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Kentucky Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Estimate a Kentucky workers' comp premium from payroll, a rate per $100 and your experience mod. Default rates are illustrative.

Regulator
Kentucky Department of Workers' Claims
Market Type
Private insurers and KEMI
Rating Organization
NCCI
Class System
NCCI class codes
Step 1 — Your Business
About Your Kentucky Business
Step 2 — Experience & Claims
Your Claims History
Total Incurred ($)
# of Claims
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Step 3 — Compare Options
Coverage Options
Your Results
Premium Estimate
Estimated Annual Premium
$0
Payroll/100 × Rate × EMR
YearEstimate
Illustrative Mod Path (3 Years)
Current Path
PEO Path

An estimate, not a quote. How this calculator works.

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Workers' comp in Kentucky: what's different

Kentucky lets employers buy from private carriers or from a competitive state fund, the Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance Authority (KEMI), which the law also makes the insurer of last resort. Claims and coverage compliance belong to the Department of Workers' Claims (DWC). Rates fall under the Kentucky Department of Insurance (DOI), which reviews the loss costs that NCCI files each year. Since April 27, 2026, KRS 342.118 attaches the DWC administratively to the Office of the Governor.

Who must carry coverage

KRS 342.630 makes any person with one or more employees in Kentucky subject to the law, unless the business is engaged solely in agriculture. The DWC says family members, temporary workers, and part-time workers all count as employees.

KRS 342.650 lists the exempt workers. Those most relevant to a small business:

  • Farm and household workers. Agricultural employees are exempt. So is a domestic servant in a private home, if the employer has fewer than two domestic employees each working 40 or more hours a week.
  • Short repair jobs. Someone hired for no more than 20 consecutive work days to maintain, repair, or remodel your private home is exempt. The same applies at your business premises if you have no other covered employees.
  • Corporate officers. Executive officers are employees by statute. An officer can opt out by filing an Employee's Written Notice of Rejection (Form 4). The DWC must receive the notarized original, and the officer gives up benefits. Under KRS 342.395, you cannot make signing a rejection a condition of hiring or keeping a job.
  • Owners. Sole proprietors, qualified partners, and qualified LLC members are covered only if they elect coverage through a policy endorsement. Nonqualified partners or members, who draw regular pay without sharing profits or decisions, must be covered.

Construction has extra rules. A contractor is liable for compensation to a subcontractor's workers if the subcontractor has not secured coverage. Local building officials must see proof of coverage before issuing a building permit. A builder with no employees signs an Affidavit of Exemption instead, and the official files it with the DWC.

Out-of-state employers working in Kentucky need a policy that provides Kentucky coverage. The DWC does not accept an "all states" endorsement for this, and an Ohio employer needs a separate policy even for temporary work here.

Where coverage comes from

KRS 342.340 and 342.350 allow three routes:

  1. Insurance. Buy a policy from any carrier authorized to write workers' comp in Kentucky, including KEMI, which the legislature set up as a self-supporting competitive state fund.
  2. Group self-insurance. Twenty or more employers that share common interests or belong to the same bona fide trade association can pool their liabilities. The DOI now regulates these groups.
  3. Individual self-insurance. The DWC commissioner must authorize it. The applicant (or a guarantor) needs assets exceeding liabilities by at least $10 million, three years of audited financials, and posted security of at least $500,000.

Who sets rates

NCCI is the licensed advisory organization that files loss costs for Kentucky. A loss cost covers expected claims only, not insurer expenses. Carriers typically adjust loss costs with a loss cost multiplier to set their rates. KEMI sets its own rating plans and files its rates with the DOI like any other mutual insurer.

The DOI's latest announcement we found covers the 2024 filing. It approved an average loss cost cut of 8.4%, effective January 1, 2025. NCCI then proposed a further 9.7% cut, effective January 1, 2026. NCCI's newest summary calls it the most recent Kentucky filing, effective January 1, 2026, but we did not find a DOI approval notice for it. On September 9, 2026, NCCI submitted its next filing, which proposes no overall change (0.0%) for January 1, 2027. We found no decision on it yet.

Experience rating

A DOI regulation, 806 KAR 13:130, adopts NCCI's Experience Rating Plan Manual for Kentucky. Your mod is built from three full years of experience ending one year before it takes effect. It is recalculated every year, lasts 12 months, and covers all of your operations. A business qualifies once its premium reaches the state qualifying amount in the approved NCCI publications; we did not find that dollar figure posted publicly. Under NCCI's Plan, rating is mandatory once you qualify. Whoever calculates your mod must give you a written explanation of the data and method behind it.

