Alaska Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Alaska: what's different

Alaska has no state fund. Coverage comes from private insurers licensed by the Alaska Division of Insurance, or from Board-certified self-insurance. Two agencies split the work. The Division of Workers' Compensation, part of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, enforces the duty to insure and handles claims. The Division of Insurance regulates insurers and premiums. NCCI is the licensed rating organization and files loss costs for the Division of Insurance to approve.

Who must carry coverage

The Alaska Workers' Compensation Act requires every employer with one or more employees in Alaska to buy workers' comp insurance, unless the Workers' Compensation Board has approved it as a self-insurer. Part-time and temporary workers count, and there is no minimum number of employees or hours. Family members, friends, and "volunteers" working for a for-profit business must also be covered.

No industry is exempt. The exemptions in AS 23.30.230 depend on the work a person does. They include part-time babysitters, household cleaning persons, harvest help and similar transient help, contract entertainers, amateur sports officials, commercial fishermen, and some taxi, rideshare, and real estate workers. A worker who meets every test in the statute's independent contractor definition is also excluded.

Owners get their own rules:

• Sole proprietors and partners are exempt from insuring themselves. Under AS 23.30.239, each can elect coverage by applying in writing to an insurer.
• LLC members and for-profit corporate officers who own at least 10% of the business are not employees under AS 23.30.240. The company can bring them under its policy by naming them in the insurance contract. Officers who own less than 10% are employees who must be insured.
• Executive officers of municipal and nonprofit corporations are not employees unless the corporation elects to cover them.

Alaska has no reciprocity agreements with other states or countries. An out-of-state employer with workers in Alaska needs a policy from an insurer admitted in Alaska. A policy from another state does not satisfy the law, even if it claims to cover Alaska injuries.

Where coverage comes from

• Private insurers. You buy a policy through an agent or broker from a carrier the Division of Insurance authorizes to write workers' comp in Alaska.
• Self-insurance. The division lists the conditions: at least five years in business in Alaska, at least 100 employees, a net worth of at least $10,000,000, a safety program, and claims service inside Alaska. The security deposit is $600,000 or 125% of accrued workers' comp liability, whichever is greater. A certificate lasts one year.
• Assigned Risk Pool. Employers no insurer will take can buy coverage through the pool (see below).

Who sets rates

Each year the Director of Insurance holds a public hearing under AS 21.39.043 on NCCI's loss cost filing, then approves, modifies, or disapproves it. A loss cost covers expected benefit costs. Each insurer adds its own expense provision on top, so premiums for the same employer can differ from one carrier to the next.

The latest approved filing we found took effect January 1, 2026. Regulatory Order R 25-03, dated November 26, 2025, approved NCCI's 2026 filing. That filing proposed an overall 3.7% decrease in voluntary loss costs and a 4.8% decrease in assigned risk rates; the order does not restate final percentages. The order also requires every carrier writing workers' comp in Alaska to use the NCCI-approved loss costs, rating plans, rules, and classifications unless it has an approved deviation.

Alaska uses NCCI class codes, and NCCI's roofing class is 5551. Alaska's 2026 loss cost pages list codes without class names; code 5551 carries an advisory loss cost of $7.411 per $100 of payroll, effective January 1, 2026. Insurers must offer an installment plan when the annual premium is over $2,000, if the employer asks.

Experience rating

Because carriers must follow NCCI-approved rating plans, Alaska experience mods follow NCCI's Experience Rating Plan Manual. Eligibility depends on premium, and the 2026 loss cost pages point to that manual for current amounts. We did not find the Alaska dollar threshold in a source we could read, so ask your agent or NCCI.

To dispute a class code or premium, the Division of Insurance says to start with your insurer, then use NCCI's dispute process and its Alaska Grievance Committee, and finally ask the Director of Insurance for a hearing.

If no insurer will write you

The Alaska Assigned Risk Pool is administered by NCCI under a contract with the Division of Workers' Compensation. An agent or broker can help you apply. Pool policies use NCCI's classifications, rates, and rating plans exactly as approved, with no exceptions. For class 5551, the assigned risk rate effective January 1, 2026 is $10.420 per $100 of payroll. State rules require every admitted, non-exempt workers' comp insurer to take part in the pool.

