Colorado Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Colorado: what's different

The DOWC says all Colorado coverage is sold by private carriers and there is no state fund. One insurer still has a special role. Pinnacol Assurance, created by statute as a political subdivision of the state that operates as a domestic mutual insurance company, may not turn away a Colorado employer because of risk of loss or premium size. The Division of Workers' Compensation (DOWC), part of the Department of Labor and Employment, enforces the coverage rules and handles claims. The Division of Insurance approves the annual NCCI loss cost filing that every insurer starts from.

Who must carry coverage

One employee is enough. The DOWC says any business with one or more employees working in Colorado must buy coverage and keep it in force, whether those workers are part-time, full-time, or relatives. Anyone paid for their work is presumed to be an employee, and a 1099 does not change that.

Points to check:

• Corporate officers and LLC members. An officer or LLC member who owns at least 10% and manages the business may reject coverage for themselves. For an officer, the title must be chair of the board, president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer. The rejection goes on a division-approved form, sent to the company's insurer (or to the division if there is no insurer). It takes effect the day after receipt.
• Sole proprietors and partners. A working general partner or sole proprietor may elect coverage by endorsement. In construction, the DOWC says even a sole proprietorship or partnership must either insure the owner or file a rejection of coverage.
• Construction sites. Everyone doing construction work on a construction site must be covered, and whoever hires a direct contractor must either cover that contractor or get proof of coverage or of a filed rejection. Since May 29, 2026, an applicant for a building or construction permit on a project over $1 million must file a signed declaration, before work starts, that everyone working under the permit has coverage (SB 26-093).
• Domestic and casual work. Household workers are exempt unless they work 40 or more hours a week or five or more days a week. Casual farm and ranch labor, and casual maintenance or yard work at a business, are exempt only while those wages stay at $2,000 or less a year and the employer has no other covered employees.
• Out-of-state employers. If your insurer cannot write Colorado coverage for your workers here, the DOWC says you need a policy from another insurer.

You may not deduct any part of the premium from wages.

Where coverage comes from

The statute lists four ways to comply: a policy with Pinnacol Assurance, a policy with another licensed stock or mutual insurer, a self-insurance permit from the executive director of the Department of Labor and Employment (the DOWC takes these requests), or a self-insurance certificate from the Commissioner of Insurance (the route for pools). More than 500 licensed companies can write it, according to the DOWC.

Pinnacol's status is unusual. The DOWC states that there is no state fund and that all coverage is sold by private carriers. Under the statute, Pinnacol is not a state agency, and the state has no liability for the solvency of the Pinnacol Assurance fund. Its board of directors sets Pinnacol's rates, subject to the Commissioner's rate regulation.

Individual self-insurance needs at least five years in business and either 300 full-time Colorado employees or $100 million in assets, plus excess insurance and security such as a bond.

Who sets rates

NCCI files advisory loss costs and rating values with the Division of Insurance each year. Loss costs exclude every expense except loss adjustment expense. The Division explains that each insurer adds its own expenses on top to reach the rates it charges.

On October 27, 2025, the Commissioner approved NCCI's filing as submitted (Order O-26-010). It cut average loss costs by 6.9% effective January 1, 2026, with contracting classes down 8.2%. NCCI has since filed for an average change of -3.9% effective January 1, 2027, and an independent actuary's review was dated September 16, 2026. No approval order for 2027 had been posted when we checked.

Experience rating

Mods follow NCCI's Experience Rating Plan Manual for Colorado. For rating dates on or after July 1, 2026, you qualify for intrastate rating with at least $12,500 of subject premium in the latest 24 months of the experience period, or $6,250 a year on average if more than 24 months are used. Disputes over mod calculations or class assignments against an insurer or Pinnacol go to the Workers' Compensation Classification Appeals Board, which the Division of Insurance oversees.

