’ comp, states, “The short answer is that medical marijuana is covered under workers’ compensation benefits in California sometimes, but only if certain criteria are met.”
  
   

• Workplace mental health – According to the National Centre for Health Statistics, 12.5 percent of adults age 18 and older have regular feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety, while 5.0 percent have regular feelings of depression. The National Safety Council reports “moderate and severe mental health distress have been found to increase risk for workplace safety incidents”. 
  
   

• Independent contractors and gig workers – California’s Supreme Court upheld in 2024 the constitutionality of Proposition 22 in Castellanos v. State of California, portrayed as a victory for ridesharing and delivery apps. However, law firm CDF’s chair of Traditional Labor Law Practice Group, Mark Spring says, “While Proposition 22’s upholding provides stability, it does not eliminate potential future legal and regulatory challenges. Ongoing debates about worker classification and rights are likely to influence legislative and regulatory trends nationwide, and especially here in California.”

Another factor in relation to California’s workers’ comp market is the diversity of its economy with large industries in financial services and entertainment, plus significant sectors more dependent on workers’ comp such as agriculture, construction, logistics, and healthcare.

“These sectors have high-risk environments, physically demanding roles, and often, transient or multilingual workforces,” says workers’ comp expert Claire Muselman, dean of workers’ compensation for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance’s Claims College.

Repetitive motion injuries, equipment risks, and heat-related illness exposure are especially pertinent for agricultural firms in California’s Central Valley. The construction sector faces fall risks and regulatory complexity, whereas logistics and warehousing, with the rise of e-commerce, are seeing a surge in injury frequency, and healthcare continues to carry high emotional and physical stress, especially post-pandemic. 

Muselman says, “What ties these together is not just the risk but the need for culturally competent care, timely intervention, and innovative safety programs.”

California legislative developments over the last 12 months indicate the standards expected of IBA’s 5-Star Workers’ Comp winners:

• 3 Stonedeggs, Inc. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd – The court ordered that employee Braden Nanez was entitled to workers’ compensation after being injured in a car accident. He had left his remote job site to obtain cellular coverage for his phone. An appeal was unsuccessful as the court found this was not a deviation from his employment.
  
   

• American Building Innovations v. Balfour Beatty Construction – Subcontractor ABI had a workers’ comp policy when it began building a school but did not pay the outstanding premiums, resulting in it being canceled and causing a suspension of its contractor’s license. However, ABI continued to work, and the Superior Court of Orange County ruled ABI was not entitled to compensation for its work due to a lack of proper licensure.

Data from the State of California Department of Industrial Relations shows there were 680,152 workers’ comp claims in 2023 (shown as First Reports of Injury below).

Workers’ comp has seen nine consecutive years of underwriting profits and an average combined ratio (CR) of 91 percent from 2015 to 2023, as reported by Fitch Ratings.

While the rating agency believes the segment will remain strong, changes in market competitive conditions “could materially adversely affect reserve experience and move the segment closer to break-even or worse underwriting performance, with a corresponding effect on overall industry profitability”.

With California’s prominence, the leading workers’ comp insurers are expected to be more than just carriers and the pace of change is accelerating.

“They are strategic partners in risk mitigation, data analysts, mental health advocates, tech innovators, and trusted advisors,” says Muselman. “There’s increasing demand for transparency, outcome-based metrics, and better communication across all touchpoints.”

These themes are shown by 5-Star winner Omaha National, which has developed its Oncore software that “performs key functions including claims management, underwriting, and sales”.

The firm’s data shows that it has given Ohama National the ability to outperform the rate of claims closure, relative to the overall industry.

Travelers, also honored as a 5-Star winner, has a secure web-based tool to help injured employees navigate the claim process and empower them to take an active role in their recovery.

MyTravelers^® for Injured Employees enables injured employees to message a claim or nursing professional, check status updates, view payment information, and access forms. They can also send documents directly to the claim team and choose to receive benefit payments electronically.

