Workers' Comp Rate for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration in California (Class Code 5537)
Last verified: 2026-07-08
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Get Your QuoteFiled 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.
Where code 5537 sits among all classes, judged only from filed tables: a class percentile of 67 (0 = the cheapest class, 100 = the most expensive) across the 1 filing that list it.
Compare: California and States with a Similar Cost Index
Cost index 1.00 = the median of the 47 rated states. It is a relative position, not a price, and it does not vary by class code.
| State | Cost index | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 1.14 | 41 of 47 |
| Louisiana | 1.17 | 42 of 47 |
| Hawaii | 1.20 | 43 of 47 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.20 | 43 of 47 |
| New Jersey | 1.21 | 45 of 47 |
| Alaska | 1.33 | 46 of 47 |
| California (this page) | 1.34 | 47 of 47 |
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Related Class Codes in California
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)
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