Nebraska business insurance: requirements and costs

Nebraska requires workers' compensation coverage from the first employee, with narrow farm and household exemptions.⁠¹ NCCI publishes loss costs, but each insurer multiplies them by its own filed loss cost multiplier, which the Department of Insurance says may run from 1.00 to 1.80, so two carriers can price one class very differently.⁠⁵⁠⁶ NASI puts Nebraska employers' 2023 comp cost at $0.89 per $100 of covered wages, below the $0.98 national figure.⁠¹⁰

Checked against 12 sources Last reviewed 13 Oct 2026 How we check figures

Nebraska at a glance

Workers’ comp required	1+ employees; narrow farm and household exemptions
Where employers buy it	Private insurers
Rates set by	National Council on Compensation Insurance
Employer comp cost, 2023	$0.89 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024	$1.12, ranked 23 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025	$8,907 single, $26,830 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum	25/50/25

Nebraska has no state fund and is not monopolistic. Employers must insure with a carrier licensed to write comp in the state, belong to a risk management pool that provides group self-insurance under the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act, or self-insure with the approval of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court.⁠³ Employers that cannot find a voluntary carrier go to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan, the assigned-risk plan, for which Travelers is the plan administrator under the Department of Insurance's FAQ.⁠⁵ The Workers' Compensation Court administers the Act, handles self-insurance applications and can fine employers that go uninsured.⁠³⁠⁴

Pricing works through loss costs. NCCI files loss costs, and the Department of Insurance's FAQ says rates are "file and use": an insurer files a single loss cost multiplier (LCM) between 1.00 and 1.80 and may then deviate up or down by 40%, but Nebraska does not recognize schedule rating.⁠⁵ The Department's list of LCMs in effect on July 15, 2025 shows the spread (lowest 1.00, with one older filing from 2020 at 1.85, above the FAQ's stated cap): for example, Accident Fund National Insurance Company at 1.20 (approved February 1, 2024) and Acadia Insurance Company at 1.80 (approved August 1, 2023).⁠⁶ By our calculation, for a class with a loss cost of $1.00 per $100 of payroll (an assumed figure, not a Nebraska rate) and $500,000 of payroll, the base premium is $5,000 before experience modification, which becomes $6,000 at an LCM of 1.20 and $9,000 at 1.80. Your NCCI experience mod, obtained from NCCI, applies on top.⁠⁵ Comparing the multiplier and the carrier's own rating rules matters here more than in a bureau-rate state. Nebraska also lets carriers offer medical deductibles of $500 to $2,500 per claim in $500 steps.⁠⁵

The official cost data place Nebraska near the middle. NASI estimates employers spent $0.89 per $100 of covered wages in 2023, down from $1.09 in 2019, a 17.6% drop by our calculation against 16.3% for the nation ($1.17 to $0.98).⁠¹⁰ Oregon's 2024 ranking, built from manual rates in effect on January 1, 2024, puts Nebraska 23rd most expensive of 51 jurisdictions at an index of $1.12 per $100 of payroll, 103% of the median. That is just below South Dakota ($1.13) and above Kansas ($0.91), and well below Iowa ($1.21) and Missouri ($1.31).⁠¹¹ The two measures differ because NASI reflects what employers actually paid and Oregon prices a fixed set of classes at manual rates. Health coverage is the weaker spot for small employers. In AHRQ's 2025 survey, 25.8% of Nebraska private-sector establishments in firms with fewer than 50 employees offered health insurance, against 32.1% nationally. Where offered, the average single premium in those small firms was $9,253 against $9,034 nationally (2.4% higher by our calculation), and the employee's share averaged $2,206 against $1,924.⁠¹²

Two rules deserve attention in budgeting. Officers and owners are treated unevenly: an executive officer who owns 25% or more of a corporation's common stock is not an employee for comp unless they elect coverage, while an officer owning less than 25% is an employee by default.⁠² Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members working full-time in the business can elect coverage in writing.⁠² On vehicles, Nebraska is a liability-only state with no PIP requirement, but every policy must also carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at 25/50 minimum limits, so a commercial auto quote includes that coverage.⁠⁷⁠⁸⁠⁹

Workers’ compensation in Nebraska

Every resident employer, and every nonresident employer performing work in Nebraska, that employs one or more employees in its regular trade, business, profession or vocation must carry comp, along with the State and its agencies.⁠¹⁠³ There is no separate construction rule.

