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Georgia business insurance: requirements and costs

Georgia sits exactly in the middle of the country on workers' comp price: Oregon's 2024 ranking uses it as the median state, at an index of $1.09 per $100 of payroll.⁠13 Coverage is required once a business regularly employs three people, and corporate officers and LLC members count toward that number even if they opt out.⁠2⁠4 For policies starting March 1, 2026, NCCI filed an 8.8% average cut in loss costs, the fee-free base insurers build their rates on.⁠1 Separately, SB 68, a civil-practice and tort liability law, took effect on April 21, 2025.⁠6

Checked against 15 sources Last reviewed How we check figures

Georgia at a glance

Workers’ comp required3+ regular employees, incl. part-time and corporate officers
Where employers buy itPrivate insurers
Rates set byNational Council on Compensation Insurance
Employer comp cost, 2023$0.82 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024$1.09, ranked 26 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025$8,907 single, $26,439 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum25/50/25

Georgia has no state fund. Employers buy workers' comp from one of the roughly 400 insurers the State Board of Workers' Compensation licenses, or qualify to self-insure.⁠2⁠5 NCCI is the rating organization: it files advisory loss costs with the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner. Those figures cover expected losses only and "exclude all expense provisions", so each insurer adds its own loss cost multiplier for overhead and profit.⁠1⁠15 Employers that no insurer will write go to the Georgia Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan, also run by NCCI. There, NCCI files a full rate that already includes the servicing carrier's expenses.⁠1⁠2 The Board handles claims and enforcement. It sends rate and premium questions to the insurance commissioner.⁠4

Two parts of the coverage rule catch owners out. First, the three-employee count includes regular part-time workers, such as weekend-only staff, and seasonal hires you take on every year.⁠2 Second, a corporation or LLC counts its officers or members as employees. Up to five can waive coverage on Form WC-10, but a waiver does not lower the head count. A company with three officers and no other staff has two choices: insure, or file a WC-10 for each officer with the Board.⁠2⁠4 Sole proprietors and partners are not employees unless they elect coverage in writing.⁠2 For contractors, the subcontract rule matters most. If you sublet work to an uninsured subcontractor, you can be liable for that sub's injured workers, and your insurer's audit will charge you premium on what you paid the sub.⁠4

The March 1, 2026 filing is NCCI's response to a run of falling claim costs. NCCI built it on policy years 2022 and 2023 and pointed to continued declines in both claim frequency and severity. It proposed -8.8% for the voluntary market and -9.3% for assigned-risk rates. NCCI filed it on November 12, 2025.⁠1 The same filing extends loss costs from two to three decimal places, a change NCCI says is premium-neutral.⁠1 Official cost data show the same trend. NASI measured Georgia employers' comp cost at $0.82 per $100 of covered wages in 2023, down from $1.00 in 2019, against $0.98 nationally. By our calculation, that is about 17% below the national figure.⁠12 Two neighbors cost employers less: Tennessee ($0.60) and North Carolina ($0.62). South Carolina ($1.16) cost more.⁠12 We could not find the Commissioner's approval of this filing or the final approved averages.

Liability law changed on April 21, 2025, when SB 68 took effect as Act 9, a civil practice, damages and tort liability law.⁠6 We could not confirm its individual provisions against the enrolled text, and no official source yet measures its effect on business insurance premiums.

Group health is the other large line. AHRQ's 2025 survey put Georgia's average single premium at $8,907, close to $9,025 nationally. At firms with fewer than 50 employees, though, it was $9,801, against $9,034 nationally. Only 27.9% of small Georgia employers offered coverage, compared with 32.1% nationally.⁠14 On September 15, 2026, the state exchange announced Georgia Access for Business. Under it, an employer sets a fixed tax-free monthly contribution, and each employee uses it to buy an individual ACA plan through Georgia Access instead of joining a group plan.⁠11 For comp, our calculation shows what the filed average would mean. A class with a $2.00 loss cost cut by 8.8% drops to $1.824, so on $500,000 of payroll the loss-cost portion falls from $10,000 to $9,120 a year before your insurer's multiplier, schedule credits and experience modification. Individual classes move more or less than the average.⁠1

Workers’ compensation in Georgia

Every employer that regularly employs three or more people in Georgia, full-time or part-time, must insure or self-insure.⁠2⁠4 Corporate officers and LLC members count as employees, and an officer who waives coverage still counts toward the three.⁠2⁠4

Who is exempt

  • Sole proprietors and partners are employers, not employees; they can elect coverage by telling their insurer in writing (Form WC-10)
  • Up to five corporate officers or LLC members may waive coverage on Form WC-10, but they still count toward the three-employee threshold
  • A corporation or LLC with 3 to 5 officers or members and no other employees can file a WC-10 for each with the Board instead of buying a policy

