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Louisiana business insurance: requirements and costs

Louisiana requires workers' compensation coverage for every employer from the first employee, and the market is shared between private insurers and the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC), a nonprofit mutual insurer the legislature created that also serves as the residual market.⁠1⁠2⁠6 NASI puts Louisiana employers at $1.27 per $100 of covered wages in 2023, about 29% above the national $0.98 by our calculation.⁠10 Since January 1, 2026, a plaintiff found 51% or more at fault can no longer recover damages in a Louisiana negligence claim.⁠9

Checked against 12 sources Last reviewed How we check figures

Louisiana at a glance

Workers’ comp required1+ employees; officers, members, partners and sole proprietors may opt out
Where employers buy itPrivate insurers and a competitive state fund (Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC))
Rates set byNational Council on Compensation Insurance
Employer comp cost, 2023$1.27 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024$1.41, ranked 9 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025$8,806 single, $25,647 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum15/30/25

Louisiana has no monopolistic fund and no separate headcount threshold. The Workers' Compensation Act applies to every person performing services in the course of an employer's trade, business or occupation, and the employer must secure compensation in one of four ways: a policy from an authorized insurer, a group self-insurance fund, an interlocal risk management agency, or individual self-insurance after proving financial ability to the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration.⁠1⁠2 Insurers must report policy information to NCCI and file proof of coverage within 30 days of the effective date, and the proof must name each business entity covered.⁠2 LWCC is not a state agency. R.S. 23:1393 created it as a private, nonprofit domestic mutual that writes Louisiana comp, provides the residual market, and may add U.S. Longshore and Harbor Workers' coverage, but only alongside a Louisiana comp policy.⁠6 NCCI is the rating organization and files loss costs for the voluntary market. Its filing summary for May 1, 2025 proposed a -8.7% loss cost change in the voluntary market, based on policy years 2020 to 2022 valued at December 31, 2023, and said improved experience was the main driver.⁠7 That is a proposal; we could not confirm the Insurance Commissioner's order or a later filing from an official source, so check the current loss-cost order with the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

The official cost data place Louisiana well above the middle. NASI estimates employers spent $1.27 per $100 of covered wages on comp in 2023, down from $1.48 in 2019, a 14% fall by our calculation, against a 16% fall nationally ($1.17 to $0.98).⁠10 Oregon's 2024 premium rate ranking, which prices the same 50 classes at each state's manual rates in effect January 1, 2024, put Louisiana ninth most expensive of 51 jurisdictions at an index of $1.41 per $100 of payroll, 129% of the median state (Georgia, $1.09).⁠11 AHRQ's 2025 MEPS-IC shows 58.9% of Louisiana private-sector establishments offering health insurance, against 49.2% nationally. Among establishments in firms under 50 employees, 41.5% offered it against 32.1% nationally, and the average single premium was $9,429, about 4% above the $9,034 small-firm national figure by our calculation. The employee share averaged $2,727, against $1,924.⁠12

A new liability rule and old auto minimums frame the rest. Act 15 of the 2025 regular session (HB 431) amended Civil Code article 2323 to a modified comparative fault system. A claimant 51% or more at fault recovers nothing, and below that threshold damages are reduced in proportion to fault. It took effect January 1, 2026.⁠9 That changes how premises, products and auto claims against a business are valued, though your policy price will move only as insurers file and apply it. For vehicles, R.S. 32:900 sets owner liability minimums of 15/30/25, and no change to them appears in the statute text. Motor carriers with vehicles over 20,000 pounds face higher floors.⁠8 For budgeting, the uninsured penalty is the number to know: workers' compensation judges can assess up to $250 per employee for a first offense, capped at $10,000 for a related series of violations, and uninsured employers owe 50% more weekly compensation on any injury claim.⁠3⁠4

Workers’ compensation in Louisiana

Every employer whose workers perform services in the course of its trade, business or occupation must secure compensation, with no minimum headcount.⁠1⁠2 Bona fide corporate officers, LLC members and partners may elect out, as may sole proprietors, as the next section explains.⁠1

