Every figure below is the researched rule for Missouri, with its citation and a direct link to the official source so you can confirm it yourself. Covers statutory interest and when it starts accruing, how Actual Cash Value is determined and whether labor can be depreciated, whether a “no damages for delay” clause is enforceable and how long you have to file, the state-specific inputs behind a fully burdened labor rate, and who can be held liable for a construction-site injury.
The rate itself, and the date interest starts running, which differs by claim type in most states.
9% / year, fixed (or the contract rate, if higher)
General statutory rate for non-tort (contract/construction) judgments. (Tort judgments use a different Federal-Funds-Rate-based formula, not applicable to construction-contract claims.)
From the date of a written demand for payment on a liquidated (readily ascertainable) claim
Missouri allows prejudgment interest on liquidated claims, meaning damages that are readily ascertainable or capable of being easily calculated, such as a breach of a construction contract with a fixed unpaid balance. Interest runs from the time a written demand for payment is made, not automatically from the date of breach itself.
Making a clear, written demand for a specific amount is what starts the clock; simply having a valid claim isn't enough on its own.
Requires a detailed statutory demand letter; interest runs once that demand is satisfied, with a 90-day open period
Missouri's tort/property-damage demand statute requires a written demand sent by certified mail, including an affidavit detailing the nature and extent of damages, that references the statute and stays open for the defendant to accept for 90 days. Interest runs based on satisfying these specific requirements, not simply from the date of loss.
The published description of this demand procedure includes a reference to medical providers/records, which reads as written with personal-injury claims in mind; confirm how (or whether) that specific requirement applies to a pure property-damage claim before relying on this provision.
How ACV is determined, whether labor cost can be depreciated, and the rules on releasing withheld recoverable depreciation.
Fair-market-value differential (not a named broad evidence rule, not a fixed depreciation formula)
Missouri courts measure ACV/damages as the difference between the property's fair market value immediately before and after the loss, with depreciation as one relevant factor. Field/adjusting practice often still uses replacement-cost-minus-depreciation even though courts may require fair-market-value proof at trial.
Link added in a follow-up verification pass, confirmed to show the full opinion text (Missouri Supreme Court, En Banc).
Missouri does not have a statute restricting labor depreciation; the rule comes from case law applying the state's fire-policy valuation statute.
Mo. Rev. Stat. section 379.150 requires that on a partial loss under a fire policy, the insurer pay so that the damaged property is restored to as good a condition as before the loss, at the option of the insured, but it does not itself define depreciation or address labor cost. Missouri courts have split on whether labor may be depreciated: the Eighth Circuit, applying Missouri law in In re State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., 872 F.3d 567 (8th Cir. 2017), held that embedded labor cost depreciation is one factor a fact-finder may consider in determining ACV, while a Missouri Court of Appeals panel in 2022 held that absent specific policy language allowing it, labor costs may not be depreciated, and the earlier McMillin v. American Family Insurance Co. (Mo. Ct. App. 1997) held that a partial-loss policy without express depreciation language could not have depreciation, including overhead and profit, withheld from payment. There is no statute resolving this split; it remains governed by case law that is itself divided.
This is common-law and federal-court interpretation of a general valuation statute, not a standalone statute defining ACV depreciation or specifically restricting labor depreciation, and Missouri authority on labor depreciation is internally split between the Eighth Circuit and at least one state appellate panel.
No Missouri statute sets a holdback release deadline. On the related labor-depreciation question, Missouri bars depreciating labor absent specific policy language allowing it.
No Missouri statute or regulation specifically governing the timing or process for paying withheld recoverable depreciation was found. On the related scope question, a Missouri appellate court held that absent specific policy language allowing for it, labor costs may not be depreciated in determining ACV.
RESEARCHED from scratch. No holdback-timing statute found; the labor-depreciation holding is from a comprehensive, dated (Aug. 2025) 50-state survey, not independently re-verified against the primary opinion in this pass.
Whether a no-damages-for-delay clause will be enforced against you, and the deadline for bringing a construction contract claim.
Unenforceable as applied to public works contracts by statute (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section34.058). No Missouri court has addressed private contracts.
Mo. Rev. Stat. Section34.058 voids any public-works-contract clause waiving a contractor's right to recover costs or damages for delays caused, in whole or in part, by acts or omissions within the control of the contracting public entity.
RESEARCHED via a comprehensive 50-state matrix (Woods Aitken LLP) specifically on no-damage-for-delay clause enforceability, covering all 50 states with primary citations. CORRECTED citation: the prior draft cited Section8.962(2), but the correct, confirmed public-works no-damages-for-delay statute is Section34.058.
10 years for a written instrument for the payment of money or property
Missouri's limitations period for an action on any writing, sealed or unsealed, for the payment of money or property is 10 years from accrual, covering an ordinary written construction-contract claim.
