Workers' Comp Rates for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (Class Code 5537)
Last verified: 2026-07-08 · Reviewed against NCCI and state rating-bureau filings — how we verify
Description
Covers HVAC technicians installing, repairing, and maintaining heating and cooling systems.
Common Businesses
Hazard Group
E
Filed Figures Published
1
state · class percentile 67
Filed Figures for Class Code 5537 in the States That Publish Them
Copied from each state's own regulator or rating bureau filing, per $100 of payroll. A loss cost is what the filing calls it — your insurer multiplies it by its own loss cost multiplier; a rate is a manual rate. States not listed publish no per-class figure this site has transcribed.
Judged only from filed tables, code 5537 has a class percentile of 67 (0 = the cheapest class, 100 = the most expensive) across the 1 filing that list it.
How States Rank for Class Code 5537
Cost index 1.00 = the median of the 47 rated states. It is a relative position from this site’s model, not a price, and it does not vary by class code; a state’s filed figure, where it publishes one, is shown beside it. North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming are not included. Each is a monopolistic state fund that sets premium on its own basis rather than on an NCCI class-code rate per $100 of payroll, so there is no comparable figure to average or rank.
| State | Cost index | Filed figure | Filing effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 0.73 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Texas | 0.74 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Virginia | 0.78 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Utah | 0.79 | — | 2026-02-01 |
| Arkansas | 0.82 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Colorado | 0.83 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| South Dakota | 0.83 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Arizona | 0.86 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Nebraska | 0.88 | — | 2026-02-01 |
| North Carolina | 0.88 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Idaho | 0.89 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Tennessee | 0.89 | — | 2026-10-01 |
| Kansas | 0.90 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Mississippi | 0.91 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| New Mexico | 0.92 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Kentucky | 0.93 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| South Carolina | 0.93 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Iowa | 0.95 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Missouri | 0.96 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Nevada | 0.97 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Georgia | 0.98 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Maryland | 0.98 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Oregon | 0.99 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| West Virginia | 1.00 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Alabama | 1.01 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Minnesota | 1.01 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| New Hampshire | 1.01 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Wisconsin | 1.01 | $3.288 rate | 2026-10-01 |
| Delaware | 1.03 | — | 2025-12-01 |
| Maine | 1.03 | — | 2025-04-01 |
| Rhode Island | 1.04 | — | 2026-08-01 |
| Michigan | 1.05 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Vermont | 1.05 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| New York | 1.06 | — | 2026-10-01 |
| Florida | 1.07 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Montana | 1.07 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| District of Columbia | 1.10 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Massachusetts | 1.10 | — | 2024-07-01 |
| Oklahoma | 1.10 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Illinois | 1.12 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Connecticut | 1.14 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Louisiana | 1.17 | — | 2026-05-01 |
| Hawaii | 1.20 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.20 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| New Jersey | 1.21 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Alaska | 1.33 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| California | 1.34 | — | 2026-09-01 |
A filed rate — or a loss cost times your insurer's multiplier — is step 1 of the eight-step rating-bureau premium algorithm. See what your carrier applies after that, or work out premium for code 5537 with your own rate, payroll and experience mod.
Related Class Codes
About Class Code 5537: Scope, Inclusions, and Common Misclassifications
NCCI Class Code 5537 - officially phrased "Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair & Drivers" - is the workers' compensation classification for HVACR contractors that install, service, and repair forced-air heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and building-connected refrigeration systems. It is the code buyers usually mean when they search for "workers comp code 5537" or HVAC workers' comp rates.
This page shows a filed 5537 figure only for the states that publish one and ranks every other state with a relative cost index for comparing HVACR exposures by state. Neither is a binding quote: carrier multipliers, payroll, and experience modification still change the premium.
What's Included Under Class Code 5537
NCCI's B-1391 filing created 5537 as a consolidated HVACR classification because heating, air-conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration, plumbing, electrical, sheet-metal, and machinery tasks often happen on the same HVAC contract. The class applies to installation, service, and repair of residential and commercial heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems when the work is performed by the HVACR contractor.
Typical 5537 payroll includes HVAC technicians and helpers installing or servicing forced-air furnaces, central air-conditioning systems, heat pumps, ventilation systems, refrigerant components connected to the building HVAC system, related shop and yard work, and drivers. When one contractor performs all or most of an HVAC contract, NCCI's filing says payroll should not be divided between 5537 and other contracting classifications merely because the job includes connected plumbing, wiring, or sheet-metal tasks.
When HVAC Work Is NOT 5537
Do not use 5537 for every job that touches heating or cooling equipment. Portable air-conditioning units are separately rated to a portable-unit classification such as 9519 under the NCCI filing. Work Comp Associates' NCCI scope summary also separates commercial refrigeration units such as grocery-store coolers and walk-in coolers when they are not connected to an HVAC system.
