Workers' Compensation Rates in Iowa (2026)

State Overview

Iowa requires all employers to carry workers' comp. The state has rates close to the national average.

How to find an Iowa workers' comp class code from a job description

There is no Iowa workers' comp class code for a job title. NCCI files the classifications used in Iowa, and the NCCI rules are what an auditor applies, and what gets classified is the employer's business — not the separate employments, occupations or operations inside it. "Machinist", "CNC operator", "general construction labor" and "data entry" are therefore work that sits inside whichever classification describes the business, not values you can look up on their own.

NCCI publishes Iowa's classifications in the Basic Manual for Workers Compensation and Employers Liability Insurance (which NCCI cites for this state as the Basic Manual for Iowa) (the manual NCCI files as Iowa's licensed workers' compensation rating organization under Iowa Code chapter 515A — a filing is on file for a thirty-day waiting period under § 515A.4(4), extendable by fifteen days, and is deemed to meet the chapter unless the commissioner disapproves it inside that window). To confirm the classification for a specific business, use the Iowa Insurance Division's rate, rule and form filing page, which publishes the Iowa Workers Compensation Review Standards Checklist and routes to the filings themselves, published by the Iowa Insurance Division rather than by NCCI — that is the filed authority for Iowa, and a code quoted from another state's manual is not. Iowa says in the statute what a review of a rating system is not, which is the part that surprises people. Under Iowa Code § 515A.9 every rating organization and every insurer that makes its own rates must furnish an affected insured all pertinent information as to the rate and must provide a means in Iowa for any person aggrieved by the application of its rating system to be heard — but that review is expressly not a contested case under chapter 17A, and neither is the appeal. A request neither granted nor rejected within thirty days counts as rejected; the insured then has thirty days to appeal to the Commissioner of Insurance, who holds a hearing on as little as ten days' notice and may affirm or reverse.

Iowa regulates workers' compensation rates in a chapter that regulates nothing else — Iowa Code § 515A.2(2) says chapter 515A applies only to workers' compensation liability insurance, and Iowa Admin. Code r. 191—20.5(515A) confirms workers' compensation insurers are excluded from the general loss-cost filing regime other lines use. Two consequences an out-of-state employer will not expect. Under § 515A.7(1) every insurer must adhere to the filings the rating organization makes on its behalf unless it files a deviation the commissioner approves, so Iowa is closer to a filed-rate state than to a pure loss-cost one. And under § 515A.6(7) a single workers' compensation policyholder — or any organization with one among its members — can force a public hearing on those proposed rates by filing a written demand within fifteen days of the division publishing them, at which the rating organization, not the objector, carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.

the Iowa Insurance Division's rate, rule and form filing page, which publishes the Iowa Workers Compensation Review Standards Checklist and routes to the filings themselves (official Iowa lookup)

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Related Guides for Iowa Employers

• The Complete Guide to Workers' Comp Costs in 2026

  National benchmarks, the 2026 state rate-change table, and how to budget your premium.

• Compare Workers' Comp Rates by State

  Rank all states for the same class code or compare Iowa rates side by side with up to two other states.

• Workers' Comp Premium Calculator

  Estimate annual premium from your Iowa class-code rate, payroll, and experience modification factor.

• Workers' Comp Class Codes Explained

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• NCCI Class Code Lookup & Directory

  Search workers' comp class codes by keyword to find the four-digit NCCI (or Iowa bureau) code for your business — then see how it is rated above.

• Experience Modification Rate (EMR) Explained

  How your claims history becomes a multiplier that raises or lowers your Iowa premium.

• 5 Proven Ways to Lower Your Workers' Comp Premium

  Tactics any small business can use to reduce cost at next renewal — from classification audits to return-to-work programs.

• How Rates Are Calculated: NCCI vs Independent States

  Whether Iowa uses NCCI or an independent bureau — and why the difference changes how your premium is set.