Tennessee HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Tennessee 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 Tennessee figure.
No official Tennessee figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Tennessee 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 Tennessee
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 9,740 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Tennessee (May 2025), the 14th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $26.68 an hour, 9% below the US median of $29.33.
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Tennessee jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.13).
At the US median of $2.74 per $100 of payroll (Tennessee does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.73 for every hour worked, or $1,521 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,041 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Tennessee pay runs from $18.53 an hour at the 10th percentile to $39.23 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.51 an hour on a new hire and $1.07 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Tennessee
- Coverage required: 5+ employees; 1 for construction
- Owners and sole proprietors: Construction owners may exempt themselves via the state registry; employees must be covered
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability lasts more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Civil penalties $50-$10,000 or 1.5x the avoided premium; an injury while uninsured escalates to a misdemeanor
Tennessee runs an Uninsured Employers Fund, financed by penalties, that pays workers injured by illegally uninsured employers.
Tennessee vs neighboring states
- Alabama: about $2.36 per $100 of payroll
- Georgia: about $2.78 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $3.82 per $100 of payroll
- North Carolina: about $2.34 per $100 of payroll
Tennessee does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Carolina is the cheapest for HVAC comp at about $2.34 and Missouri the most expensive at about $3.82 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.