The workers' compensation and employers liability policy is covered in the national Workers' Compensation guide: Part One statutory benefits, Part Two employers liability, payroll-and-class-code premium and experience rating. North Carolina's law is the Workers' Compensation Act, Chapter 97 of the General Statutes. Claims are administered by the North Carolina Industrial Commission. The Commissioner of Insurance licenses the insurers and the self-insurers, and the Rate Bureau files loss costs. North Carolina has no state fund.

This guide states the benefit rules in force in 2026. Amendments to G.S. 97-29 and 97-31 take effect July 1, 2027.

Who must carry coverage

• Three or more employees. The Act applies to private employers that regularly employ three or more employees (G.S. 97-2(1), 97-13(b)).

• Radiation work. An employer with even one employee working with radiation is covered.

• Excluded from the Act:

  • federal government employees
  • casual employees whose work isn't in the course of the employer's business
  • domestic servants
  • farm laborers, unless the farm regularly employs 10 or more full-time nonseasonal laborers

• Minors are covered "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" (97-2(2)).

• Voluntary coverage. An otherwise exempt employer that buys a policy is conclusively presumed to accept the Act while the policy is in force (97-13(b)).

• How to comply (97-93):

  • insure with an authorized carrier, or
  • get a self-insurance license from the Commissioner of Insurance.

  The employer must post a notice that its employment is covered and how it's insured.

Penalties for not insuring (97-94)

• Willful failure to insure is a Class H felony. Neglect is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
• The civil penalty is $1 per employee per day, with a minimum of $20 and a maximum of $100 a day.
• An employee of an uninsured employer may elect benefits under the Act or sue at law.

Exclusive remedy

When employer and employee are both subject to the Act and the employer has complied, the Act's benefits are the employee's exclusive remedy against the employer (97-10.1).

Notice and claims

• Written notice of the accident goes to the employer within 30 days, unless the Commission accepts a reasonable excuse and the employer wasn't prejudiced (97-22).
• A claim must be filed with the Industrial Commission, or compensation paid, within two years after the accident (97-24).

Benefits (2026 rules)

Insurance rules for workers' compensation

• Rates. The Rate Bureau files prospective loss costs for voluntary business and rates for the residual market (58-36-1, 58-36-100).
• Assigned risk. An employer certified as difficult to place by a licensed P&C producer applies to the Rate Bureau with a deposit premium. The Bureau binds coverage for 30 days and assigns a member insurer to issue the policy (58-36-1(5)).
• Cancellation and nonrenewal (58-36-105, 58-36-110):
  • After 60 days, the insurer may cancel only for permitted reasons, with 15 days' notice stating the reason.
  • In the first 60 days, a policy may be canceled for any reason with 30 days' notice by registered or certified mail.
  • Nonrenewal needs 45 days' notice.
  • The 30-day advance notice of an insurer-initiated increase doesn't apply to changes in the experience modification, exposure or loss costs.
• Guaranty protection. The North Carolina Insurance Guaranty Association pays covered workers' comp claims of an insolvent insurer in full (58-48-35).

Common exam traps

• Coverage is required at three employees, at one for radiation work, and at 10 full-time farm laborers.
• Notice: 30 days. Claim: 2 years.
• The waiting period is 7 days, paid back if disability lasts more than 21 days.
• TTD runs 500 weeks. Extended benefits require a total loss of wage-earning capacity.
• Willfully failing to insure is a Class H felony.
• Claims go to the Industrial Commission, not the Department of Insurance.