Contractors
Class Code 5606: Contractor—Project Manager, Construction Executive, Construction Manager or Construction Superintendent — Workers' Comp Insurance
Covers construction company owners, project managers, and superintendents whose duties are purely supervisory — overseeing job sites and managing projects without performing manual labor themselves. It's a lower-hazard classification recognizing that pure supervision carries different risk than hands-on trade work.
- Risk level:
- low
What code 5606 covers
Class 5606 applies to contractor employees whose duties are limited to supervision and management — project managers, construction executives, and superintendents who oversee job sites, coordinate subcontractors, and manage schedules and budgets, without performing manual construction work themselves. Because this role is desk- and walk-through-based rather than tool-in-hand labor, it carries meaningfully lower risk than the trade classifications covering the crews being supervised, even though the work happens at active construction sites. The key qualifying factor is that duties are truly supervisory; a superintendent who regularly picks up tools to help with the work loses eligibility for this lower-hazard classification for that time. Most contracting businesses that qualify for this code also carry one or more trade classifications for their field crews, so 5606 typically applies to a subset of the company's total payroll.
Included operations
- Project management and job site oversight
- Scheduling, budgeting, and subcontractor coordination
- Site walk-throughs and safety supervision
- Executive-level oversight of construction operations
Assigned elsewhere
- Any hands-on trade work performed by the same individual, evaluated under the applicable trade classification
- Field crew labor of any kind — evaluated under the applicable trade classification such as 5403, 5190, or 5183
- Clerical and office staff working from a fixed office location, evaluated under the applicable clerical classification
- Architectural or engineering consulting work — see code 8601
Businesses that typically carry 5606
- General contracting companies
- Construction management firms
- Design-build contractors with dedicated supervisory staff
- Small, owner-operated contracting businesses
- Regional trade contracting companies
- Subcontractors working for general contractors
- Design-build contracting firms
Common misclassifications
Code 5403
A superintendent who regularly performs hands-on work alongside supervision can lose eligibility for the lower-hazard supervisory code for that portion of duties, which is a common audit focus area.
Code 8601
A construction executive with an engineering background who also performs design consulting work can blend supervisory duties with professional consulting exposure that needs separate evaluation.
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What drives the cost of code 5606
- Total payroll for employees performing the classified work, not gross receipts
- Experience modification factor built from claims history
- State-specific base rates and loss costs filed for this class code
- Use of subcontractors and whether they carry their own workers' comp coverage
- Safety programs, jobsite supervision, and documented training
- Payroll properly split across multiple classifications when work crosses trades
What underwriters look for
- Years in business and prior workers' comp loss history
- Types of jobs typically performed (new construction, remodel, residential vs. commercial) and average job size
- Whether subcontractors are used and certificates of insurance are collected and tracked
- Total payroll for employees actually performing the classified work
- Safety program, training documentation, and any OSHA history
Eligibility
State differences
This entry uses standard NCCI class code phraseology, which applies in most NCCI-governed states. Pennsylvania (PCRB), Delaware (DCRB), California (WCIRB), New Jersey (NJCRIB), Michigan, New York (NYCIRB), and Massachusetts maintain their own classification manuals, and code numbers or phraseology can differ there. Our agency confirms the correct classification for your state before quoting.
Quote class code 5606.
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Class code 5606 questions
Can our superintendent qualify for this lower-hazard code if they sometimes help with the work?
Only the time spent purely supervising qualifies; any hands-on work needs to be tracked and coded under the applicable trade classification.
Does this code apply to our office-based project coordinators?
If their duties are truly limited to management and coordination without site-based supervision, a clerical classification may be a better fit; we review the specific role.
Why is this a lower-cost classification than our field trades?
Pure supervision carries meaningfully less physical injury risk than hands-on trade work, which is reflected in the classification's lower hazard designation.
Do we still need trade classifications for our field crews?
Yes, this code typically covers only your supervisory staff — field crews performing the actual trade work are coded separately.
Last reviewed · Reviewed by Provident Financial Group licensed agents