District of Columbia business insurance requirements

Every private employer in the District needs workers' compensation from the first employee, and DC is one of the few places that also taxes employers to pay for family and medical leave: 0.75% of wages in 2026, with nothing withheld from workers. The auto minimum is 25/50/10 plus uninsured motorist coverage. And DC still applies contributory negligence to most injury suits, with a statutory carve-out for pedestrians and cyclists that matters to anyone running vehicles downtown.

Workers' compensation requirements

The District's Workers' Compensation Act has no headcount threshold. "Every employer shall secure the payment of compensation," either through an authorized insurer or by qualifying as a self-insurer (D.C. Code 32-1534). The Office of Workers' Compensation (OWC) at the Department of Employment Services puts it plainly in its employer brochure: employers with one or more employees should cover all of their DC employees, while sole proprietors, casual workers and unpaid volunteers are not covered. A household that employs a domestic worker for 240 hours or more in a calendar quarter, roughly 19 hours a week, must buy a policy too.

The statutory definition of employee (32-1501(9)) carves out federal and DC government workers (who have their own systems), congressional staff, interstate railroad workers, casual labor outside the usual course of the business, and commission-only real estate agents who work under a written independent contractor agreement. It has no exception for corporate officers or LLC members, so do not assume an owner-officer can sign out of coverage. Confirm how your carrier is treating officer payroll before the premium audit does it for you; see can owners and officers exclude themselves from workers' comp?.

Two rules catch out-of-District contractors. First, 32-1503 applies the Act to injuries in DC while the worker is working there and to injuries elsewhere when the job is principally localized in DC. Under subsection (a-1), an award under another state's comp law does not bar a DC claim for the same injury; the DC award is reduced by what the other state paid. A Maryland or Virginia firm whose crews work in DC regularly should have DC listed in Item 3.A of the policy rather than rely on other states coverage; see employees in several states: other-states coverage and multistate workers' comp. Second, a general contractor is liable for a subcontractor's employees if the sub never secured coverage, which is why GCs collect a certificate of insurance from every sub.

The penalty section, 32-1539, sets a civil fine of $1,000 to $10,000 and makes a corporation's president, secretary and treasurer personally and jointly liable for any benefits that come due while the company is uninsured. OWC also says a missed required report can bring a $1,000 penalty; the Employer's First Report of Injury (Form 8) is due within 10 working days.

There is no state fund. NCCI is the licensed rating organization; on August 20, 2025 it filed for a 1.7% increase in voluntary loss costs and a 2.5% increase in assigned risk rates effective January 1, 2026, citing worse recent loss ratios and growth in leisure and hospitality (NCCI summary). Ask your broker whether DISB approved the filing as proposed. Employers that cannot find a carrier go to the assigned risk plan. Every insured policy also carries a Special Fund premium surcharge, set by OWC each fiscal year to fund second-injury and uninsured-employer claims (32-1540).

Disability and paid leave mandates

DC has no temporary disability insurance program. It does run DC Paid Family Leave, and the employer pays all of it: the tax "may not be deducted from a worker's paycheck." Collections began July 1, 2019 at 0.62%, fell to 0.26% in July 2022, and rose to 0.75% on July 1, 2024 under D.C. Code 32-541.03. The rate is 0.75% for all four quarters of 2026, paid quarterly (third-quarter tax is due October 31, 2026). Benefits started by July 1, 2020 (32-541.04(j)).

Benefits were cut effective October 1, 2026 by the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act of 2026: medical leave drops from 12 to 10 weeks, family caregiving leave from 12 to 6, and the weekly maximum from $1,190 to $1,100. Parental leave stays at 12 weeks and prenatal leave at 2 (program updates). The benefit replaces 90% of wages up to 1.5 times the DC minimum wage and 50% above that. The program does not itself protect the job; that comes from laws such as the federal FMLA. Employers must post the updated employee notice. For the national picture see state disability and paid family leave programs: every mandate in 2026; for income protection beyond the state benefit, group short- and long-term disability insurance for employers.

Commercial auto requirements

The DC DMV requires continuous liability coverage on every registered vehicle: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, $10,000 for property damage, uninsured motorist bodily injury of $25,000/$50,000, and $5,000 of uninsured motorist property damage subject to a $200 deductible. Let coverage lapse and you must surrender the tags or face fines that grow over time. Interstate for-hire trucking needs at least $750,000 under 49 CFR 387.9; see FMCSA insurance requirements and filings for motor carriers.

The bigger issue for fleets is liability law. Under 50-2204.52, a pedestrian or "vulnerable user" hit by a motor vehicle recovers unless their own negligence is a proximate cause and greater than the combined negligence of all defendants. As amended in 2021, the definition covers cyclists, scooter and e-mobility riders, motorcyclists and skateboarders (50-2204.51). In the claims a delivery van is most likely to generate in DC traffic, the contributory negligence defense is largely gone. Price limits accordingly; see commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out and insurance for delivery businesses and gig drivers.

The business insurance market in the District of Columbia

Flood is the property exposure owners underestimate. The Department of Energy and Environment says the District faces riverine, stormwater and tidal storm-surge flooding, with notable stormwater floods in Federal Triangle (2006), Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park (2012), Cleveland Park (2016) and Rhode Island Avenue NE (2023). DISB notes that more than 20% of NFIP claims come from buildings outside high-risk areas. NFIP commercial policies top out at $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for contents, and the program is authorized only through December 11, 2026 (FEMA); see Commercial flood insurance: NFIP limits and private options.

Surplus lines producers pay a 2% tax on gross premiums, twice a year on February 1 and August 1, and file a monthly affidavit of placements by the 10th (D.C. Code 31-2502.40). How the tax shows on an E&S invoice is covered in surplus lines taxes, stamping fees and diligent search.

Liability law that affects premiums

Outside the vulnerable-user statute, DC keeps common-law contributory negligence: a plaintiff whose own negligence contributed to the injury recovers nothing. The D.C. Court of Appeals applied it in Massengale v. Pitts (1999), affirming a finding of contributory negligence that defeated the negligence claim. That gives defense counsel real leverage on premises and auto claims brought by adults who were not on foot or on a bike.

Under D.C. Code 12-301, most suits must be filed within three years: injury to real or personal property, simple contracts, and actions with no other specified period, which covers negligence-based personal injury. Libel, slander, assault, battery and false arrest have one year; instruments under seal, 12 years.

Where to get help

• DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (disb.dc.gov): 202-727-8000, 1050 First Street NE, Suite 801. File a complaint through the Consumer Services Division online, by emailed form or by mail; DISB acknowledges within three business days and aims to close cases within 45 days.
• DOES Office of Workers' Compensation (does.dc.gov): 202-671-1000, 4058 Minnesota Avenue NE. Forms, the Notice of Compliance poster (Form 1 DCWC) and a coverage verification link are on its page.
• DC Office of Paid Family Leave (dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov): 202-899-3700, with virtual office hours for employers.

Rules change, especially leave benefits set in each year's budget act. Confirm your obligations with the agency or a licensed broker, and compare jurisdictions with the workers' comp and benefits requirements by state.