Virginia Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Virginia: what's different

Virginia has no state fund, and the Workers' Compensation Commission (VWC) sells no coverage. Oversight is split two ways. The Commission runs the Act and checks that employers comply, while the Bureau of Insurance at the State Corporation Commission (SCC) handles premium, pricing, rates and audits. NCCI is the licensed rating organization that files advisory loss costs and assigned risk rates for the Bureau's review.

Who must carry coverage

The trigger is headcount. VWC guidance says an employer that regularly employs more than two part-time or full-time employees must carry coverage. The Code puts it the other way around: employees of a business with fewer than three regularly in service are outside the Act unless they and their employer elect in.

Who counts is broad:

• Part-time, seasonal and temporary workers, minors, trainees and working family members all count.
• Corporate officers and LLC managers are employees under the Act, even if they draw no regular salary.
• Subcontractors' employees count toward your total when the sub does work in your trade or helps fulfill your contract. VWC's own example: one employee of yours plus two subs with one employee each makes three, so you need a policy, even if both subs are insured.
• A 1099 settles nothing. Common law tests apply, and control over how the work is done weighs most.

Some groups are carved out. A sole proprietor with no employees who hires no subcontractors need not buy coverage. The definition of employee leaves out casual employees, domestic servants, and farm and horticultural laborers unless the farm regularly has more than three full-time employees. Commission-paid real estate agents working under a qualifying written contract are excluded too.

Owners can opt in or out in specific ways. A sole proprietor, the only shareholder of a corporation, the only member of an LLC, or all partners can elect coverage by notifying the insurer. An executive officer can reject coverage for injury by accident (not occupational disease) by giving notice to the employer and filing with the Commission. VWC approves that filing (Form 16A) only when the business already has valid coverage. Virginia offers no exemption or waiver form for a business that is not required to insure.

Out-of-state employers. Work done in Virginia needs Virginia coverage, even if it is temporary, and Virginia has no reciprocity with any state. Virginia must appear in Item 3A of the policy; a listing under Item 3C is not enough.

Where coverage comes from

Code § 65.2-801 lists five ways to secure liability:

1. A policy from an insurer authorized to write workers' comp in Virginia.
2. A self-insurer certificate from the VWC.
3. Membership in a group self-insurance association licensed by the SCC.
4. Membership in a local government group self-insurance pool (public employers).
5. An agreement with a professional employer organization that includes voluntary market coverage from an authorized insurer.

Who sets rates

NCCI filed for a 7.7% average decrease in advisory loss costs for industrial classifications, effective April 1, 2026. The SCC approved it in a final order dated December 29, 2025 (Case No. INS-2025-00058). Assigned risk rates for industrial classes also fell 7.7%. The same order kept a terrorism charge of $0.01 per $100 of payroll.

The next filing is pending. On July 22, 2026, NCCI asked for a 5.6% cut in voluntary loss costs and an 8.2% cut in assigned risk rates for April 1, 2027. The SCC docket for that case (INS-2026-00031) was still open on October 17, 2026.

Loss costs leave out carrier expenses. Each insurer adds its own loss cost multiplier, and the Bureau posts the list of multipliers on file. By law, insurers must give a premium discount of up to 5% to employers that run a drug-free workplace program, using their own criteria.

Experience rating

NCCI's Experience Rating Plan Manual governs mods. The filing NCCI put before the SCC lists a minimum subject premium of $10,000 over the latest 24 months of experience for ratings effective October 1, 2026 and after ($9,500 for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026).

If no insurer will write you

NCCI is Pool and Plan Administrator of the Virginia Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, the assigned risk market. VWC tells employers who are turned down in the voluntary market to contact NCCI. Roofing (code 5551) ranked third by policy count and second by premium in NCCI's plan report for data through June 30, 2026.

Penalties for going uninsured

• Civil penalty. Up to $250 for each day without coverage, capped at $50,000, plus collection costs.
• Shutdown. After a finding of noncompliance and 15 days' written notice by certified mail, the Commission may order you to cease all business operations until you comply.
• Criminal charge. Knowingly and intentionally failing to insure is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
• Lawsuits. An injured worker can claim benefits or sue you, and you lose the defenses of the worker's own negligence, a coworker's negligence and assumed risk.
• The Uninsured Employer's Fund. If you are uninsured, the Commission can pay a compensable claim from this fund. It then steps into the worker's rights against you and refers unpaid claims to the Attorney General for collection.

Your ongoing obligations

• Post the Workers' Compensation Notice (Form 1) in a conspicuous place, or on your website if you have no physical location.
• Keep an injury record and report. A report must reach the Commission within 10 days of knowledge of the injury, sent by you, your representative or your insurer. A minor accident, defined by VWC criteria such as no more than 7 days lost and medical bills of $1,000 or less, gets 30 days. Failing to report can cost up to $500 per failure, or $500 to $5,000 if willful.
• Give a physician panel. The workplace notice tells employers to offer the injured worker at least three doctors from different practice groups.
• Warn workers before canceling. Give covered employees 30 days' written notice before you cancel a policy, unless a new policy replaces it with no lapse.
• Don't charge employees. Deducting any part of the premium from wages can bring a fine of up to $100 per offense, plus a refund.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

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

NCCI's filing in SCC Case INS-2025-00058 lists an advisory loss cost of 5.005 per $100 of payroll for class 5551 (Roofing, all kinds and drivers), effective April 1, 2026. The SCC approved that filing. A loss cost is not a rate; it leaves out expenses other than loss adjustment. The 1.50 multiplier below is illustrative, and the payroll and mod are hypothetical.

• Hypothetical roofing payroll: $250,000
• Advisory loss cost (April 1, 2026): 5.005
• Illustrative loss cost multiplier: 1.50
• Hypothetical experience mod: 0.92

Step by step

1. Payroll in hundreds: $250,000 / 100 = 2,500
2. Rate per $100: 5.005 x 1.50 = 7.5075
3. Premium before the mod: 2,500 x 7.5075 = $18,768.75
4. Apply the mod: $18,768.75 x 0.92 = $17,267.25

For comparison, the Bureau's posted assigned risk rate for 5551 effective April 1, 2026 is 7.773, a full rate with a $1,365 minimum premium. A year earlier it was 8.67.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Employers
• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Employer FAQs
• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Insurance Department
• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Contractor Information
• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Workers' Compensation Notice (Form 1)
• Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, Reporting an Accident
• Code of Virginia Title 65.2 (§§ 65.2-101, 65.2-300, 65.2-302, 65.2-801, 65.2-804, 65.2-805, 65.2-806, 65.2-900, 65.2-902, 65.2-1200, 65.2-1203, 65.2-1204)
• SCC Bureau of Insurance, Workers' Compensation
• SCC, Final Order, Case No. INS-2025-00058 (December 29, 2025)
• NCCI, Amended Virginia Advisory Loss Costs, Assigned Risk Rates and Rating Values Filing, Proposed Effective April 1, 2026 (SCC docket)
• SCC Bureau of Insurance, Virginia Assigned Risk Rates effective April 1, 2026
• SCC Bureau of Insurance, Loss Cost Multipliers
• NCCI, Summary of the Proposed Virginia Filing Effective April 1, 2027
• NCCI, Virginia Residual Market State Activity Report, Second Quarter 2026

Sources accessed 2026-10-17.

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

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