Oregon HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Oregon pure premium for HVAC workers comp, class 5537 (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems Installation, Service and Repair and Drivers), is $1.525 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $2.29.
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.
Oregon 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 Oregon
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,980 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Oregon (May 2025), the 32nd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $30.26 an hour, 3% above the US median of $29.33.
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Oregon jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.77).
At a typical Oregon premium of about $2.29 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $1.53 for class 5537 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.69 for every hour worked, or $1,441 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,883 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Oregon pay runs from $22.59 an hour at the 10th percentile to $45.44 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.52 an hour on a new hire and $1.04 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Oregon
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners and 10%+ officers excluded by default; personal coverage only if the insurer accepts a written election
- State fund: Competitive state fund (SAIF Corporation)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if off 14 consecutive days or hospitalized overnight within 14 days
- Penalty for going without: $1,000 or twice the premium owed, plus $250 per day and personal liability for benefits
Oregon restores the waiting period retroactively if a worker is hospitalized overnight within the first 14 days, not only through the standard consecutive-day trigger.
Oregon vs neighboring states
- California: about $5.72 per $100 of payroll
- Idaho: about $2.77 per $100 of payroll
- Washington: about $5.43 per $100 of payroll
Oregon has the lowest HVAC comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Washington 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.