How is a workers' comp premium calculated in New Jersey?

Premium is rated per $100 of payroll. The manual premium equals annual payroll divided by 100, multiplied by the classification code's base rate. That figure is then multiplied by your experience modification factor and adjusted for any schedule credits or debits.

What is the experience modification factor?

The experience modification factor, or mod, compares your claims history to other employers in the same classification. A new or average employer has a mod of 1.00; a better-than-average loss record lowers it below 1.00, while frequent claims raise it above 1.00.

Does New Jersey have a state workers' comp fund?

No. New Jersey does not run a competitive or monopolistic state fund. Employers buy workers' compensation coverage from private insurance carriers or qualify to self-insure. Rates are filed through the New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (NJCRIB).

Is workers' comp mandatory in New Jersey?

Yes. New Jersey law requires nearly every employer with one or more employees to carry workers' compensation insurance or be approved for self-insurance. Failing to carry coverage can result in significant penalties and personal liability for the employer.

Why is my actual quote different from this estimate?

Actual premiums depend on your exact NJCRIB class rates, multiple class codes, payroll audits, the assigned-risk plan if applicable, expense constants, and carrier-specific pricing. This tool gives a single-class estimate to ballpark the cost, not a binding quote.

New Jersey Workers' Compensation Premium Calculator

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Workers’ compensation premium in New Jersey is driven by three numbers: your payroll, your classification code rate, and your experience modification factor. This calculator combines them the same way an insurer does to estimate your annual cost.

How it works

Premium is rated per $100 of payroll and then adjusted for your loss history:

manual premium   = (annual payroll / 100) × class base rate
modified premium = manual premium × experience mod (EMR)
net premium      = modified premium × (1 − schedule credit %)

A schedule credit lowers the premium; a debit (entered as a negative credit) raises it. New Jersey has no state fund, so coverage is bought from private carriers using rates filed through the New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (NJCRIB), and the experience mod reflects how your claims compare to peers in the same class.

Example and tips

A New Jersey retail store (illustrative rate around $1.90 per $100) with $300,000 of payroll and a 1.00 experience mod has a manual premium of about $5,700. With a 0.85 mod earned through a clean claims record, the modified premium drops to roughly $4,845, and a 5% schedule credit lowers it further to about $4,603. Class rate is the biggest lever — high-hazard codes like roofing can run more than ten times a clerical rate — so confirm your exact NJCRIB classification before budgeting. This is a single-class estimate, not a binding quote.