What Is EMOD? Why Experience Modification Rate Matters When Hiring an Excavation Contractor

If you are a general contractor evaluating excavation subcontractors or a property owner hiring for a significant project, there is one number that tells you more about a contractor’s safety and reliability than almost anything else: their Experience Modification Rate.

It is called EMOD, EMR, or sometimes just “the mod.” Whatever you call it, understanding what it means and what constitutes a good score can save you from hiring a contractor whose safety record could put your project at risk.

What Is the Experience Modification Rate?

The Experience Modification Rate is a workers’ compensation insurance metric calculated by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) or a state rating bureau. It compares a contractor’s actual workers’ comp claims history to the expected claims for companies of similar size in the same industry.

The baseline is 1.0. That represents the average claims experience for the industry.

• Below 1.0: The contractor has fewer and less severe claims than average. A score of 0.85 means their claims are 15% below the industry norm.
• Above 1.0: The contractor has more claims or more severe claims than average. A score of 1.15 means 15% worse than the norm.
• Exactly 1.0: Average for the industry.

The EMOD is recalculated annually based on the prior three years of claims data (excluding the most recent year). This means a contractor cannot fake a good score with one clean year — it reflects a sustained pattern.

What Is a Good EMOD for an Excavation Contractor?

Excavation and earthwork are among the most hazardous construction trades. Trenching, grading near utilities, operating heavy equipment in close quarters, and working in unstable soils all carry real injury risk. Because of that baseline hazard, the industry average claims experience is already high.

An excavation contractor with an EMOD below 1.0 is performing meaningfully better than their peers on safety. Specific benchmarks:

• 0.75 or below: Exceptional safety record. Uncommon in excavation due to the inherent hazards.
• 0.75 – 0.90: Strong safety program. The contractor is managing risks well and has low claim frequency and severity.
• 0.90 – 1.0: Better than average. Solid but not outstanding.
• 1.0 – 1.15: Average to slightly below average. Not a disqualifier, but warrants deeper investigation into recent claims.
• Above 1.15: Elevated risk. Ask hard questions about what happened and what has changed.

AccuRite Excavation’s current EMOD is 0.91 (effective 11/17/2025). For an excavation contractor with over 30 years of operations in Northern Utah, maintaining a sub-1.0 mod reflects a genuine culture of safety — not a statistical anomaly. You can see more detail on our safety and prequalification page.

Why EMOD Matters for Your Project

It Predicts Future Performance

EMOD is based on three years of actual data. A contractor with a consistently low mod has internalized safe work practices. Their crews know how to trench safely, manage equipment around other trades, and handle the soil conditions that cause problems on Wasatch Front job sites.

It Affects Your Insurance Costs

On commercial projects, the general contractor’s insurance and bonding costs can be affected by the subcontractors they use. A high-EMOD sub increases the risk profile of the project. Some commercial insurance policies specifically require that all subcontractors carry an EMOD below a certain threshold.

It Is a Prequalification Gatekeeper

Many government contracts and large commercial projects require an EMOD below 1.0 as a minimum prequalification standard. Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM), UDOT, and federal agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers all evaluate contractor safety metrics during prequalification.

If your excavation subcontractor cannot produce a current EMOD letter, they may not be eligible to work on your project — and you may not discover that until the bid is already submitted.

It Reveals Management Quality

A low EMOD does not happen by accident. It requires consistent training, proper equipment maintenance, jobsite discipline, and a management team that takes safety seriously even when nobody is watching. These are the same traits that predict whether a contractor will show up on time, communicate problems early, and finish the work they committed to.

How to Request and Verify an EMOD

Ask the contractor for their current EMOD letter from their insurance carrier. This is a standard document — any legitimate contractor can produce it within a day. The letter will show:

• The EMOD factor (the number itself)
• The effective date
• The insurance carrier’s name and contact

If a contractor cannot or will not provide their EMOD letter, treat that the same way you would treat a contractor who cannot produce proof of insurance. It is a serious red flag.

You can also verify a contractor’s workers’ comp coverage status through Utah’s Workers’ Compensation Fund or by contacting the carrier listed on their certificate of insurance.

EMOD Is One Piece — Not the Whole Picture

EMOD is valuable because it is objective, standardized, and based on real data. But it should be evaluated alongside other factors:

• Licensing: Does the contractor hold the appropriate Utah license for the scope of work? For significant excavation, that means an E100 General Engineering Contractor license.
• Bonding: Can they provide performance and payment bonds at the required contract level?
• Experience: Have they completed projects similar to yours? In similar soil conditions? At similar scale?
• References: What do other general contractors say about working with them?

Our guide to choosing an excavation contractor covers these criteria in more detail.

The Bottom Line

The EMOD is not a vanity metric. It is a data-backed indicator of how a contractor manages risk on real job sites over multiple years. When you are choosing an excavation subcontractor for a commercial project or government contract in Utah, ask for the number.

AccuRite Excavation’s EMOD is 0.91. We have been doing excavation work in Northern Utah since 1995, and our safety record is a direct reflection of how we run our crews and our job sites. If you are putting together a bid and need a prequalified excavation sub, contact us or visit our safety and prequalification page for documentation.