North Carolina Workers Compensation Insurance

The North Carolina Workers Compensation Insurance system is designed to get injured workers back to work. It provides employees and employers in North Carolina piece of mind knowing that in the event of an on the job injury there will be appropriate medical attention without the increased cost.

Employers are required by North Carolina statute to carry Workers’ Compensation insurance if they employ:

three or more employees regularly employed in the same business or establishment, or
one or more employees employed in activities which involve the use or presence of radiation, or
if providing agriculture or domestic services, 10 or more full‑time nonseasonal agricultural workers regularly employed by the employer

As the employer, you must report to your Workers’ Compensation insurance company any “injury or occupational disease, or allegation by an employee of an injury or occupational disease, sustained in the course of employment for which the attention of a physician is needed or actually sought” as per the North Carolina Industrial Commission website.

A NC business owner must also file notice of the Workers Comp Claim (via Form 19) to the North Carolina Industrial Commission “if an injury or alleged injury causes the employee to be absent from work for more than one day, or the employee’s medical expenses are greater than $2000.00.” Form 19, commonly known as “Employer’s Report of Employee’s Injury to the Industrial Commission” must be reported within five days of learning of the injury or allegation of such an injury.

Workers compensation insurance in North Carolina can become complicated. Let our Workers Compensation insurance advisor review your business and offer your business assistance.

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Workers Compensation Insurance FAQ

Q: I am a sole proprietor but a contract is making me have workers compensation insurance. Can you help?

Yes. In this case, the owner election of whether or not to cover themselves often determines your insurance company options. Most companies want to have at least one full time employee covered under the policy. If you are electing coverage there are many carrier options and rates depend on your class code, payroll, etc. If the owner rejects coverage, this would be a minimum premium policy (aka ghost policy) issued through the facility. These assigned risk policies often have a minimum of $1200 and are required to be paid upfront. These policies are also audit able.

Q: Why did my Workers Compensation Insurance premium change at the end of the year?

A: Workers Compensation Insurance is determined by your business’s actual payroll. At the beginning of the term or at the time of your insurance application, you estimate your payroll for the upcoming year. At the end of the term, your payroll is audited to determine what your actual payroll was for the year. If it is more than what you estimated, you will owe more. On the flip side, if your payroll is less than what you estimated, then you will be credited the difference.

There are different payroll class codes that have specific rates. For example, a clerical worker will be rated differently than a truck driver or an electrician. It is important to keep each employee’s payroll separated by job description to ensure you are being rated properly.

Q: Can you give a broad general overview of how Workers Compensation Insurance premiums are calculated

Generally speaking, each business is assigned a class code. A Class code identifies the type of services being provided by the business. Then each of the employees can be provided a class code based on what duties they perform. Each class code has a factor. The factor is multiplied times every hundred dollars of payroll to calculate a base premium. Then experience mods, owner elections, and previous claim histories can also impact the premium.