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North Carolina business insurance: requirements and costs

North Carolina workers' comp is priced from advisory loss costs filed by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which the Commissioner of Insurance approved as filed for April 1, 2026. NCRB has since proposed an average 10.6% decrease for April 1, 2027, and we found no approval yet.⁠1⁠2 Comp is required at three regularly employed workers, or one if the work involves radiation, and the penalty for going uninsured is a daily charge of $20 to $100.⁠3⁠6

Checked against 12 sources Last reviewed How we check figures

North Carolina at a glance

Workers’ comp required3+ employees (1+ with radiation); farms only at 10+ full-time workers
Where employers buy itPrivate insurers
Rates set byNorth Carolina Rate Bureau
Employer comp cost, 2023$0.62 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024$0.95, ranked 33 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025$8,612 single, $25,311 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum50/100/50

North Carolina has no state fund. Employers buy comp from a licensed insurer, join a group of employers authorized as a mutual insurance association, or obtain a self-insurance license from the Commissioner of Insurance.⁠5 Employers that cannot get a voluntary policy can use the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan, which the penalty statute names alongside licensed insurers.⁠6 Pricing is built on loss costs. The North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) files advisory prospective loss costs, which by its own description carry no provision for expenses, dividends, profit or contingencies. Each insurer adds its own loss multiplier, so two carriers can charge different rates for the same class.⁠1 The Commissioner approved the loss costs effective April 1, 2026 as filed.⁠1

On August 31, 2026, NCRB filed for April 1, 2027 with an average advisory loss cost decrease of 10.6% from the loss costs approved for April 1, 2026. By industry group the filing proposes manufacturing -10.4%, contracting -11.7%, office and clerical -12.0%, goods and services -9.2% and miscellaneous -11.0%, with individual classes varying around those averages. As of 2026-10-13 we found no approval.⁠2 Because loss costs exclude expenses and profit, the filing is not a premium forecast. By our calculation, if your insurer kept its loss multiplier and your class moved by the 10.6% average, a $20,000 pre-modification premium would become about $17,880, before any change in payroll or experience mod. The official cost data already show a steep fall. NASI estimates North Carolina employers spent $0.62 per $100 of covered wages on comp in 2023, against $0.83 in 2019, a 24.6% drop by our calculation, compared with 16.3% nationally ($1.17 to $0.98). That puts North Carolina about 36% below the 2023 national figure by our calculation.⁠10 Oregon's 2024 ranking, based on rates in effect January 1, 2024, put North Carolina 33rd most expensive of 51 jurisdictions at an index of $0.95 per $100 of payroll, 87% of the median state (Georgia, $1.09).⁠11

The comp statute applies to employers with three or more employees regularly employed in the same business or establishment, or one or more if the work involves radiation.⁠3 Employees of an uninsured subcontractor can still land on the contractor under G.S. 97-19, even when the subcontractor has fewer than three employees (see below).⁠4 On health benefits, AHRQ's 2025 survey found that 24.3% of North Carolina private-sector establishments in firms with fewer than 50 employees offered insurance, against 32.1% nationally. Where they did, the average single premium was $7,872, about 13% below the $9,034 small-firm national figure by our calculation, while the employee's share averaged $2,012 against $1,924.⁠12 For commercial auto, minimum liability limits rose to 50/100/50 for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, and North Carolina has no personal injury protection requirement.⁠8⁠9 Going uninsured for comp is priced by statute: $1 per employee per day, but never under $20 or over $100 a day. A 12-employee business would therefore owe $20 a day, or $600 for 30 days by our calculation, and any business with 100 or more employees hits the $100 cap.⁠6

Workers’ compensation in North Carolina

Private employers with three or more employees regularly employed in the same business or establishment must carry comp, or one or more if employees work with or near radiation. Agriculture is covered only with 10 or more full-time nonseasonal farm workers regularly employed.⁠3 Employers must keep coverage in force with an authorized insurer or group, or hold a self-insurance license.⁠5

