Michigan HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Michigan pure premium for HVAC workers comp, class 5550 (Air Conditioning or Heating Installation, Service or Repair), is $1.427 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $2.14.
A pure premium 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.
Michigan class code for HVAC
- 5550: Air Conditioning or Heating Installation, Service or Repair
Michigan is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style four-digit codes (the manual contains NCCI copyrighted material) but has Michigan-specific classes for several trades, e.g. 5476 painting instead of 5474, 5550 HVAC instead of 5537, a 5551 pitched vs 5552 flat roofing split, and 9521 for carpet and resilient flooring instead of 5478.
HVAC technicians work in attics and on roofs and handle electrical circuits and refrigerants.
What comp costs per hvac technician in Michigan
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 12,590 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Michigan (May 2025), the 9th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $29.26 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 Michigan jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.09).
At a typical Michigan premium of about $2.14 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $1.43 for class 5550 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.63 for every hour worked, or $1,302 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,605 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Michigan pay runs from $19.33 an hour at the 10th percentile to $45.81 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.41 an hour on a new hire and $0.98 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Michigan
- Coverage required: 3+ employees, or 1 employee working 35+ hours/week for 13+ weeks
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners excluded for themselves; officers may exclude themselves if they own 10%+
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; first week also retroactive if disability continues 14+ days
- Penalty for going without: Misdemeanor: up to $1,000 and/or 6 months jail, each day a separate offense
Michigan pays wage loss at 80% of after-tax average weekly wage, not the roughly two-thirds of gross most states use.
Michigan vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $1.36 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.15 per $100 of payroll
- Wisconsin: about $3.29 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Indiana is the cheapest for HVAC comp at $1.36 and Wisconsin the most expensive at $3.29 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 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.