If no insurer will write you

KEMI must cover any employer that cannot get coverage in the voluntary market. It can refuse only if the employer owes undisputed premium to a previous carrier or a residual market mechanism, or if writing the policy would break federal or state law.

Penalties for going uninsured

  • Civil fines. The commissioner can cite you for $100 to $1,000 per offense. Each employee and each day without coverage counts as a separate offense. You have 15 working days after receiving a citation to contest it.
  • Criminal charges. Violating KRS 342.630, the section that makes employers with one or more employees subject to the law, is also a crime. Each offense carries a fine of $100 to $1,000, 30 to 180 days in jail, or both.
  • Personal liability. An owner, partner, LLC principal, or corporate officer who knowingly authorized or carried out the violation is personally liable for the penalties.
  • Lawsuits. An injured worker can claim benefits and also sue you in court. You lose the defenses of fellow-servant negligence, assumption of risk, and contributory negligence.
  • Uninsured Employers' Fund. If the fund pays your worker, you must repay it. When a claim is filed and you had no coverage, the commissioner records a certificate that acts as a lien on your assets for 10 years unless released sooner.
  • Shutdown. The commissioner can ask the Franklin Circuit Court to stop your operations.

Your ongoing obligations

  • Report injuries to your carrier. Tell your insurer about any work injury or alleged injury within three working days of learning of it, whether or not anyone saw it happen.
  • First report to the DWC. If an injury keeps a worker off the job for more than one day, the carrier must file the report (Form IA-1) with the DWC within one week. It goes in electronically through an approved EDI vendor. You must also keep a record of every work injury.
  • Post the notice. Display the Workers Compensation Notice at your main office and wherever employees report for payroll. It must name your carrier, policy number, and policy dates, and say how to get medical care. Your carrier supplies copies.
  • No payroll deductions. You cannot take any part of the premium out of employee wages.
  • Proof of coverage. Your carrier files Form POC-1 with the DWC within 10 days of issuing a policy, and reports changes and cancellations. Anyone can check an employer's status with the DWC's Insurance Coverage Lookup.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

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

We found no class-by-class Kentucky loss costs on the DOI site. Its 2022 approval notice sent anyone wanting filing details to an open records request. With no published figure for roofing (NCCI class 5551) in hand, every number below is illustrative, not a Kentucky rate.

  • Annual roofing payroll (hypothetical): $250,000
  • Rate per $100 (illustrative, already including insurer expenses): $8.00
  • Experience mod (hypothetical): 0.90

The arithmetic

  1. Divide payroll by 100: $250,000 / 100 = 2,500
  2. Multiply by the rate: 2,500 x $8.00 = $20,000.00
  3. Multiply by the mod: $20,000.00 x 0.90 = $18,000.00

Kentucky also levies a special fund assessment on workers' comp premium, set by the Kentucky Workers' Compensation Funding Commission. The rate is 5.53% for policies effective in 2026 and in 2027. Carriers may pass it on to you, but the bill must show it separately from premium, and the carrier cannot collect more than the assessment. On this example, 5.53% of $18,000.00 adds $995.40. The calculator leaves it out. Local governments' insurance premium taxes do not apply to workers' comp premiums.

Frequently asked questions

Does Kentucky have a state fund?

Yes. KEMI is a competitive state fund. It sells policies alongside private carriers and must cover employers shut out of the voluntary market, with two narrow exceptions (unpaid undisputed premium, or coverage that would break the law).

Do I need coverage for just one part-time worker?

Usually yes. The law applies to any employer with one or more employees, and the DWC treats part-time, temporary, and family workers as employees. The exemptions are narrow.

Is my Ohio or "all states" policy enough for a job in Kentucky?

No. The DWC requires a policy that provides Kentucky coverage. It does not accept an all-states endorsement for this, and Ohio employers need a separate policy.

What is the extra charge on my Kentucky workers' comp bill?

Most likely the special fund assessment, 5.53% of premium for 2026 and 2027 policies. Carriers must list it separately from premium.

Official sources

Sources accessed 2026-10-17.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Kentucky Department of Workers' Claims.

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