The state-specific rates and requirements that sit underneath a fully burdened hourly labor cost.
The 2026 new-employer rate is 2.376% (1.00% for qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits). Established employers range from 0.0% to 6.0% before surcharges. The 2026 taxable wage base is $9,000, down $500 from 2025.
Missouri's Division of Employment Security assigns most new employers a 2026 rate of 2.376%, while qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations receive a 1.00% new-employer rate. Established, experience-rated employers range from 0.0% to 6.0%, before any maximum-rate surcharge or contribution rate adjustment is added. The 2026 taxable wage base is $9,000 per employee, down $500 from the 2025 base.
Reconfirm both the new-employer rate and taxable wage base on the live Missouri DES site before relying on them for a future filing year, since Missouri resets these figures annually. Confirmed directly against the official Missouri DOLIR Tax Rates page (labor.mo.gov); no separate construction-specific new-employer rate was found, unlike several peer states checked this round.
Missouri is an NCCI state. NCCI publishes annual state advisory reports and files advisory loss costs used as the basis for insurer rates in Missouri.
Missouri workers' compensation insurance rates are based on advisory loss costs filed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), reviewed by the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. NCCI maintains ongoing state advisory reports for Missouri (2024 and 2025 editions identified), consistent with its role as Missouri's licensed rating/advisory organization.
The NCCI page confirms that NCCI maintains active state advisory reports for Missouri, which is standard for NCCI-affiliated states, but the underlying PDF report content was not directly reviewed to quote specific rate change figures for this research.
Missouri has a state prevailing wage law (RSMo Sections 290.210-290.340), applying to public works contracts with no statewide minimum dollar threshold.
Missouri's prevailing wage law is codified at Sections 290.210 to 290.340 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Unlike many other states, Missouri does not impose a minimum monetary contract threshold; the law applies to public works projects such as roads, bridges and government buildings regardless of contract value, with wage rates varying by county and occupational classification.
OSHA enforcement structure, how much weight an OSHA violation carries in a negligence case, and whether an injured worker's own employer can be pulled back in.
Federal OSHA (no state plan)
Missouri has no OSHA-approved state plan; both public and private employers fall under federal OSHA jurisdiction.
Missouri's high court holds OSHA violations constitute evidence of negligence, not negligence per se.
The Missouri Supreme Court confirmed OSHA violations are relevant evidence a jury may weigh in assessing negligence, consistent with the majority rule used by most states.
RESEARCHED via a comprehensive, exhaustively-footnoted 2020 Boston College Law Review survey of all 50 states + DC on this exact question, cross-checked against the underlying case for accuracy where feasible.
Missouri protects qualifying statutory employers and co-employees; the threshold question in any third-party claim is whether the defendant is a protected co-employee or statutory employer.
Non-protected third parties are reached via premises, retained control, negligent undertaking, products, or vehicles.
Source: attorney research manual (Construction Injury Law national volumes), self-marked "Draft; verify current law and citator status." Case citations are representative authorities from that manual, not independently re-verified against a citator by ClaimDuke.
General exclusivity under §§287.010 et seq. for qualifying statutory employers and co-employees: this source doesn't name a further piercing exception.
Mo. Rev. Stat. §§287.010 et seq. generally makes compensation exclusive against the employer and qualifying statutory employers; co-employees may also be protected. The manual doesn't identify a further piercing exception.
Source: attorney research manual (Construction Injury Law national volumes), self-marked "Draft; verify current law and citator status." Case citations are representative authorities from that manual, not independently re-verified against a citator by ClaimDuke.
Design-professional immunity carve-out; confirms this is not unique to Georgia
RSMo § 287.150(5): no construction design professional retained to perform professional services on a construction project (nor their assisting/representing employees) shall be liable for any injury resulting from the employer's failure to comply with safety standards on the project, unless responsibility for safety practices is specifically assumed by contract. This immunity does not extend to negligent preparation of design plans or specifications. Missouri also uses a three-part 'statutory employee' test (work performed under contract; injury on/about the alleged statutory employer's premises; work in the usual course of that employer's business) to extend exclusivity beyond the direct employer.
ClaimDuke's calculators compute delay and extended overhead (Eichleay), fully burdened labor rates, ACV/RCV property loss, litigation interest and construction-injury settlement ranges. Every calculation is free and live; a documented, citation-backed report is $19.
This page is reference information for your own verification. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for confirming the current rule with the official source linked above or with counsel. Several states' interest rates float and reset on a schedule (monthly, quarterly or annually), so always check the live source for the figure as of today rather than relying on what is shown here. Which rule actually applies to your specific claim is itself a legal question this page cannot answer for you.