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Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Iowa

Iowa generally requires employers covered by its workers’ compensation chapters to insure their liability or obtain relief from insurance before doing business; knowing, willful noncompliance with §87.14A is a class D felony. Iowa’s exceptions include household and casual workers below a $1,500 prior-year earnings test and farm labor subject to a separate $2,500 prior-year cash-payroll test, with specified family exclusions. 1,2,3

What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation can pay medical care and part of an employee’s lost wages after a work-related injury or illness. If you have staff, check who is covered in each state; owners, contractors and some workers may be treated differently. Read the national Workers’ compensation guide.

What to Watch for in Iowa

  • Household and Casual Work Use a $1,500 Test

    The 2026 Code excludes certain private-dwelling and purely casual workers only below $1,500 earned from that employer in the prior 12 months; household members are treated separately. Ask the broker to apply the actual worker and earnings conditions before excluding domestic payroll. 2

  • Farm Coverage Turns on Cash Payroll and Family Status

    Agricultural work is generally excluded, but §85.1 brings some workers back into the chapter when the employer’s prior-year cash payroll to non-exempt persons reaches $2,500. The statute separately excludes listed relatives and some family-farm roles, so separate farm duties and payroll records before classifying the work. 2

  • Owner Status Is Not the Same as Employee Status

    Iowa allows a proprietor, LLC member, limited-liability partner, or partner to file a nonelection of workers’ compensation or employers’ liability coverage; certain corporate officers may instead reject that coverage. These are coverage elections, not a general finding that an owner is a nonemployee. Ask the carrier which owner election or officer rejection applies and how it is recorded for the policy. 1

  • Secure Coverage or Relief Before Business

    Section 87.14A says an employer subject to the listed chapters may not engage in business before obtaining insurance or relief; a knowing and willful violation is a class D felony. Confirm the policy effective date or documented relief before operations begin. 3

Who Regulates Insurance in Iowa

Iowa Insurance Division

The Iowa Insurance Division licenses insurance producers and maintains separate lists for licensed insurers and surplus-lines insurer categories. Its filing page routes most rate, rule and form filings through SERFF and identifies filings requiring prior approval; eligible surplus-lines insurers are not required to file or seek approval of their rates or forms. 4,10,9,5,6

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 0.925% of surplus-lines premiums when Iowa is the insured's home state, for 2026 When Iowa is the insured's home state, the 2026 premium tax is 0.925%, and the surplus-lines producer shall collect and pay it to the state in addition to gross premium. Placement generally requires an eligible surplus-lines insurer and a diligent search showing the full amount or type is unavailable from an admitted insurer; an exempt commercial purchaser may bypass that search only after the producer discloses that admitted insurance may be available and may offer greater protection and oversight, then the purchaser subsequently requests surplus-lines placement in writing. 7,8

Providers With Documented State Licenses

These providers publish a national listing for Workers’ compensation; the state records document licenses for the entities and roles shown below. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Iowa. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

  • CorgiCorgi Insurance Services, Inc.Insurance producer · checked 2026-09-28Corgi’s company producer-license table lists 50 jurisdictions: 49 states and the District of Columbia, including DC license 3003091619. New Mexico does not appear in the table and is not included here; the omission does not establish that Corgi is unlicensed there. The company-reported table has no stated as-of date and does not establish product availability. 13
  • ERGO NEXT InsuranceNext First Insurance Agency, Inc.Insurance producer · checked 2026-09-28ERGO NEXT’s current license table lists Next First Insurance Agency, Inc. in 50 jurisdictions, including Washington, DC; New York is excluded because its table rows name Next Insurance Services and AP Intego, not Next First. The table is company-reported; it does not establish product availability or provide state-regulator verification for each entry. 15
  • HiscoxHiscox Insurance Company Inc.Insurer · checked 2026-09-28Hiscox’s U.S. company information states that Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is company-reported insurer authority for this entity and does not establish which company issues every Hiscox-branded product. 14
  • TechInsuranceSpecialty Program Group LLCInsurance producer · checked 2026-09-28TechInsurance’s current licensing page names Specialty Program Group LLC / SPG Insurance Solutions and lists state license numbers, but labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses” rather than identifying a license for the named agency. RI is omitted because this disclosure does not establish agency authority there; this is a search limitation, not an assertion that the company is unlicensed. The remaining state entries are company-reported and are not an insurance product availability map. 16
  • VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. 17

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Iowa

  1. Which domestic or casual workers meet both conditions for Iowa’s $1,500 exclusion?
  2. Does our farm payroll test include only workers who are not specifically exempt family members?
  3. Which Iowa owner nonelection or corporate-officer rejection applies to each person, and how will the carrier record it?

Workers’ Compensation in Iowa: FAQ

Are all Iowa household workers excluded from workers’ comp? 2

No. Certain household workers are covered if they earned at least $1,500 from the employer in the preceding 12 months and are not a regular member of the household. 2

Does Iowa’s farm exception depend on employee count? 2

The 2026 statute uses a prior-calendar-year cash-payroll test of $2,500 for non-exempt persons and separately lists relatives and family-farm roles excluded from that test. 2

Can an Iowa employer begin operations before securing workers’ comp? 3

No, if subject to the listed chapters: §87.14A requires insurance or relief from insurance before engaging in business, with a class D felony for willful and knowing violations. 3

Workers’ Compensation in Other States

Other Coverage in Iowa

Sources

  1. Compliance. Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing; Employer insurance FAQ, owner nonelection/rejection, independent contractor and exemption caveats; accessed 2026-09-28. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. Iowa Code §85.1 (2026). Iowa Legislature; §85.1(1)–(6): household and casual earnings exception; agricultural payroll and family exceptions; officer rejection; Iowa Code 2026 PDF printed Dec. 10, 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Iowa Code §87.14A (2026). Iowa Legislature; §87.14A: insurance or relief required before business; knowing and willful violation is a class D felony; Iowa Code 2026 PDF printed Dec. 10, 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Iowa Insurance Division. Iowa Insurance Division; Homepage; official insurance regulator. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Insurance License Lookup. Iowa Insurance Division; State-designated producer/company search. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. File an Insurance Complaint. Iowa Insurance Division; Eligibility and process: regulated entities/individuals; insurance policy generally must be issued in Iowa, or group policy to Iowa-based employer; out-of-state-issued/purchased policy is not eligible; online form is preferred. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. 2026 Iowa Code, Chapter 432. Iowa Legislature; 2026 Iowa Code ch.432 §432.1(3)-(4): premium tax allocated to insured's Iowa home state; 2026 applicable rate 0.925%; §§1(5)-(6) payment schedule. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. 2026 Iowa Code, Chapter 515I. Iowa Legislature; 2026 Iowa Code ch.515I §§515I.3(1)(c), .3(2)(a), .4(3), .9: eligible-insurer and diligence conditions; producer shall collect and pay tax in addition to gross premium; eligible surplus-lines insurer rate/form filing exemption; ECP admitted-market disclosure re possible greater protection/oversight and subsequent written request. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Insurers Rate Filing and Policy Form Filings. Iowa Insurance Division; Current DOI filing page: lines 11–34 directs most rate/rule/form filings through SERFF and lists specific rates requiring filing and approval before use; 2026 Iowa Code §515I.4(3) separately exempts eligible surplus-lines insurers from rate/form filing or approval. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  10. Insurers. Iowa Insurance Division; Current insurer categories separately list licensed insurers, Iowa-domiciled companies, alien surplus-lines insurers and American surplus-lines companies; lines 16–24. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  11. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  12. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  13. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  15. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  16. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  17. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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