5537 is also different from adjacent construction and service codes. Building electrical wiring can be 5190 Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings, ordinary plumbing can be 5183 Plumbing NOC, and separately contracted sheet-metal or machinery work may be rated to its own class when the HVACR contractor is not performing the full HVAC contract. The audit question is the actual contract and operation, not the employee's job title.
How 5537 Compares Across States (2026)
For an HVAC contractor shopping coverage in 2026, the useful comparison is the state spread. The state ranking on this page orders the states by a relative cost index (median state = 1.00) and shows a filed 5537 figure only where a state publishes one; the index is a relative position, not a price.
Independent-bureau states can use different class numbers or descriptions for HVACR work. InsuranceXdate's cross-reference, for example, maps New York and Texas HVAC duct/system work to 5536, Michigan to 5550, and Pennsylvania/Delaware heating or ventilating work to 0664/0663 variants. Multi-state HVAC contractors should verify the governing state bureau before treating the national 5537 label as the final rating answer.
Audit Records for HVACR Contractors
The audit file that supports 5537 should show that the payroll belongs to HVACR installation, service, or repair. Keep contracts, work orders, service tickets, dispatch records, job-cost reports, and payroll splits that identify HVACR crews, helpers, shop or yard time, and drivers. If the business also performs standalone electrical, plumbing, sheet-metal, refrigeration, duct-cleaning, or appliance-service work, keep those operations separately documented so the auditor can assign the correct class.
For quote shoppers, the figures on this page — filed figures where a state publishes them and a relative cost index elsewhere — are not a binding quote. Final premium changes after the carrier's loss-cost multiplier, payroll, experience modification, schedule credits, minimum premium, subcontractor treatment, and any state-specific classification rule. The cleanest way to defend 5537 is to document the HVACR contract scope before the policy audit asks for it.
Sources
- North Carolina Rate Bureau / NCCI Item B-1391 - HVACR classification filing creating Code 5537 and defining installation, service, repair, driver, and portable-unit boundaries (retrieved 2026-07-08)
- InsuranceXdate - Class Code 5537 & Rate for Workers Comp (state phraseology and independent-bureau cross-reference) (retrieved 2026-07-08)
- Work Comp Associates - Class Code 5537 (NCCI scope summary: forced-air HVACR systems and commercial refrigeration boundary) (retrieved 2026-07-08)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is workers' comp class code 5537?
- Workers' comp class code 5537 is the HVACR installation, service, and repair classification. It applies to heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems work performed by HVACR contractors, including related shop, yard, and driver exposure. It is commonly used for HVAC contractors that install or service residential and commercial heating and cooling systems.
- How much is workers' comp insurance for class code 5537?
- It depends on the state, and only some states publish a per-class figure. For class code 5537, the filed figures per $100 of payroll are: Wisconsin $3.288 (rate, WCRB, effective 2026-10-01). A loss cost is not a rate — your insurer multiplies it by its own loss cost multiplier — and every figure is before your experience modification. For other states this site shows a relative cost index, not a dollar figure. North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming are not included. Each is a monopolistic state fund that sets premium on its own basis rather than on an NCCI class-code rate per $100 of payroll, so there is no comparable figure to average or rank.
- What businesses use workers' comp class code 5537?
- Class code 5537 typically applies to HVAC contractors, Refrigeration services, Air conditioning installers, Heating companies, Ductwork contractors.
- What is the workers comp code 5537 rate?
- There is no single national 5537 rate. This page shows a filed 5537 figure only for the states that publish one and ranks every other state with a relative cost index, which is not a price. A real premium still changes after payroll, carrier loss-cost multiplier, experience modification, schedule credits, minimum premium, and state-specific class rules.
- Does 5537 include HVAC electrical, plumbing, and sheet-metal work?
- Often yes when those tasks are part of the same HVACR installation, service, or repair contract performed by the HVACR contractor. NCCI's B-1391 filing was designed to avoid splitting one HVAC contract across many trade codes. Standalone electrical wiring, ordinary plumbing, sheet-metal, or machinery work that is not part of the HVACR contract may still belong in a different class.
- Is commercial refrigeration always class code 5537?
- No. Refrigeration connected to the building HVAC system can fall within 5537, but commercial refrigeration units such as grocery-store coolers and walk-in coolers that are not connected to an HVAC system should be reviewed under the appropriate refrigeration classification. State bureau wording can vary, so verify the local manual before binding a quote.
- What records help defend a 5537 HVAC classification at audit?
- Keep contracts, job-cost reports, work orders, service tickets, dispatch logs, payroll detail by crew, and notes showing whether the work was HVACR installation, service, or repair. Separate any standalone electrical, plumbing, sheet-metal, duct-cleaning, appliance-service, or refrigeration work before the audit so each operation maps to the correct class code.
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