Colorado HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Colorado loss cost for HVAC workers comp, class 5537 (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair & Drivers), is $1.999 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $3.00.
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.
Colorado class code for HVAC
- 5537: Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair & Drivers
- 5535 (Sheet Metal Work - Installation & Drivers)
- 5183 (Plumbing NOC & Drivers)
HVAC technicians work in attics and on roofs and handle electrical circuits and refrigerants.
What comp costs per hvac technician in Colorado
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 8,940 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Colorado (May 2025), the 15th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $31.35 an hour, 7% above the US median of $29.33.
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Colorado jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.18).
At a typical Colorado premium of about $3.00 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $2.00 for class 5537 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.94 for every hour worked, or $1,956 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,912 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Colorado pay runs from $23.18 an hour at the 10th percentile to $49.83 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.70 an hour on a new hire and $1.49 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Colorado
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Sole proprietors and partners exempt by default; may elect in
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Pinnacol Assurance), which must insure any Colorado employer
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Fines up to $250-$500 per day, plus a 50% benefit increase paid by an uninsured employer
If you are uninsured when a worker is hurt in Colorado, their benefits are increased 50% out of your own pocket.
Colorado vs neighboring states
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
Colorado has the highest HVAC comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges less per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Wyoming 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 HVAC comp bill
- Service techs and install crews usually share one class, so the rate is driven by your claim history: back strains from lifting condensers and falls from ladders and roofs are the typical losses.
- If you also do sheet-metal fabrication or duct work outside buildings, ask how your bureau classifies it. Some of that work rates differently from installation and service.
- Dispatchers, office staff, and outside salespeople can be rated as clerical or sales when their duties keep them out of the field. Keep their timesheets separate.
- Company vehicles put a lot of miles on service crews. A driving policy and clean MVRs help on the auto side and with comp, because vehicle accidents on the job are comp claims.