Who is exempt

Household domestic servants in a private residence⁠¹
Agricultural employers that employ only related employees⁠¹
Agricultural employers with unrelated employees unless they employ 10 or more unrelated full-time employees on each working day for 13 calendar weeks in a calendar year⁠¹
Railroads engaged in interstate or foreign commerce⁠¹
Executive officers owning 25% or more of a corporation's common stock, unless they elect coverage⁠²
Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members working substantially full-time in the business, unless they elect coverage in writing⁠²

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

Employers buy from an insurer licensed in Nebraska, join a risk management pool that provides group self-insurance, or self-insure with court approval.⁠³ Employers that cannot get voluntary coverage apply to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan, administered by Travelers.⁠⁵ There is no state fund. Insurers apply NCCI loss costs times their own filed multiplier.⁠⁵

Individual employers may self-insure with the approval of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court after showing financial ability to pay. Group self-insurance is available only through risk management pools under the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act.⁠³

Penalties for going without

An employer that willfully fails to secure coverage commits a Class I misdemeanor, and an officer, member, manager, partner or employee with authority to secure it who willfully fails to do so is individually guilty and jointly and severally liable for compensation owed to injured employees.⁠⁴ The court may enjoin the employer from doing business in Nebraska and may fine it up to $1,000 per violation, with each day of continued failure a separate violation.⁠⁴ By our calculation, 30 days uninsured could therefore reach $30,000 in fines.

What Nebraska employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
Year	Nebraska	United States
2019	$1.09	$1.17
2020	$1.02	$1.08
2021	$0.96	$1.01
2022	$0.94	$1.00
2023	$0.89	$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 Nebraska’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $1.12 per $100 of payroll, 3% above the national median of $1.09 (rank 23 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 Nebraska

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
Measure	Nebraska	Firms under 50	United States
Single coverage, total premium	$8,907	$9,253	$9,025
Family coverage, total premium	$26,830	$27,269	$26,281
Employee share, single	$1,722	–	$1,817
Employers offering coverage	43.7%	25.8%	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 Nebraska

Every vehicle registered in Nebraska, 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.

Nebraska's liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage.⁠⁸ Owners must hold a current automobile liability policy or proof of financial responsibility for any vehicle required to be registered.⁠⁷ Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required in the policy at $25,000/$50,000 minimum limits.⁠⁹ There is no PIP requirement. Commercial-vehicle and federal motor carrier limits are not covered here; see the federal minimums table.

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 Nebraska rules that affect insurance costs

Insurer multipliers range from 1.00 to 1.80

The Department of Insurance allows one loss cost multiplier per insurer between 1.00 and 1.80, with up to 40% deviation and no schedule rating, under file-and-use rates.⁠⁵ Its July 15, 2025 list shows insurers at different points in that range.⁠⁶ Ask each quote for its multiplier and mod separately.

Deductibles on comp policies

Nebraska allows medical deductibles of $500 to $2,500 per claim in $500 increments, and also permits large deductibles; the Department cites section 48-146.03.⁠⁵

Farm employers cross a 10-employee line

A farm with unrelated employees is outside the Act until it employs 10 or more unrelated full-time employees on each working day for 13 calendar weeks. The Act then applies 30 days after the 13th week, covers all unrelated employees, and the employer must keep coverage for the rest of that year and the next full calendar year.⁠¹

Nebraska compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, Nebraska and neighboring states

Nebraska	$0.89	$1.12	$8,907
Iowa	$1.02	$1.21	$8,620
Kansas	$0.84	$0.91	$8,657
Missouri	$1.01	$1.31	$8,084
Colorado	$0.64	$1.05	$8,816
South Dakota	$0.88	$1.13	$8,985
Wyoming	$1.57	$1.41	$8,997

Sources

1
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106 (Act applies to employers; exclusions) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115 (employee defined; election of coverage) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145 (insurance required; self-insurer) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01 (failure to secure compensation; penalty) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5
Nebraska Department of Insurance, Workers' Compensation FAQ's Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6
Nebraska Department of Insurance, Loss cost multipliers in effect as of July 15, 2025 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-3,167 (financial responsibility; owner) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-534 (motor vehicle liability policy; limits) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9
Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-6408 (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10
National Academy of Social Insurance, Workers' Compensation: Benefits, Costs, and Coverage, 2023 Data Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11
Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, 2024 Oregon Workers' Compensation Premium Rate Ranking Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, MEPS-IC 2025 private-sector data by state Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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

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