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Wisconsin business insurance: requirements and costs

Wisconsin does not use NCCI for workers' comp: the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB) files them for member insurers, and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance approves them.⁠5⁠6 Rates fall 1.97% on average for policies starting October 1, 2026, the 11th straight annual cut, after a 3.2% cut on October 1, 2025.⁠6⁠7 Even so, Oregon's 2024 ranking puts Wisconsin 7th most expensive of 51 jurisdictions.⁠13 An employer must carry comp once it has 3 employees, or sooner if it pays $500 in wages in a calendar quarter.⁠1

Checked against 14 sources Last reviewed How we check figures

Wisconsin at a glance

Workers’ comp required3+ employees, or $500+ wages in a calendar quarter; farms 6+ on 20 days
Where employers buy itPrivate insurers
Rates set byWisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau
Employer comp cost, 2023$1.21 per $100 of covered wages (US $0.98)
Comp rate index, 2024$1.42, ranked 7 of 51 (1 = most expensive)
Employer health premium, 2025$9,557 single, $27,309 family (average total premium)
Auto liability minimum25/50/10

Employers must insure with an insurer authorized in Wisconsin, or obtain a written exemption from the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) by showing financial ability to self-insure.⁠3 WCRB is a licensed rate service organization and an unincorporated association of insurers. It files manuals of classifications, rules, rates and rating plans with the commissioner for its members, and it administers the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Insurance Pool.⁠5 The statewide rate level changes once a year: DWD says WCRB's actuarial committee proposes the adjustment and the commissioner reviews and approves it.⁠6 The announced changes are averages, and the DWD release says individual employer premiums vary with injury risk exposure.⁠7

The official cost data show the effect of ten years of cuts, though Wisconsin remains well above the national level. NASI estimates that Wisconsin employers spent $1.21 per $100 of covered wages on workers' comp in 2023, down from $1.49 in 2019, a drop of about 19% by our calculation, against about 16% nationally (from $1.17 to $0.98).⁠12 Oregon's study of manual rates in effect January 1, 2024 gives Wisconsin an index of $1.42 per $100 of payroll, 130% of the median state (Georgia, $1.09). That is above Illinois ($1.34, 13th), Minnesota ($1.25, 17th) and Iowa ($1.21, 19th), and far above Michigan ($0.90, 36th).⁠13 Health coverage in small firms is no cheaper: AHRQ's 2025 survey found that 32.0% of Wisconsin private-sector establishments in firms with fewer than 50 employees offered insurance, level with the 32.1% national share. Where they did, the average family premium was $28,362, about 17% above the $24,176 small-firm national figure by our calculation, though the average single premium ($9,260) was only about 2.5% above the national $9,034.⁠14

For budgeting, apply the filed change to your own class and mod rather than the statewide average. Our calculation: a $100,000 premium at policy year 2024-25 rates, with the class moving exactly at the average and payroll and mod unchanged, would be about $96,800 after the 3.2% cut on October 1, 2025 and about $94,893 after the further 1.97% cut on October 1, 2026.⁠6⁠7 Wisconsin's civil liability rules also shape general liability pricing. A plaintiff recovers only if their own negligence is not greater than the negligence of the party they sue, and any award is reduced by their share, so a plaintiff at 50% fault still recovers half.⁠10 Dwelling contractors must also show financial responsibility before they can be certified, which sets a floor for their liability coverage (see the notes).

Workers’ compensation in Wisconsin

An employer is subject to the act once it employs 3 or more employees at any time for services in Wisconsin, or, with fewer than 3, once it has paid wages of $500 or more in any calendar quarter.⁠1 Farmers are covered only if they employ 6 or more employees on any 20 consecutive or nonconsecutive days in a calendar year.⁠1 Members of partnerships and LLCs are not counted as employees.⁠1

Who is exempt

  • Partners and LLC members are not counted as employees under s. 102.04(2) unless they elect coverage under the separate provisions of the chapter
  • Not more than 2 officers of a corporation with not more than 10 stockholders may elect not to be subject to the chapter, by endorsement on the policy or a notice to DWD; the election lasts for the policy period and cannot be reversed during it, and the officer still counts as an employee in deciding whether the corporation is an employer.⁠2
  • Farmers below the 6-employee, 20-day test

Buying coverage and who sets the rates

Buy from an insurer authorized in Wisconsin, or obtain a DWD written order exempting you to self-insure.⁠3 WCRB administers the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Insurance Pool.⁠5

Latest rate decision (1 Oct 2026): Average -1.97% for worker's compensation policies starting Oct. 1, 2026 (about $36 million in estimated savings), approved by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance; the 11th straight annual decline. The prior change was -3.2% effective Oct. 1, 2025. Official notice.

A private employer may apply to DWD for a written order of exemption by showing financial ability to pay compensation.⁠3

Penalties for going without

An employer that fails to insure forfeits, for a first violation, the greater of $1,000 or the premium that would have been payable; the floor and multiple rise to $2,000 and 2 times the premium for a second violation, $3,000 and 3 times for a third, and $4,000 and 4 times for a fourth or later. Courts add an uninsured-employer surcharge of 75% of the fine or forfeiture.⁠4 Separately, s. 102.88 allows fines and up to 90 days' or 9 months' imprisonment for repeat violators.

What Wisconsin employers pay

Employer workers’ compensation costs per $100 of covered wages, 2019–2023
YearWisconsinUnited States
2019$1.49$1.17
2020$1.33$1.08
2021$1.26$1.01
2022$1.28$1.00
2023$1.21$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 Wisconsin’s index for rates in effect on 1 January 2024 at $1.42 per $100 of payroll, 30% above the national median of $1.09 (rank 7 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 Wisconsin

Average annual premium per enrolled employee at private-sector employers, 2025
MeasureWisconsinFirms under 50United States
Single coverage, total premium$9,557$9,260$9,025
Family coverage, total premium$27,309$28,362$26,281
Employee share, single$2,052–$1,817
Employers offering coverage50.8%32.0%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 Wisconsin

Every vehicle registered in Wisconsin, including business vehicles, must carry at least 25/50/10 in liability limits (bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars). Official source.

Section 344.33 sets the minimum at $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage.⁠8 Liability policies must also include uninsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000/$50,000 and medical payments of at least $1,000 per person, which the named insured may reject in writing.⁠9 No 2025-2026 change was found.

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 Wisconsin rules that affect insurance costs

Building permits require proof of financial responsibility

A person must hold an annual certificate of financial responsibility to obtain a building permit, and to get it must furnish either a surety bond of at least $5,000 or general liability insurance of at least $250,000 per occurrence, and must show compliance with workers' comp and unemployment insurance obligations where they apply. An owner who lives or will live in the dwelling and pulls a permit for work on it is exempt.⁠11

Wisconsin compared with its neighbors

Workers’ comp and health insurance costs, Wisconsin and neighboring states
Wisconsin$1.21$1.42$9,557
Illinois$0.77$1.34$9,724
Iowa$1.02$1.21$8,620
Minnesota$0.88$1.25$8,586
Michigan$0.56$0.90$8,230

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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