West Virginia Electrical Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published West Virginia loss cost for electrical workers comp, class 5190 (Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings & Drivers), is $0.564 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $0.85.
A loss cost covers expected claims only. Each carrier files its own multiplier for expenses; in the states that publish the full list, the median is about 1.5, which is what the typical premium here uses. Your quote can be lower or higher. Source.
West Virginia class code for electrical
- 5190: Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings
- 7538 (Electric Light or Power Line Construction & Drivers)
Electrical work carries shock, arc flash and fall hazards. Outside power line construction is a separate class, 7538.
What comp costs per electrician in West Virginia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 4,290 electricians on payrolls in West Virginia (May 2025), the 39th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $31.16 an hour, 3% above the US median of $30.38.
This trade is a bigger part of the West Virginia job market than it is nationally: electricians hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical West Virginia premium of about $0.85 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $0.56 for class 5190 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.26 for every hour worked, or $551 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $1,102 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. West Virginia pay runs from $20.97 an hour at the 10th percentile to $45.74 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.18 an hour on a new hire and $0.39 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in West Virginia
- Coverage required: Any employee (from the first)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners not required to cover themselves; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (fully privatized in 2008)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if lost time exceeds 7 consecutive days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses statutory immunity and can be sued in tort
West Virginia is the most recent state to fully privatize, ending a roughly 90-year monopolistic fund in 2008.
West Virginia vs neighboring states
- Ohio: about $1.09 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $2.04 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia has the lowest electrical comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Ohio needs separate coverage from that state's fund. A private policy's other-states coverage (item 3.C) does not reach monopolistic states.
What moves a electrical comp bill
- Electrical is one of the cheaper construction classes, so overstated payroll often costs more than the rate itself. Estimate payroll honestly at renewal and true it up at audit.
- Ladder falls and shocks are the typical claims. Lockout and tagout procedures that are actually followed are what keep the experience mod under 1.0.
- Low-voltage, alarm, and solar work can carry different class codes in some states. Ask your agent before you add those lines to the business.
- Office staff and estimators who stay out of the field can usually be rated as clerical. Keep their hours off the field timesheets.