Travelers also makes use of Virtual Visit, enabling real-time video conversations with a claim or nursing professional. This not only saves times by collecting information, it offers updates immediately following a medical visit. Further saving time, Travelers employs eSignature, removing the need to print documents; instead, they can be signed and returned in minutes.

Another 5-Star award winner is ICW Group, which deploys telemedicine, connecting employees to a clinician trained in work injury care, within minutes to diagnose, recommend treatment, and prescribe medication if needed. This method is intended for typical injuries such as first-degree burns, back and neck strains or sprains, contusions, abrasions, rashes, tendonitis, repetitive use injuries, and bloodborne pathogen exposure. 

It’s all done via Concentra Telemed^®, saving time for both employers and employees who avoid attending a doctor in person. It’s also accessible 365 days a year, and once an injury is reported to a supervisor, the employee can even begin the video consultation at work in a suitable room.

Muselman explains how these types of initiatives, smart claims platforms, AI triage models, and care navigation systems are having an impact: “They personalize the path of care for injured workers. These aren’t just buzzwords; they are game changing when implemented with the right blend of tech and touch.”

Broker respondents to IBA have shared what they felt insurers could do to improve their offerings. A recurring theme in the feedback is the appetite for risk and more lines.

“They could provide coverage for more lines of business,” says one broker. Another adds, “They could increase their high-risk appetite and provide additional risks.”

RT Specialty, a 5-Star winner, is at the leading edge of covering more lines of business and has a series of exclusive programs. An example of its innovative programs include:

Pizza and restaurants with delivery services

Highlights

• Exclusive and limited distribution carriers
  
   

• Multi-location/multi-state risks are eligible
  
   

• No percentage delivery maximum
  
   

• Direct access to carrier programs, rating and pricing through your local RT

Specialty broker or underwriter

Ineligible risks

• Guaranteed delivery time frames (i.e., “30 minutes or less”)
  
   

• 24-hour operations or delivery after midnight
  
   

• Delivery by services other than automobile

Non-emergency medical transportation

Highlights

Specialty broker or underwriter

• Monthly self-reporting, plus additional payment plans (options vary by state)
  
   

• Wheelchair-accessible vehicles are acceptable
  
   

• In business three years or more under the same ownership

Ineligible risks

Expanding on the demands on workers’ comp providers in California, Muselman underlined how the best have juggled a series of challenges.

“Employers want more real-time insight. Injured workers expect more support and dignity. Regulators are requiring more documentation and accountability,” she says. “Across the board, there is a bigger focus on whole-person care, not just body-part claims. Add in a talent shortage in claims and underwriting, plus evolving medical inflation and legal reform pressures, and you have a complex but exciting leadership opportunity for those ready to rise.” 

Leaning into the proactive prevention aspect of looking after employees, one of the dominant themes in California, is 5-Star winner AmTrust. 

The company provides free training videos for the insured, as well as a variety of informative articles on workplace safety, to answer questions and help keep safety top of mind. This covers issues such as lifting techniques to maintain a healthy back, safety leadership, and confined space considerations.

Muselman explains why California is viewed by many as the bellwether for workers’ comp.

“A major initiative gaining traction in 2025 is the advancement of presumption laws expansion, especially around mental health and long COVID for frontline workers,” she says. “Additionally, the integration of return-to-work incentive models and injured worker support programs focused on recovery and reintegration, rather than just indemnity, are gaining momentum.”

The leading California workers’ comp insurers are part of this movement and making efforts to shape the reclassification of how safety is seen.

Muselman adds, “Compliance requirements drive up administrative burden, which can translate to higher premiums and slower claims processing for some employers. However, in states like California, safety is viewed as an investment rather than an expense. While it may come with upfront costs, employers who embrace these standards tend to see reduced frequency and severity over time, which ultimately benefits the entire system.”

• Amtrust
• Amwins
• Berkshire Hathaway GUARD
• BTIS
• Employers
• ICW Group (Insurance Company of the West)
• ISC
• Johnson & Johnson
• London Underwriters
• Omaha National
• Omega
• Pie Insurance
• Risk Placement Services
• RT Specialty
• Travelers
• Wholesure