West Virginia Workers' Comp Rate Calculator
Estimate a West Virginia workers' comp premium from payroll, a rate per $100 and your experience mod. Defaults are explained under the rate field.
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An estimate, not a quote. How this calculator works.
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Workers' comp in West Virginia: what's different
West Virginia ran a state monopoly for workers' comp until the mid-2000s. An employers' mutual took over from the old Workers' Compensation Commission on January 1, 2006, and the state opened to a private, competitive market on July 1, 2008. The Code now lists only two ways to cover workers: a licensed private carrier or approved self-insurance. The West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) regulates the market, enforces coverage, and decides coverage status on Uninsured Employer Fund claims. NCCI is the state's designated rating organization and files advisory loss costs with the Commissioner.
Who must carry coverage
The default is simple: if you regularly employ one person in West Virginia, you need coverage. The OIC's exemption application says coverage is mandatory for all employers with one or more employees in the state, with limited exceptions. The Code covers any business "regularly employing another person or persons."
The exceptions are narrow. These employers do not have to buy a policy, though they may choose to:
- Domestic service employers.
- Farms with five or fewer full-time employees in agricultural service.
- Casual employers: no more than three employees, with temporary, intermittent work of no more than 10 calendar days in a calendar quarter.
- Churches, organized professional sports employers, and certain volunteer rescue and police auxiliary units (paid staff must still be covered).
To get written confirmation that you are exempt, you file a notarized application with the OIC's Employer Coverage Unit and pay a $25 fee. Independent contractors cannot apply for an exemption letter.
Owners and officers. A partnership, sole proprietorship or corporation may elect to leave out its partners, its owner, or its corporate officers and directors. An LLC may leave out no more than four people acting as managers, officers or members. Other officers, beyond the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, cannot be excluded just because of their title if they also do ordinary employee work.
Prime contractors. A prime contractor should collect a certificate of coverage from each subcontractor. If a sub's worker is hurt and the sub had no coverage, the worker can file against the prime contractor unless the prime got that certificate. Subs must tell the prime within two business days if their coverage is canceled or expires.
Work across state lines. Employees regularly employed in West Virginia stay covered on temporary jobs outside the state. Where the laws of two states could conflict, the employer and employee may agree in writing which state's law applies.
Where coverage comes from
You have two routes. You can buy a policy from a private carrier licensed for workers' comp in West Virginia. Carriers may sell through licensed agents. The OIC says more than 350 carriers offer coverage. Or you can apply to the Insurance Commissioner to self-insure, which requires security or a bond, excess insurance if the Commissioner asks for it, and an effective safety program. Self-insurers handle their own claims. Employers under qualifying collective bargaining agreements may jointly apply to self-insure as a group.
Who sets rates
NCCI files prospective loss costs, which leave out profit and most expenses. Each carrier then files its own multiplier and applies it to those loss costs. The Commissioner can reject rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.
On July 29, 2025, NCCI filed for a 13.5% cut in voluntary loss costs and a 13.9% cut in assigned risk rates, effective January 1, 2026. The OIC now posts the voluntary loss cost table as effective January 1, 2026, for all classes. As of October 17, 2026, its workers' comp page listed no later table. The OIC notes that aggregate loss costs have dropped more than 82% since privatization.
Two surcharges sit on top. The regulatory surcharge is 5.0% for July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028, per the OIC's surcharge table. The deficit reduction surcharge has been 0% since January 1, 2019.
Experience rating
The Code tells the Commissioner to designate one rating organization to develop and administer a uniform experience rating plan, subject to the Commissioner's approval, and every insurer must follow it. The OIC calls NCCI West Virginia's statistical rating agent.
If no insurer will write you
The Assigned Risk Plan is the market of last resort, and NCCI is its administrator. To qualify, you need declinations from at least two voluntary carriers within 60 days before you apply. A nonrenewal notice from your current carrier counts as one of them. You must also be current on past workers' comp premium. You apply online through NCCI. Rates in the plan are often higher than in the voluntary market.
