Use of class codes 0042 and 9102

Workers’ compensation insurance in Florida and approximately 40 other states uses a rating code system designed by the National Council on 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 landscape industry are 0042 and 9102.

I often come across landscape maintenance companies who have their employees misclassified and are not only able to receive a 50% reduction in their current insurance premiums, but are also able to request refunds of overpayments on previous workers’ compensation policies.

These experiences and many other questions about how these classification codes can be used together in a policy have brought to my attention the need to communicate specific information to the landscape industry regarding the uses of workers’ compensation codes 0042 and 9102.

First, let’s start with a brief description of each classification code with quotes from the official NCCI descriptions:

Class code 0042 – Applies to employees primarily engaged in planning, cleaning, grading, sod laying, seeding, and planting necessary for landscape installation operations. The planting of 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 involve mowing, raking, applying liquid or granular fertilizers, spraying and pruning shrubs or small trees off the ground, and thatching or aerating. If any or all of the above operations are performed for a lawn maintenance hazard Classified in Code 9102, minor and incidental landscaping operations performed for the same hazard, such as replacement of dead shrubs, planting of some flowers, and laying of rocks or bricks as edging designs, are included in Code 9102. This minor Landscaping operation is distinguished from work performed by an insured at a job or location where the primary work at the job or location is landscaping Since lawn spraying is a maintenance operation, a risk involved exclusively in jobs 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 ranks significantly higher than class code class 9102. For companies in the landscape industry, this emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between the two classification codes.

In many states, employees engaged in both landscape installation and landscape maintenance activities may have their payroll split between class codes if proper records are maintained. Check with your insurance agent for the specific grading rules in your local state. Pursuant to state exception wording under class code 9102, Florida landscaping businesses may use class codes 0042 and 9102 in their workers’ compensation policy only if those “operations described by these classifications are performed by equipment separated”.