Who is exempt

  • Corporate president, vice president, secretary or treasurer owning at least 10% of the stock, LLC members owning at least 10%, partners, and sole proprietors may elect out by written agreement with their insurer or group self-insurance fund. The election covers all trades and businesses of the entity, and their pay is not used to compute premium
  • Employees of a private residential householder, or of a private unincorporated farm, whose net earnings are $1,000 or less a year, where all farm employees together earn $2,500 or less and the work is not incidental to a trade or business
  • Musicians and performers rendering services under a performance contract

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

Employers buy from an insurer authorized in Louisiana, including LWCC, which also acts as the residual market, join a group self-insurance fund or an interlocal risk management agency, or self-insure after the assistant secretary of the Office of Workers' Compensation approves their financial ability.⁠2⁠6 Insurers report policy information to NCCI and must file proof of coverage within 30 days after the effective date.⁠2

Individual employers must satisfy the assistant secretary of their financial ability to pay, under rules that can require security deposits and excess coverage. Group self-insurance funds under R.S. 23:1191 and interlocal risk management agencies are also permitted.⁠2

Penalties for going without

A workers' compensation judge may assess a civil penalty of up to $250 per employee for a first offense, capped at $10,000 for related violations, and up to $500 per employee for a second or later offense; the judge also orders proof of compliance within 45 days.⁠3 Weekly compensation owed to an injured worker of an uninsured employer rises by 50%.⁠4 Willful failure to secure compensation carries a fine of up to $250 per day, up to one year in prison, or both. Two prior penalties in three years are prima facie evidence of willfulness.⁠5

What Louisiana employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
YearLouisianaUnited States
2019$1.48$1.17
2020$1.33$1.08
2021$1.37$1.01
2022$1.34$1.00
2023$1.27$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 Louisiana’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $1.41 per $100 of payroll, 29% above the national median of $1.09 (rank 9 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 Louisiana

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
MeasureLouisianaFirms under 50United States
Single coverage, total premium$8,806$9,429$9,025
Family coverage, total premium$25,647$23,163$26,281
Employee share, single$2,259–$1,817
Employers offering coverage58.9%41.5%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 Louisiana

Every vehicle registered in Louisiana, including business vehicles, must carry at least 15/30/25 in liability limits (bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars). Official source.

Tort state: R.S. 32:900 sets $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, with no personal injury protection requirement. Motor carriers with vehicles over 20,000 up to 50,000 lb need 25/50/25, and over 50,000 lb need $300,000 combined single limit (or $100,000 per person with $300,000 per occurrence) plus $25,000 property damage. No change to the 15/30/25 minimums appears in the statute text as of 2026-10-13.

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 Louisiana rules that affect insurance costs

51% bar on negligence recovery since 2026

Act 15 of 2025 replaced Louisiana's pure comparative fault rule. A claimant found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing; below 51%, damages are reduced by the claimant's share. It applies from January 1, 2026, so check the accident date on any claim.⁠9

Truck and motor carrier liability floors

Under R.S. 32:900(M), a motor carrier with a vehicle over 20,000 pounds gross weight must carry 25/50/25 up to 50,000 pounds and $300,000 combined single limit above that, with $25,000 property damage. Farm-to-market trucks, forest products haulers and tow trucks under R.S. 32:1717 are carved out.⁠8

LWCC and maritime coverage

LWCC may write U.S. Longshore and Harbor Workers' coverage only with a Louisiana comp policy, and Jones Act coverage only when incidental to one of those policies, up to $25,000 in the aggregate. Out-of-state exposure is limited to 20% of LWCC's comp premium and 30% of any one insured's premium.⁠6

Louisiana compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, Louisiana and neighboring states
Louisiana$1.27$1.41$8,806
Texas$0.39$0.78$8,543
Arkansas$0.57$0.53$7,804
Mississippi$0.91$0.94$7,612

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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