Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I)

About Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I)

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is the monopolistic state workers compensation fund in Washington. Private carriers do not write workers comp in Washington, every employer subject to coverage buys directly from the state fund.

State funds were originally created to ensure every employer can find workers comp coverage, even employers private carriers refuse to write. In Washington, the state fund is the only writer; there is no private market for workers comp here.

Pricing on a state fund policy in Washington

State funds use the same Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) class code rate filings as private carriers; the rate per $100 of payroll is the same. Differences come in at the schedule rating stage (where the underwriter applies discretionary credits or debits, capped at 25% in Washington) and the dividend programs (some state funds return a portion of premium to policyholders in good loss years).

Claims handling

Statutory benefits are set by Washington law and apply equally to state fund and private carrier policies. The state fund typically maintains its own in-house claims operation, while private carriers may use third-party administrators (TPAs). Some employers prefer the state fund for the consistency of a single in-state claims team; others prefer private carrier TPAs for specialization in their industry.

Related reading

• Full Washington workers comp overview
• Washington coverage requirement
• Washington employer responsibilities
• All workers comp carriers