New Hampshire Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in New Hampshire: what's different

New Hampshire splits the job between two agencies. The Department of Labor's Workers' Compensation Division enforces RSA 281-A, including the rule that employers carry coverage, and it holds hearings on disputed claims. The New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID) approves the loss costs that insurers price from, which NCCI files as the state's licensed advisory organization. There is no state fund. Employers insure with a licensed company or qualify to self-insure.

Who must carry coverage

Under RSA 281-A:2, a private employer is anyone who employs one or more persons. Workers hired outside the state count if they actually work in New Hampshire. Anyone you pay for services is presumed to be an employee. Rebutting that takes proof that the worker meets all seven statutory tests, such as controlling how and when the work is done.

The rules for owners turn on how the business is organized:

• Corporate officers and LLC members. A corporation or LLC may exclude up to three executive officers or members, but only by an exclusion properly filed with the Labor Commissioner. The NHID notes this is not automatic.
• Counting rule. When deciding whether a corporation or LLC is an employer at all, up to three executive officers or LLC members and managers are not counted. Any beyond three count as employees.
• Sole proprietors and partners are covered only if they elect it. The NHID says the law does not require a sole proprietor working for a general contractor to carry a policy, though the general contractor may demand one.
• Domestic workers. Insurers that sell homeowner's, tenant's, or personal liability policies in the state must include workers' comp for domestics unless the household has a separate policy.

The chapter applies to nonresident employers and employees doing business in New Hampshire. The NHID adds that this reaches anyone who stops and works in the state, but not someone just passing through.

Construction brings extra exposure. A contractor is liable for compensation owed to a subcontractor's employees unless the sub has secured coverage. In nonresidential building, the Labor Commissioner can demand a compliance statement listing employees and hours by NCCI class code, due within 30 days, with fines of up to $1,000 per week for missing or false statements.

Where coverage comes from

RSA 281-A:5 gives private employers two main routes: a policy from a company licensed to write workers' comp in New Hampshire, or proof of financial ability to pay benefits directly (self-insurance). A private employer, or a group of homogeneous employers in similar trades, can self-insure if it keeps actuarially sound loss reserves and buys specific excess insurance. The Department of Labor says the full retained risk must be guaranteed, most often with a surety bond, and the excess coverage must leave no gap.

Who sets rates

NCCI prepares the rate filings, and the NHID reviews and approves them. Every insurer writing voluntary workers' comp in New Hampshire must adopt the approved loss costs, then adjust for its own expenses.

On August 6, 2025, the NHID approved an average 6.1% cut in voluntary loss costs and a 5.4% cut in assigned risk rates, for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026. That was the 14th straight annual decrease, with a cumulative drop of more than 66%.

For 2027, NCCI submitted a filing to the NHID on July 21, 2026, proposing a 2.9% decrease in voluntary loss costs and a 3.4% decrease in assigned risk rates, effective January 1, 2027. We could not retrieve an NHID approval notice for it as of October 17, 2026.

Experience rating

RSA 281-A:64 refers to the experience modification factors promulgated by NCCI. To dispute a mod or a class code, the NHID says to talk first with your agent and insurer, then contact NCCI. After that, the New Hampshire Workers' Compensation Classification and Rating Appeals Board can hear the case, and the Insurance Commissioner after it. RSA 281-A:64 also has the Labor Commissioner work with NCCI on a list of the employers with the highest and lowest mods.

If no insurer will write you

The New Hampshire Workers Compensation Insurance Plan is the assigned risk market. NCCI serves as its pool and plan administrator, and servicing carriers or direct assignment carriers issue the policies. The NHID warns that pricing choices are limited in the assigned risk market, and that an insurer charging more than the plan must tell you so.

Penalties for going uninsured

• Civil penalties. The Labor Commissioner can assess up to $2,500, plus up to $100 per employee for each day without coverage, counted from the first day and capped at one year.
• Personal liability. Anyone with control over paying funds and salaries who knowingly fails to secure coverage is personally liable for the penalties.
• Felony. Purposely failing to secure coverage is a class B felony.
• Shutdown. The commissioner can ask the superior court to bar you from doing business in the state until you comply.
• Claims against you. The commissioner can award benefits you must pay within 10 days, recorded as an 8-year lien on your property. Or the worker can sue you without the usual immunity.

Your ongoing obligations

• Posting. Keep a notice in a conspicuous place showing that you operate under RSA 281-A. Each day without it is a violation. Employers covered only because they employ domestics are exempt.
• First report. Report any work injury to the Labor Commissioner within 5 days of learning of it, using the Employer's First Report of Occupational Injury or Disease (Form 8WC), and send a copy to your insurer. If disability lasts beyond 3 days, a supplemental report is due within 7 days of the injury. Missing the first report, or discouraging workers from reporting, can each cost up to $2,500.
• Return to work. With 5 or more employees, you must offer temporary alternative work and reinstate an injured worker to the former job on request, a right that ends 18 months after the injury.
• Safety program. With 15 or more employees, you must file a written safety program, update it at least every 2 years, and run a joint loss management committee. Noncompliance can cost up to $250 a day.
• Proof of coverage. Your insurer files a notice of coverage with the Labor Commissioner, and faces daily penalties if it does not. The Department of Labor designated NCCI as its agent to collect Form 6WC filings. A carrier ending your coverage must file a termination notice, which takes effect no sooner than 30 days after filing for nonpayment or 45 days for other reasons, or sooner if you get new coverage.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

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

Roofing is class 5551, listed by the NHID as "Roofing - All Kinds & Drivers." The NHID's rates and loss costs table effective January 1, 2025, shows a voluntary market loss cost of $9.46 per $100 of payroll for 5551 (the residual market rate in the same table is $14.26). The NHID also lists a 2026 table, which we could not open; the 2026 approval cut loss costs 6.1% on average, so the current 5551 figure may differ. Carriers multiply a loss cost by their loss cost multiplier (LCM). The LCM, payroll, and mod below are illustrative.

• 5551 voluntary loss cost (effective January 1, 2025): $9.46
• Illustrative LCM: 1.40
• Hypothetical annual roofing payroll: $300,000
• Hypothetical experience mod: 1.08

Step by step

1. Rate: $9.46 x 1.40 = $13.244 per $100
2. Divide payroll by 100: $300,000 / 100 = 3,000
3. Multiply by the rate: 3,000 x $13.244 = $39,732.00
4. Multiply by the mod: $39,732.00 x 1.08 = $42,910.56

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• RSA Chapter 281-A, Workers' Compensation
• NH Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation
• NH Department of Labor, Workplace Injuries
• NH Department of Labor, Self-Insurance
• NH Department of Labor, Proof of Coverage Overview
• NH Insurance Department, Workers' Compensation
• NH Insurance Department, Workers' Compensation Rate and Form Filings FAQs
• NH Insurance Department, 14th consecutive rate reduction (August 6, 2025)
• NH Insurance Department, 2025 Classifications, Rates and Loss Costs
• NCCI, Summary of the Proposed New Hampshire Filing Effective January 1, 2027
• NCCI, New Hampshire Residual Market State Activity Report, Second Quarter 2026

Sources accessed 2026-10-17.

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

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