Workers' comp rates by state: who publishes class rates and loss costs

Rates, loss costs and multipliers are different numbers

Three terms get used as if they were one. A loss cost (or pure premium) is the part of the price that covers expected claims and loss adjustment, per $100 of payroll for a class code. It excludes insurer expenses, commissions, taxes and profit. A rating bureau files it and the state insurance regulator approves it, usually for a stated effective date. A rate is a full price. Monopolistic and state-fund systems (Ohio, Washington, Wyoming, North Dakota) charge rates directly. In states where insurers set their own prices, a loss cost multiplier (LCM) converts the loss cost into the insurer’s filed rate: rate = loss cost × LCM. The multiplier is where one insurer’s price differs from another’s, and it is filed separately by each insurer.

So a bureau’s number for class code 5645 is not what you pay. Your premium also reflects your experience modification, any schedule credits or debits and premium discounts. See how premiums are calculated, the experience modification rate and the workers’ comp calculator.

Two other terms matter when reading the table. A few states (Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin in our file) are labelled “rate” because the bureau files or the regulator administers rates rather than advisory loss costs. Assigned-risk (residual market) rates can differ from voluntary-market loss costs, and Connecticut and Delaware publish both.

Who publishes class rates, state by state

The table lists the body that publishes the class-level figures, whether the figure is a loss cost, pure premium or rate, and the latest effective date we confirmed. “Not verified” means the state is in the NCCI system (our file lists the publisher) but we did not confirm an effective date; the filing is usually posted by the state insurance department or on SERFF Filing Access. “Not confirmed” means we could not check the bureau’s own page. We list no date we could not check.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Notes on specific rows:

• Massachusetts: the last date we verified is July 1, 2024. We did not confirm whether a later revision took effect.
• California: the Insurance Commissioner’s decision on WCIRB’s September 1, 2026 pure premium filing is posted on the WCIRB filings page⁠³.
• Michigan: CAOM’s 2027 advisory pure premiums, effective January 1, 2027, are posted⁠⁹.
• Minnesota: MWCIA pure premium base rates are behind a web membership login⁠⁸.
• New York: NYCIRB Bulletin RC2659 sets loss costs effective October 1, 2026⁠⁶.
• North Carolina: the Rate Bureau reports the Commissioner approved the loss costs as filed, effective April 1, 2026⁠⁷.
• Oregon: the pure premium is approved by the Department of Consumer and Business Services; SAIF republishes it with its own tiers. We checked SAIF’s PDF, not the department’s.
• Connecticut: the department posts the NCCI filing for public comment, covering voluntary loss costs and assigned-risk rates⁠².
• Missouri: the department posts the full NCCI filing⁠¹.

Why we do not reproduce bureau tables

The bureau class tables are the bureaus’ copyright. The NCCI filing pages we reviewed carry copyright notices that prohibit copying, derivative works and posting to a website without a licence. The Pennsylvania and Delaware bureau pages carry an “All Rights Reserved” copyright notice and no reuse licence⁠⁴⁠⁵. We could not open the WCIRB or NYCIRB reuse terms, so we make no claim about them. The numbers are state-approved values, and many filings are public records, so you can read them; the restriction is on republishing the tables. This site therefore links to the source rather than copying it. If you need a class loss cost in an NCCI state, open the state’s posted filing or ask your insurer for its filed rate and multiplier.

The three state-fund schedules are different. Ohio’s rates are in the Ohio Administrative Code, Washington’s are state government data, and Wyoming’s are a state agency document; our file found no restriction on any of them. Each is published in full with a lookup:

• Ohio BWC rates: rate per $100 of payroll, effective July 1, 2026, 501 classes in our file.
• Washington L&I rates: rate per hour worked, effective January 1, 2026, 320 classes (a 2027 proposal is also posted).
• Wyoming rates: rate per $100 of payroll, effective January 1, 2026, 127 classes (a 2027 proposal is also posted).

North Dakota’s Workforce Safety & Insurance is also monopolistic, but we found no rate table linked from its premium pages, so it is not republished here.

Reading the table

• Two number types, not comparable. An Ohio rate per $100 or a Washington rate per hour is what an employer pays before experience adjustments. A loss cost in an NCCI state is before the insurer’s multiplier. Never compare a loss cost in one state to a rate in another.
• Effective dates vary. Dates in the table run from December 1, 2025 (Delaware) to January 1, 2027 (Michigan pure premiums, which are posted ahead of their effective date). NCCI-state filings follow each state’s own cycle, which is why many cells read Not verified.
• For a quote check, use the state’s filed multiplier or published rate, and a class code from your policy.

Sources

1. 1
   Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, Missouri advisory voluntary loss cost filings, effective January 1, 2026 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Connecticut Insurance Department, Workers' compensation NCCI rate filing for 2026 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   WCIRB California, Filings and plans Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau, PCRB rating values Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau, Rating values, Basic Manual section 2 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board, Bulletin RC2659 (loss cost filing) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   North Carolina Rate Bureau, C-25-11 workers' comp loss cost filing approved effective 4-1-26 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Minnesota Workers' Compensation Insurers Association, Premium base rates Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Compensation Advisory Organization of Michigan, CAOM 2027 pure premium rates Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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