Insoryx

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Large payroll means large premium — and small rate improvements compound into six-figure savings. Get matched with a specialist who audits your class codes, lowers your EMR, and shops the market for you.

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Quick answer: Workers’ comp premium is calculated as (Annual Payroll ÷ 100) × Class Code Rate × EMR. In 2026, class rates run from about $0.75 per $100 of payroll for office roles to $15+ for roofing and high-risk trades. Your experience mod (EMR)then scales the whole premium — below 1.0 lowers it, above 1.0 raises it. For large employers, the EMR is the single biggest cost lever.

Workers’ comp is one of the few commercial lines where the math is fully transparent — and that’s good news, because it means the cost is controllable. Two levers dominate: the class codes your employees fall under, and your experience modification rate. On a large payroll, moving your EMR from 1.15 to 0.85 can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Below is the exact formula, real 2026 class rates, a live estimator, and a way to get matched with a large-employer specialist.

Workers’ Comp Premium Estimator

Uses the real NCCI formula: (payroll ÷ 100) × class rate × EMR.

Estimated annual premium
$87,500
base $87,500 before your EMR is applied

Simplified single-class estimate. Real premiums blend multiple class codes and vary by state loss cost multiplier.

Workers’ comp rate by job class (per $100 of payroll)

The class code is the starting point for every premium. Office and clerical work is cheap to insure; physical trades are expensive because injuries are both more frequent and more severe. Here’s the 2026 rate per $100 of payroll by common class:

Rate per $100 of payroll by class code
Correct classification matters: misclassifying a physical role as clerical is a common, costly audit finding.

How your EMR moves the premium

This is where large employers win or lose. Holding your class and payroll fixed, watch how the premium sweeps as the experience mod moves from a strong 0.70 to a poor 1.45. The chart below reflects the class code and payroll you selected in the estimator above:

Premium vs. experience mod (your selected class & payroll)
Everything left of the dashed 1.00 line is money a safety program puts back in your pocket.

What drives your workers’ comp cost

Four factors set your premium. On a large payroll, each one is worth serious money:

Factor
Why it matters
Payroll
The base of the calculation — premium scales directly with total wages
Class codes
Each job's injury risk sets its rate; correct classification can cut cost materially
Experience mod
Your claims history scales the whole premium up or down — the top lever for large firms
State
Each state applies its own loss cost multiplier, so identical work prices differently by state

Get matched with a workers’ comp specialist

Answer 5 quick questions and unlock a tailored estimate for your payroll.

Step 1 of 6

What's your approximate annual payroll?

Payroll is the base of every workers' comp premium.

Frequently asked questions

Workers' comp premium follows a simple formula: (Annual Payroll / 100) x Class Code Rate x Experience Modification Rate (EMR). The class code rate is set per $100 of payroll and reflects the job's injury risk - roughly $0.75 for low-risk office staff up to $15+ for high-risk roofing or construction. Your EMR (below 1.0 for better-than-average safety, above 1.0 for worse) then scales the whole premium up or down.

Figures reflect 2026 benchmark data and are for general education only. Insoryx is not an insurance carrier; verify all quotes, class codes, and state requirements with a licensed workers’ comp agent.