Who is exempt

  • Employers with fewer than three regular employees, unless the work involves radiation⁠3
  • Agriculture, unless 10 or more full-time nonseasonal agricultural workers are regularly employed⁠3
  • Domestic services⁠3
  • Persons whose employment is both casual and not in the course of the employer's trade or business⁠3
  • An individual sawmill and logging operator with fewer than 10 employees who saws and logs fewer than 60 days in any six consecutive months and whose principal business is unrelated to sawmilling or logging⁠3
  • Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members are not covered unless they elect in and notify the insurer⁠3
  • A corporate executive officer may be excluded by name in the insurance contract for the policy period⁠3

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

Employers buy from an authorized insurer or a group of employers authorized as a mutual insurance association, or obtain a self-insurance license from the Commissioner of Insurance.⁠5 Employers unable to get voluntary coverage can use the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan.⁠6 Insurers combine NCRB's advisory loss costs with their own loss multipliers.⁠1

Latest rate decision (1 Apr 2026): The Commissioner of Insurance approved NCRB's loss cost reference filing as filed, effective April 1, 2026 (NCRB circular, Oct. 6, 2025; the circular does not state an average percentage). NCRB filed on Aug. 31, 2026 for an average -10.6% advisory loss cost change effective April 1, 2027; no approval found as of 2026-10-13. Official notice.

Individual employers need a license from the Commissioner of Insurance under Article 5 of Chapter 97 or Article 47 of Chapter 58; group self-insurance is allowed under Article 47.⁠5

Penalties for going without

The Industrial Commission can assess $1 per employee per day, with a minimum of $20 and a maximum of $100 a day, while the employer stays uninsured. An employer not penalized before can instead pay the per-employee cost of its new policy times the average employees during the gap, plus 10%, if it buys coverage and submits payroll records. Willful failure to secure comp is a Class H felony and neglect is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A person with authority who willfully fails to bring the employer into compliance faces the same felony and a civil penalty up to 100% of compensation owed to employees hurt during the gap.⁠6

What North Carolina employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
YearNorth CarolinaUnited States
2019$0.83$1.17
2020$0.74$1.08
2021$0.68$1.01
2022$0.65$1.00
2023$0.62$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 North Carolina’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $0.95 per $100 of payroll, 13% below the national median of $1.09 (rank 33 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 North Carolina

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
MeasureNorth CarolinaFirms under 50United States
Single coverage, total premium$8,612$7,872$9,025
Family coverage, total premium$25,311$23,343$26,281
Employee share, single$2,012–$1,817
Employers offering coverage46.9%24.3%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 North Carolina

Every vehicle registered in North Carolina, including business vehicles, must carry at least 50/100/50 in liability limits (bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars). Official source.

Minimum liability is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage, for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025 (raised from 30/60/25 and delayed from January 1, 2025).⁠8⁠9 Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage must equal your highest bodily injury liability limit, capped at $1 million, and can't go below the required liability minimum. Policies applying solely to commercial motor vehicles or fleets need not include it. North Carolina has no personal injury protection requirement.

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 North Carolina rules that affect insurance costs

Contractors answer for uninsured subcontractors

A principal, intermediate or subcontractor who sublets work without getting a certificate of comp coverage from the subcontractor is liable for that subcontractor's injured employees, even if the subcontractor has fewer than three employees. Liability does not apply if the subcontractor had a compliant policy in force on the injury date, or if the policy lapsed after the contractor had obtained a certificate and was unaware. Any contractor who pays can recover from the party actually liable.⁠4

Proof of coverage and notice

Employers must file evidence of compliance with the Industrial Commission as it requires, and post a notice that employment is subject to the Workers' Compensation Act and whether they are insured or self-insured. If coverage lapses, the notice must come down within five working days.⁠5⁠6

North Carolina compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, North Carolina and neighboring states
North Carolina$0.62$0.95$8,612
Virginia$0.48$0.73$8,970
South Carolina$1.16$1.03$8,552
Georgia$0.82$1.09$8,907
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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