Penalties for going uninsured
Going without coverage is costly here:
- Lawsuits without defenses. An uninsured employer can be sued for workplace injuries and loses the fellow-servant, assumption of risk, and contributory negligence defenses.
- Repayment. If an employee is paid from the Uninsured Employer Fund, you owe everything the fund paid, plus costs, attorney's fees and interest.
- A fine. The Commissioner may impose an administrative penalty of up to $10,000.
- A shutdown order. The Commissioner can ask the Kanawha County circuit court to stop you from operating.
- A public notice. The OIC posts a notice at your main place of business telling your employees you are in default. Removing or defacing it before you are reinstated (or within 60 days of posting) is a misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine.
Your ongoing obligations
- Post your insurer. Keep a notice in a visible spot on your premises with your carrier's name, address and phone number, and who to call about a claim.
- Report injuries in five days. Send each injury report to your carrier or claims administrator within five days of getting the employee's notice, on OIC forms. Your carrier cannot extend this. A late report waives your right to object to interim temporary total disability payments.
- Know your notice rights. A carrier must give 30 days' written notice to cancel (10 days for nonpayment or a refused audit) and 60 days' notice before it declines to renew.
- Coverage is public. The OIC and NCCI keep a proof of coverage system, and anyone can check an employer through the OIC's Coverage Verification System.
Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium
Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod
The OIC's voluntary market table lists an advisory loss cost of 2.218 per $100 of payroll for class 5551 (Roofing, all kinds and drivers), effective January 1, 2026. A year earlier it was 2.71. A loss cost is not a final rate: the OIC says the final rate is the loss cost times the carrier's multiplier. The 1.40 multiplier below is illustrative, and the payroll and mod are hypothetical.
- Hypothetical roofing payroll: $250,000
- Advisory loss cost (January 1, 2026): 2.218
- Illustrative loss cost multiplier: 1.40
- Hypothetical experience mod: 0.95
Step by step
- Payroll in hundreds: $250,000 / 100 = 2,500
- Rate per $100: 2.218 x 1.40 = 3.1052
- Premium before the mod: 2,500 x 3.1052 = $7,763.00
- Apply the mod: $7,763.00 x 0.95 = $7,374.85
The calculator stops there. On a real bill, the 5.0% regulatory surcharge would add about $368.74, for $7,743.59, before any other policy charges or credits.
Frequently asked questions
Does a one-person crew need coverage?
Yes, if that one person is an employee you regularly employ. Coverage is mandatory from the first employee unless you fit a listed exemption, such as a domestic employer, a small farm, or a casual employer.
Is there still a state fund?
No. The old Commission was replaced by an employers' mutual in 2006, and the market opened to private competition in 2008. Today the Code gives two options: buy from a licensed private carrier or get approval to self-insure.
Can I leave myself off the policy as the owner?
Usually. Sole proprietors, partners, and the core corporate officers can be excluded by election. An LLC can exclude up to four managers, officers or members.
What happens if my subcontractor has no coverage?
Its injured workers may be able to claim against you as the prime contractor. Getting a certificate of coverage from the sub relieves you of that responsibility.
What is the current roofing loss cost?
2.218 per $100 of payroll for class 5551, effective January 1, 2026. Your carrier's multiplier, your mod and the surcharges decide what you pay.
Official sources
- West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, Workers' Compensation
- West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, Employer Coverage
- OIC, Loss Cost by Class for the Voluntary Market, Effective January 1, 2026
- OIC, Loss Cost by Class for the Voluntary Market, Effective January 1, 2025
- OIC, Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan
- OIC, Applicable Workers' Compensation Surcharges
- OIC, Application for Verification of Statutory Exemption
- West Virginia Code Chapter 23 (§§ 23-2-1, 23-2-1a, 23-2-1c, 23-2-1d, 23-2-5, 23-2-5a, 23-2-8, 23-2-9, 23-2C-1, 23-2C-8, 23-2C-15, 23-2C-18, 23-2C-18a, 23-4-1b)
- NCCI, Summary of the Proposed West Virginia Loss Cost and Assigned Risk Rate Filing Effective January 1, 2026
- NCCI, West 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 West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner.
Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.