If no insurer will write you

In Colorado, this is Pinnacol's job. The statute bars it from refusing any Colorado employer, or canceling a policy, because of risk of loss or amount of premium. Two limits apply. Pinnacol need not issue a new policy until you pay what you owe it on past policies. If another insurer canceled you for fraud or intentional misrepresentation, Pinnacol may add a surcharge of up to 50% for up to 12 months.

Penalties for going uninsured

An uninsured employer may not keep operating. After an investigation, and a hearing if needed, the director can order the business to cease and desist and can fine it up to $250 a day for a first violation, and $250 to $500 a day for later ones. Fines can reach back only three years before the division's notice.

If a worker is hurt while you are uninsured, the worker can still claim benefits from you. You must also pay 25% of those benefits to the Colorado Uninsured Employer Fund. Ignoring the resulting order adds the greater of 50% of the award or $1,000, plus attorney fees.

Your ongoing obligations

• Post the notice. Keep the Notice to Employer of Injury poster (WC 50) displayed at all times. The statute requires a posted notice of workers' rights, and if that notice was not up when a worker was hurt, the worker's deadline to report the injury is paused.
• Report injuries. Notify your insurer within 10 days on the Employer's First Report of Injury (WC 1), however minor the injury. For a death, or an accident injuring three or more workers, call your insurer immediately. The DOWC says the insurer then files a First Report of Injury with the division within 10 days when an injury causes more than three days or shifts of lost time, permanent impairment, or death.
• Medical providers. Give the injured worker a designated provider list right away, and in writing within seven business days. It must name four physicians or corporate medical providers within 30 miles. HB25-1300 changes how the treating physician is chosen for claims filed on or after January 1, 2028.
• Workers' deadline. Under the statute, an injured employee must give written notice within 10 days or can lose up to one day's compensation for each day late. The DOWC's reporting page says 10 working days, so act early.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

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

NCCI's advisory loss cost for roofing (code 5551) is $5.404 per $100 of payroll, effective January 1, 2026. That is a loss cost, not a rate. Insurers add their own expenses, so the example uses an illustrative loss cost multiplier. The payroll, multiplier, and mod are hypothetical.

• Annual payroll (hypothetical): $300,000
• Code 5551 loss cost: $5.404
• Loss cost multiplier (illustrative): 1.35
• Experience mod (hypothetical): 0.92

Step by step

1. Rate: $5.404 x 1.35 = $7.2954 per $100
2. Payroll in hundreds: $300,000 / 100 = 3,000
3. Manual premium: 3,000 x $7.2954 = $21,886.20
4. Apply the mod: $21,886.20 x 0.92 = $20,135.30

Roofing does not follow the statewide average. The proposed 2027 filing raises code 5551 to $5.485, even though the average falls 3.9%. At that figure, the same payroll and multiplier give $22,214.25 before the mod.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• DOWC, Employers
• DOWC, Workers' Compensation Insurance Requirements
• DOWC, How to Get Workers' Compensation Coverage
• DOWC, Independent Contractors and Coverage Exemptions
• DOWC, Reporting Injuries
• DOWC, Colorado Uninsured Employer Fund
• Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 8 (C.R.S. 8-40-203, 8-40-302, 8-41-202, 8-41-404, 8-43-101, 8-43-102, 8-43-408, 8-43-409, 8-44-101, 8-45-101 to 8-45-117)
• Colorado General Assembly, SB 26-093
• Colorado General Assembly, SB 26-186 (amends C.R.S. 8-41-202(1) and 8-43-409(1))
• Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1300
• Division of Insurance, Workers' Compensation Insurance
• Division of Insurance, Commissioner's Order O-26-010 (NCCI loss costs effective Jan. 1, 2026)
• Division of Insurance, news release on the 2026 loss cost decrease
• NCCI, Colorado Advisory Loss Costs and Rating Values Filing, effective Jan. 1, 2026 (on the Division of Insurance site)
• NCCI, Colorado Advisory Loss Costs and Rating Values Filing, proposed effective Jan. 1, 2027
• Division of Insurance, Davies review of the 2027 NCCI filing

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

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

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