Nebraska Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Nebraska: what's different

Two agencies share the work in Nebraska. A specialized court, the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, receives injury reports and insurers' coverage reports and approves self-insurance. Pricing belongs to the Department of Insurance (DOI), which takes insurers' rate filings and contracts out the assigned risk plan. Nebraska licenses no state fund for this line, so employers buy from private carriers or qualify to self-insure.

Who must carry coverage

The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act reaches every employer in the state, resident or not, with one or more employees in its regular trade or business. There is no small-employer exemption, and Court guidance says part-time workers and minors are covered too. Independent contractors are outside the Act, and the Court applies a case-by-case, 10-factor test when that status is disputed.

Owners are treated differently depending on how the business is set up:

• Corporate executive officers owning under 25% of the common stock are employees. Officers holding 25% or more are not covered unless they elect in writing, filed with the corporation's secretary and the insurer.
• Sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members who work in the business substantially full time are outside the Act unless each one elects coverage in writing with the insurer.

Section 48-106 lists the exemptions: interstate railroads, household domestic servants in a private home, and most farm work. An agricultural operation that employs only related workers is exempt. One with unrelated workers is exempt until, in a calendar year, it has 10 or more unrelated full-time employees on each working day for 13 weeks; the Act then applies 30 days after the 13th week. An exempt farm employer that does not buy coverage must give each unrelated worker a written notice, signed and kept on file, or it becomes liable under the Act for that worker.

Out-of-state employers working in Nebraska for any length of time are covered. The Court says Nebraska has no agreements to honor coverage from other states' state funds, so the policy must come from an insurer licensed in Nebraska.

Construction work brings two more checks. Section 48-116 can make a contractor jointly liable for a subcontractor's injured workers, but not a contractor that, in good faith, required the sub to buy a policy from an insurer licensed in Nebraska. Contractors must also register with the Nebraska Department of Labor before doing construction work, and the application asks for proof of workers' comp, proof of approved self-insurance, or a signed statement that none is required.

Where coverage comes from

Section 48-145 gives employers four routes: a policy from a licensed insurer, approved self-insurance, membership in a risk management pool under the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act, or (for drivers only) an agreement with a self-insured motor carrier. Court Rule 69 adds that no employer and no employee may reject the Act.

To self-insure, the Court says you must be a corporation or political subdivision with at least five years in business under the current structure, at least 100 employees, a strong financial base, and a positive safety program. Approved self-insurers file a surety bond and excess insurance with the Court.

Who sets rates

Insurers' workers' comp rates are file-and-use under the Property and Casualty Insurance Rate and Form Act. Filings from advisory organizations, and assigned risk rates, fall under the prior-approval sections instead. In practice, carriers multiply advisory loss costs by a loss cost multiplier (LCM). The DOI says it allows one LCM per company, between 1.00 and 1.80, and individual-risk adjustments of up to 40% under section 44-7509. It also says it does not recognize schedule rating. The DOI posts a list of each insurer's LCM; the most recent list on its site is dated July 15, 2025.

Nebraska runs on a February 1 cycle. NCCI's calendar put the 2026 Nebraska effective date at February 1, 2026, with the filing due in October 2025, and NCCI posts a Nebraska trend supplement dated February 1, 2026. We did not find a DOI approval order or a published average change for that filing on the DOI site or NCCI's public pages as of October 17, 2026.

Experience rating

The DOI and the Court both send employers to NCCI for experience modification factors. The assigned risk plan applies your current Nebraska mod if one exists, or the mod from the expiring policy. The plan's rate notes say the Experience Rating Plan Manual sets the premium needed to qualify, and that amount changes by rating date.

If no insurer will write you

The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan covers employers who cannot get a voluntary policy. Under section 44-3,158, the DOI director contracts with one or more insurers for up to five years at a time. Travelers won the current bid, effective January 1, 2024, and serves as plan administrator and contract carrier.

You must apply in good faith. An employer that owes workers' comp premiums, has not repaid deductible losses, has blocked a premium audit, or has defrauded an insurer is not entitled to plan coverage. The plan's application instructions also ask for two carrier declinations and a physical Nebraska address.

Penalties for going uninsured

• Criminal. Willful failure to insure is a Class I misdemeanor, which the Court says can mean up to a year of imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, or both.
• Personal exposure. In a corporation, LLC, or LLP, the person with authority to buy coverage who willfully fails to do so can be charged individually and is personally liable for benefits owed.
• Daily fines. Either the compensation court or a district court can order a willful violator to pay as much as $1,000 for every day it stays uninsured.
• Shutdown. An uninsured employer may be enjoined from doing business in Nebraska until it complies.
• Lawsuits. An injured worker can sue the employer for damages, and the employer loses its common law defenses.

Your ongoing obligations

• First Report of Alleged Occupational Injury or Illness. You or your insurer must file it with the Court within 10 days after getting notice of a reportable injury. Reports are filed electronically unless the administrator approves paper.
• Proof of coverage. You do not file it yourself. Your insurer must report the policy to the Court within 10 days of its effective date, and the public can look up coverage on the Court's site.
• No paying medical bills directly. Unless you are self-insured, the Court says you may not pay an injured worker's medical bills yourself. Small claims go through the insurer, with any deductible repaid to it.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

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

Roofers fall in class 5551, which the DOI's plan bid document lists as Roofing, all kinds, and drivers. For Nebraska, the one published number we could tie to that code is $14.25 per $100 of payroll, the Travelers plan rate effective February 1, 2025. It is a rate for assigned risk policies only, not a voluntary loss cost, and the DOI's property and casualty page listed nothing newer on October 17, 2026. A voluntary carrier would start from NCCI loss costs and apply its own LCM instead. Our payroll and mod are invented for the example.

• Hypothetical annual roofing payroll: $250,000
• Assigned risk rate for 5551 (effective February 1, 2025): $14.25
• Hypothetical experience mod: 0.95

Step by step

1. Divide payroll by 100: $250,000 / 100 = 2,500
2. Multiply by the rate: 2,500 x $14.25 = $35,625.00
3. Multiply by the mod: $35,625.00 x 0.95 = $33,843.75

Plan policies also add a $240 expense constant and give a size discount once standard premium passes $5,000. Our calculator skips both.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106, Employer coverage and exemptions
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115, Employee defined; officers and owners
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-116, Contractor liability
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-144.01, Injury reports
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-144.02, Insurer coverage reports
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145, Insurance required; methods; damages
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01, Penalties and injunction
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2103, Contractor Registration Act definitions
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104, Contractor registration required
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2105, Registration application
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-3,158, Assigned risk system
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-7506, Rate filing paths
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-7508, File-and-use filings
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-7509, Individual risk premium adjustments
• Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Employer Frequently Asked Questions
• Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Rule 29
• Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Rule 32
• Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, Rule 69
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Property and Casualty
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Workers' Compensation FAQ's
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Workers' Compensation filing checklist
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Loss Cost Multipliers in Effect as of July 15, 2025
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Travelers awarded the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Assigned risk rates effective February 1, 2025
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Assigned risk miscellaneous values effective February 1, 2025
• Nebraska Department of Insurance, Solicitation for Proposal, Workers' Compensation Insurance Assigned Risk Plan (class 5551 title)
• Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan, Application Instructions
• NCCI, Anticipated Effective Dates by State
• NCCI, Trend Information, Nebraska

Sources accessed 2026-10-17.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court.

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