Iowa HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Iowa rate for HVAC workers comp, class 5537 (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems Installation, Service and Repair and Drivers), is $3.28 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Iowa 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 Iowa
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,840 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Iowa (May 2025), the 33rd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $29.17 an hour, in line with the US median of $29.33.
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Iowa jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.93).
At the published Iowa rate of $3.28 per $100 of payroll for class 5537, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.96 for every hour worked, or $1,990 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,980 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Iowa pay runs from $20.69 an hour at the 10th percentile to $41.48 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.68 an hour on a new hire and $1.36 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Iowa
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no payroll or headcount floor
- Owners and sole proprietors: A full-time sole proprietor or partner is auto-excluded; may decline in writing or elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability continues more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses tort immunity and can be sued for uncapped civil damages
Iowa has no small-employer exemption at all, requiring coverage from the first employee with no payroll floor.
Iowa vs neighboring states
Iowa has the lowest HVAC comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
If your crews work across the line, list those states under item 3.A or 3.C of your policy before the job starts. Rates follow the state where the work is done, not where your office is.
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.