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

From a private insurer licensed to write workers' comp in Georgia; the Board says about 400 do. There is no state fund.⁠2⁠5 Employers that cannot get voluntary coverage go to the Georgia Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan, administered by NCCI.⁠2 Insurers price from NCCI advisory loss costs plus their own expense multiplier.⁠1⁠15

Latest rate decision (1 Mar 2026): NCCI filed an 8.8% average decrease in voluntary-market loss costs and a 9.3% decrease in assigned-risk rates for policies effective on or after March 1, 2026, citing lower claim frequency and severity (filed Nov. 12, 2025). We could not find the Commissioner's approval or the final approved averages. Official notice.

Allowed with Board approval and membership in the Georgia Self-Insurers Guaranty Trust Fund. Applicants file three years of audited financial statements and a $500 fee, then post a surety bond or letter of credit of at least $250,000 and carry excess insurance. About 300 companies and 100 governmental entities self-insure; licensed group self-insurance funds also operate.⁠2⁠4⁠5

Penalties for going without

The Board may assess $500 to $5,000 per occurrence for failing to carry required coverage.⁠3⁠4 An uninsured employer stays liable for compensable injuries as if it were insured. If it refused or willfully neglected to insure, the Board can add attorney's fees, civil penalties and a 10% increase in the worker's compensation.⁠4 Refusing or willfully neglecting to insure is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, up to 12 months in prison, or both.⁠4

What Georgia employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
YearGeorgiaUnited States
2019$1.00$1.17
2020$0.94$1.08
2021$0.88$1.01
2022$0.84$1.00
2023$0.82$0.98

Employer cost per $100 of covered wages: premiums paid by insured employers plus benefits and administrative costs of self-insured employers, divided by the wages of workers covered by workers’ compensation. The United States figure is NASI’s national total, which includes federal programs. Source: National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), published 11 Aug 2026.

Oregon’s biennial comparison of workers’ comp rates puts Georgia’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $1.09 per $100 of payroll, the national median (rank 26 of 51, where 1 is the most expensive). The index prices the same 50 risk classes, weighted by Oregon payroll, in every state, so it compares rate levels rather than what employers actually pay. Compare every state.

Employer health insurance in Georgia

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
MeasureGeorgiaFirms under 50United States
Single coverage, total premium$8,907$9,801$9,025
Family coverage, total premium$26,439$27,747$26,281
Employee share, single$1,748–$1,817
Employers offering coverage47.7%27.9%49.2%

Average total annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector establishments that offer health insurance; the offer rate is the share of establishments offering coverage. Small firms have fewer than 50 employees. Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, 2025 survey year. All states.

Commercial auto in Georgia

Every vehicle registered in Georgia, including business vehicles, must carry at least 25/50/25 in liability limits (bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars). Official source.

No PIP or no-fault requirement. Owners and lessees must keep continuous Georgia liability coverage on every vehicle with an active registration; a lapse brings fines and possible registration suspension. No change to the minimums in 2025-2026.

Trucks and buses used in interstate commerce must also meet federal minimums of $750,000 to $5 million: see commercial auto minimums and what commercial auto costs.

Other Georgia rules that affect insurance costs

Contractor licenses need liability and comp proof

The State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors requires applicants to prove general liability insurance of at least $300,000 for a residential-basic license and $500,000 for residential-light commercial.⁠7 General contractors need at least $500,000.⁠8 All three categories must also show workers' comp "as required by the laws of this state", which means the three-employee rule applies.⁠7⁠8

Uninsured subcontractors land on your audit

A contractor that sublets work can be liable for comp benefits to an uninsured subcontractor's employees. Amounts paid to an uninsured sub are subject to audit, and the hiring contractor's insurer charges premium for that exposure.⁠4 Collect a current certificate from every sub before work starts; the Board's site lets you verify coverage.⁠3

Health contributions through Georgia Access for Business

Georgia's state-based exchange announced Georgia Access for Business on September 15, 2026. It lets employers of any size offer a CHOICE Arrangement: a fixed tax-free monthly contribution that employees put toward an individual ACA-compliant plan bought through Georgia Access.⁠11 Unlike a group premium, the employer's cost is the contribution it sets.

Georgia compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, Georgia and neighboring states
Georgia$0.82$1.09$8,907
Alabama$0.85$1.11$8,169
Florida$0.96$1.00$8,919
South Carolina$1.16$1.03$8,552
North Carolina$0.62$0.95$8,612
Tennessee$0.60$0.80$8,667

Sources

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National figures: NASI (employer comp costs), Oregon DCBS (rate index), AHRQ MEPS-IC (health premiums).

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Other states

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