Penalties for going uninsured

• Stop order. The Board, or the division director after an investigation, can bar you from using employee labor until you get coverage.
• Daily fines. The Board can assess up to $1,000 per employee for each day an employee works while you are uninsured. Ignoring a stop order can bring $1,000 a day, and for a Board stop order that penalty is mandatory.
• Contract ban. Violating a stop order bars you from state and local public contracts for three years.
• Criminal case. On conviction, the court must impose a $10,000 fine and may add up to one year in jail. For a corporation, the people who had authority to buy coverage and the person running the business face the same penalties. They are also personally liable for unpaid benefits.
• Lawsuits. An injured worker can sue you, and you lose defenses such as the worker's own negligence or a co-worker's fault. The law presumes your negligence caused the injury.

The division can look back six years for coverage lapses. If you do not pay a worker's benefits, the Workers' Compensation Benefits Guaranty Fund may pay them. The fund then seeks repayment from you, including legal costs.

Your ongoing obligations

• Post the notice. Display the Employers' Notice of Insurance (Form 07-6120) in three conspicuous places. The division says it must show the policy number, effective dates, and contact details for the insurer and adjuster.
• Report injuries within 10 days. File a report with the division within 10 days of learning of an injury, death, or illness that an employee says is work-related. The form is the Report of Occupational Injury or Illness (Form 07-6101). If you are insured, report to your insurer's claims administrator, who files with the division. You may not refuse to file because you doubt the claim. If you file late or not at all, the Board can order you to pay an extra 20% of any benefits that were unpaid when due.
• Keep records. Keep accurate employee and payroll records and provide them to department representatives when asked.
• Check subcontractors. Under NCCI policies the Division of Insurance approved, your insurer must charge extra premium for each subcontractor who cannot show proof of coverage. The division's online coverage verification service checks one date at a time.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

The figure below is the NCCI advisory loss cost for class 5551 (roofing), effective January 1, 2026, as approved by the Division of Insurance. A loss cost is not a rate; each insurer applies its own loss cost multiplier (LCM). The 1.40 LCM, the payroll, and the mod are hypothetical.

• Annual payroll: $400,000 (hypothetical)
• Class 5551 loss cost: $7.411 per $100
• LCM: 1.40 (illustrative)
• Experience mod: 0.90 (hypothetical)

Step by step

1. Rate: $7.411 x 1.40 = $10.375 per $100 (rounded)
2. Payroll in hundreds: $400,000 / 100 = 4,000
3. Manual premium: 4,000 x $10.375 = $41,500
4. Apply the mod: $41,500 x 0.90 = $37,350

For comparison, the same payroll and mod at the 2026 assigned risk rate of $10.420 come to $37,512.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Requirements for Employers
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Employer's Guide to the Alaska Workers' Compensation Act (rev. Sept 2022)
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, home page (penalties summary, Benefits Guaranty Fund)
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Self-Insurance
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Benefits Guaranty Fund
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Forms (Forms 07-6101 and 07-6120)
• Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation, Online Employer Coverage Verification Service
• AS 23.30.060 (notice of insurance)
• AS 23.30.070 (report of injury)
• AS 23.30.075 (duty to insure, criminal penalty)
• AS 23.30.080 (failure to insure, stop orders, civil penalties)
• AS 23.30.082 (Benefits Guaranty Fund)
• AS 23.30.230 (persons not covered)
• AS 23.30.239 (sole proprietors and partners)
• AS 23.30.240 (corporate officers and LLC members)
• AS 23.30.395 (definitions of employee and employer)
• 3 AAC 30 (assigned risk pool)
• Alaska Division of Insurance, Workers' Compensation
• Alaska Division of Insurance, Regulatory Order R 25-03
• Alaska Division of Insurance, January 2026 Loss Costs
• Alaska Division of Insurance, January 2026 Assigned Risk Rates

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Workers' Compensation.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.