Guide
What is workers' comp class code 5183 (plumbing), and how is it priced?
Key takeaways
- Class 5183 is the standard plumbing classification used in the Indiana ICRB / NCCI advisory filing.
- The Indiana advisory rate effective January 1, 2026 is $0.924 per $100 of payroll, with a $0.679 loss cost and a $451 minimum premium.
- Advisory rates are not a binder; carriers may apply multipliers, modifiers, and credits.
- These Indiana figures should not be copied onto a policy in another state.
On this page
When an insurer prices workers' compensation for a plumbing employee, it usually starts with a classification code, not a free-form job title. In the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau filing of advisory rates, loss costs, and assigned-risk rates proposed to be effective January 1, 2026, class 5183 is the plumbing class we use in the FirstHire calculator. This page explains the published Indiana figures and the limits of what they can tell you. It is not a quote and not a determination of your class.
What the Indiana filing lists for 5183
The official ICRB advisory rates filing includes a table of class codes, rates, and minimum premiums effective January 1, 2026, and a separate table of advisory loss costs (which exclude most expense provisions). For class 5183 those tables show:
- Advisory rate: $0.924 per $100 of payroll
- Advisory loss cost: $0.679 per $100 of payroll
- Minimum premium in the rate table: $451
A loss cost is not the same thing as a final rate. The filing itself explains that carriers may adopt advisory rates, deviate from them, or start from advisory loss costs and apply their own expense provisions (a loss-cost multiplier) to arrive at the rate they charge. Experience modifiers, schedule credits or debits, and other charges can also change the premium. That is why two plumbing shops in Indiana can pay different amounts on the same payroll.
How that math shows up on a first hire
Premium is generally estimated as payroll divided by 100, multiplied by the rate. For a full-time hire at $20 an hour and 40 hours a week, annual wages are $41,600. Using the 5183 advisory rate, $41,600 ÷ 100 × 0.924 equals $384.38. That is below the $451 minimum premium in the filing, so the FirstHire calculator applies $451 when you leave the Indiana minimum-premium option on. Your carrier may use a different minimum.
Those steps are illustrated in How much does it cost to hire your first employee as a plumber? and can be rerun in the calculator.
What we are not claiming
We did not invent a nationwide 5183 rate. The numbers above are Indiana advisory values from the January 1, 2026 filing. Other states use different bureaus, loss costs, and multipliers. If your work is not standard plumbing, a different class may apply; classification is a carrier and rating-bureau question, not something this website can assign. Indiana still generally requires coverage for a first W-2 employee — see Do I need workers' comp for one employee in Indiana? and the Worker's Compensation Board.
Nearby Indiana advisory rates from the same filing, for context only, include class 5190 (electrical wiring within buildings) at $0.901 with a $444 minimum, and class 5537 (HVAC installation, service, and repair) at $1.236 with a $549 minimum. Each has its own loss cost. Do not pick a class because the advisory rate is lower.
Ask a licensed Indiana agent for a quote in the correct class. The ICRB filing is a public rating document, not your policy.
Run your own numbers Use the free calculator to change the wage, state, or benefits in this estimate.
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