Trades / Property managers
NAICS 53131 · low injury risk
Insurance for property managers
Property managers log 1.8 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers — 22 percent below private industry's 2.3 and number 43 of 54 trades here. The injury record is not the hard part of insuring this trade; the liability and contract requirements are.
- 1Property managers 1.8 per 100
- 2Private industry 2.3 per 100
- 3Rank of 54 #43
What goes wrong in this trade
Tenant and owner disputes over how a property was run, slip-and-fall claims in common areas, and errors in handling deposits and leases.
The checklist for property managers
- E&OProfessional liability (E&O)Owner claims over mismanagement, lease errors or missed maintenance.Not required by federal law; some state licences and client contracts require it.
- GLGeneral liabilityInjuries in common areas you control.Not required by federal law. Required in practice by most contracts, landlords and many state contractor licences.
- WCWorkers' compensationRequired once you have employees in nearly every state.Required by state law in nearly every state once you have employees; the employee-count threshold and exemptions are set state by state and are not reproduced here.
- HNOAHired and non-owned autoStaff driving their own cars between properties.Not required by law; commonly added to GL or auto.
- CyberCyber liabilityTenant applications hold Social Security and bank details.Not required by law; required by some health-care and corporate contracts.
- BondSurety bondSome states require a bond or trust-account rules for managers who hold client funds.Many state contractor licences require a licence bond; public work requires bid and performance bonds under state law and, federally, the Miller Act.
Red tags mark policy types that a law or licence usually requires; green tags are what contracts, landlords and clients ask for. Tailor the list for your situation (no employees, no vehicles, alcohol) with the checklist tool.
What the injury record means for the premium
With 1.8 cases per 100 workers the workers' compensation base rate for this class is comparatively modest, and only 56 percent of cases involved days away, restriction or transfer. Where the premium goes instead is liability: owner claims over mismanagement, lease errors or missed maintenance, and that is a general-liability and professional-liability question rather than a payroll one. Expect the certificate requirements in your contracts to matter more than your loss history.
The nearest trades by injury rate are electrical contractors (1.8), finish carpentry contractors (1.8), fitness and recreational sports centers (1.8); the same payroll insured in those classes would start from a similar workers' comp base.
Legal, licence or contract?
Fixed by law
- Workers' compensation once you have employees, in nearly every state (threshold and exemptions set by the state; not reproduced here).
- State minimum auto liability on any vehicle the business operates.
Asked for by contracts and licences
Sources: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table 1 (2024), incidence rates per 100 full-time workers; BLS SOII Table 3 (2024), hours worked by detailed industry; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Table A-1 (2024). Fatal rate per 100,000 FTE is derived (count ÷ hours × 200,000,000) and approximate. Checked 2026-10-24.