Workers' Compensation Rates in South Carolina (2026)

State Overview

South Carolina requires workers' comp for employers with four or more employees. Its current NCCI voluntary-market loss costs took effect April 1, 2026; carriers apply their own approved loss-cost multipliers when converting those loss costs into rates.

Understanding South Carolina Workers' Comp Rates

South Carolina is an NCCI state. NCCI files prospective loss costs with the South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI), but an approved loss cost is only the starting point for a premium quote. Each insurer files a loss-cost multiplier (LCM) that adds its expenses and profit provision. SCDOI Bulletin 2016-02 says insurers must adopt an approved NCCI loss-cost filing within 60 days of approval and put it into effect no later than 120 days after NCCI's effective date. That adoption window and the carrier-specific LCM are why two South Carolina insurers can quote different prices for the same class code and payroll.

As of January 1, 2026, South Carolina's maximum weekly workers' compensation benefit is $1,189.94 for accidents on or after that date. This is a claim-benefit cap, not the class-code premium rate an employer pays. The benefit generally starts from 66 2/3% of the injured employee's average weekly wage, subject to the statewide maximum; an employer's premium rate is a different figure, quoted per $100 of payroll, which this page does not publish for South Carolina — it ranks the state with a relative cost index instead. Keeping those two meanings of "compensation rate" separate prevents a common but expensive comparison error.

How to find a South Carolina workers' comp class code from a job description

There is no South Carolina workers' comp class code for a job title. NCCI files the classifications used in South Carolina, 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 South Carolina's classifications in the Basic Manual for Workers Compensation and Employers Liability Insurance for South Carolina (the South Carolina edition, filed with the Department of Insurance under S.C. Code § 38-73-520, which requires every manual of classifications, rules and rates to be filed before it is used). To confirm the classification for a specific business, use SCDOI's public SERFF Filing Access search for filed rate, rule and form filings, published by the South Carolina Department of Insurance rather than by NCCI — that is the filed authority for South Carolina, and a code quoted from another state's manual is not. South Carolina codifies both halves of the argument, and the first half is a right to the numbers. Under S.C. Code § 38-73-1080 every rating organization and every insurer that makes its own rates must furnish an affected insured, on written request and for a reasonable charge, all pertinent information as to the rate, and must provide a means in South Carolina for any person aggrieved by the application of its rating system to be heard on how that system was applied to their own coverage. A request neither granted nor rejected within thirty days counts as rejected, and the insured then has thirty days to appeal to the Director of Insurance, who holds a hearing on at least thirty days' notice and may affirm or reverse.

South Carolina takes price competition out of the classification itself. S.C. Code § 38-73-525(A) makes adoption of the approved loss costs mandatory — every workers' compensation insurer must adopt the most recent approved loss costs within sixty days of approval, effective no later than one hundred twenty days after their effective date — so carriers differ only in the multiplier they file for expenses, assessments, profit and contingencies. S.C. Code § 38-73-510 goes further than any other state in this file: every workers' compensation insurer must belong to a nonpartisan rating bureau, stock and nonstock insurers must hold half of each committee, and on a tie the Director of Insurance casts the deciding vote. The classification decision is therefore worth more here than carrier shopping is.

SCDOI's public SERFF Filing Access search for filed rate, rule and form filings (official South Carolina lookup)

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Related Guides for South Carolina 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 the states by cost index and see the filed figures for a class code, side by side with up to two other states.

• Workers' Comp Premium Calculator

  Work out annual premium from your South Carolina class-code rate, payroll, and experience modification factor.

• Workers' Comp Class Codes Explained

  How NCCI assigns a code to each job and why it creates a 10–25× swing in your rate.

• NCCI Class Code Lookup & Directory

  Search workers' comp class codes by keyword to find the four-digit NCCI (or South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina uses NCCI or an independent bureau — and why the difference changes how your premium is set.