The fiber industry can’t hire fast enough. Broadband funding, AT&T’s fiber push, and AI data centers are all competing for the same drillers, splicers, and techs, and the shortage has made national news. For an established contractor that sounds like opportunity, and it is. But the way companies grow through a labor shortage (hiring fast, subcontracting the overflow, raising pay, and taking bigger jobs) creates four insurance risks that usually show up a year later, at audit or at renewal. Here’s what they are and what to fix first.
The Shortage, in Numbers
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Workers needed now | About 28,000 more construction workers and 30,000 more technicians to build the broadband projects already funded (Fiber Broadband Association and PCCA) |
| Attrition on top | Another 119,000 workers over the next 10 years to replace retirements and turnover |
| Data center demand | About 66 million new fiber miles needed to connect new data centers by 2029 (Fiber Broadband Association) |
| Carrier hiring | AT&T committed $250 billion over five years and said it would hire thousands of technicians in 2026 |
| Pay | Experienced drill operators earn from the high $20s to mid $40s an hour; entry-level fiber workers can make about $60,000 with overtime, with raises of 25% to 30% within a few years (Wall Street Journal) |
Data center routes now compete with broadband-funded projects for the same splicers and technicians. Every contractor is fishing in the same small pond, so crews are newer, more work gets subcontracted, and pay keeps rising.
Risk 1: New Hires Drive Your Claims
Travelers’ 2025 Injury Impact Report found that employees in their first year on the job account for about 36% of injuries and 34% of claim costs. A contractor that doubles its field crew in a year is putting a lot of its payroll into the riskiest group.
Those claims don’t just cost money once. They feed your experience mod for three years, and several small claims usually hurt the mod more than one large one. A rough hiring year can raise your workers’ comp rate for the next three renewals.
- Pair new hires with an experienced tech for their first weeks on traffic, aerial, and confined-space work
- Document training on traffic control, fall protection, and 811 locates; underwriters credit what they can see
- Report every injury within 24 hours, and use a nurse triage line for minor ones
- Set up light-duty work so injured employees come back sooner; lost-time claims cost the most
Risk 2: Subcontracting Your Overflow
When you can’t hire fast enough, you sub the work out. That’s often the right call, but it moves risk back to you in two ways.
The workers’ comp audit. If a subcontractor can’t show its own workers’ comp coverage for the period it worked for you, the auditor usually adds its payroll to your policy and bills you for it. A single uninsured crew can turn into a five-figure audit bill months later.
Your general liability. When a sub damages property or injures someone, the claim often lands on you, because you’re the one with the contract. See Does GL cover a sub’s mistake?
- Collect current certificates for workers’ comp, general liability, and auto before a sub starts, and track expiration dates
- Require subs to name you as additional insured, with a waiver of subrogation, in writing
- Use a written subcontract with an indemnity clause and insurance minimums at least as high as your own prime requires
- Keep copies organized by policy period; the auditor will ask
Risk 3: Raises Drive Payroll, and Your Audit
Workers’ comp is priced on payroll, so every raise and bonus raises your premium. That’s expected. The problem is when the payroll estimate on your policy doesn’t keep up. You pay a deposit based on last year’s numbers, and the difference arrives as one large bill after the year-end audit.
- Update your payroll estimate mid-term when you add crews or raise pay, instead of waiting for the audit
- Ask about pay-as-you-go billing, which bills premium from actual payroll each pay period
- Keep overtime records separate; in most states the extra overtime pay above straight time isn’t counted in comp payroll if it’s documented
- Split payroll correctly by class (office staff in 8810, field crews in their own classes) so raises in the office aren’t rated as field work
Paying $30,000 or more a year in comp? Our workers’ comp page for 50–200 employee contractors covers the program options and how to keep audits predictable.
Risk 4: Growth Outruns the Policy
The policy you bought last year was written for last year’s company. Growth during a shortage tends to leave gaps that only show up at claim time.
- Vehicles: new trucks and trailers that never got added to the auto schedule
- Equipment: new drills and splicers missing from the inland marine schedule, or scheduled at old values
- States: crews sent to a new state that isn’t listed on your workers’ comp policy
- Limits: bigger contracts, including data center work, that require umbrella limits higher than the ones you carry
None of these are hard to fix, but they have to be found first. A free renewal review reads your current program against how your company actually operates now.
What to Fix Before Your Next Renewal
- Pull your last 12 months of hires and check how much payroll sits with first-year employees
- Review your experience mod worksheet for errors before it’s final
- Audit your subcontractor certificates now, not when the auditor asks
- Update payroll estimates, vehicle schedules, equipment values, and the list of states you work in
- Compare your umbrella limit with what your biggest prospective contracts require
Growing through the shortage? A free renewal review finds these gaps before an auditor or a claim does. Larger crews can start with our workers’ comp program review, or call (350) 218-1055.
Sources: Fiber Broadband Association workforce study; FBA AI data center white paper; Travelers 2025 Injury Impact Report; Wireless Estimator (citing the Wall Street Journal); Fierce Network; NBC News.