Nebraska HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Nebraska does not publish its HVAC class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $2.74 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Nebraska figure.
No official Nebraska figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Nebraska 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 Nebraska
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,020 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Nebraska (May 2025), the 36th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $28.77 an hour, 2% below the US median of $29.33.
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Nebraska jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.12).
At the US median of $2.74 per $100 of payroll (Nebraska does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.79 for every hour worked, or $1,640 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,279 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Nebraska pay runs from $20.93 an hour at the 10th percentile to $39.00 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.57 an hour on a new hire and $1.07 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Nebraska
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded for self; may elect coverage
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive only if disability continues 6 weeks
- Penalty for going without: Fine up to $1,000 per day without coverage
Nebraska adjudicates claims through a dedicated Workers' Compensation Court, and its retroactive trigger is an unusually long six weeks.
Nebraska vs neighboring states
- Colorado: about $3.00 per $100 of payroll
- Iowa: about $3.28 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $3.82 per $100 of payroll
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
Nebraska does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Wyoming is the cheapest for HVAC comp at about $2.39 and Missouri the most expensive at about $3.82 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.