Plumbing — 5183
NCCI 5183 · PLUMBING NOC & DRIVERS
NOC means not otherwise classified: 5183 is the plumbing code used when a more specific code does not control. It covers contractors who install, remove, or repair the piping, fixtures, appliances, and accessories that carry gas or water to where they are used, including the shop work connected with those operations and the drivers tied to the crew. Residential service and repair, new residential construction, commercial service and repair, and commercial new construction all generally land here when the work is plumbing. Water heaters, fixtures, drain and supply piping, and the trenching a plumber does for its own lines typically stay in 5183. Sewer main construction, stand-alone boiler installation, and contract welding as a business of its own are different codes.
HVAC — 5537
NCCI 5537 · HVAC AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS — INSTALLATION, SERVICE AND REPAIR & DRIVERS
5537 is the code when heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or refrigeration is the governing operation: installing, servicing, and repairing furnaces, heat pumps, condensers, air handlers, refrigeration units, and the ductwork that goes with them, plus the drivers tied to that work. A shop that is mostly HVAC starts at 5537 even if it does some plumbing. Air conditioning or gas piping done as part of a plumbing operation can still land in 5183. Sheet metal fabrication or duct installation run as a business of its own is a separate sheet metal class, not 5537. Tell us the mix and we will confirm the governing class from the work.
Electrical — 5190
NCCI 5190 · ELECTRICAL WIRING — WITHIN BUILDINGS & DRIVERS
5190 covers electrical wiring within buildings: service panels, branch circuits, fixtures, outlets, and the drivers tied to that crew, for residential, commercial, and new construction work. Outside power line construction is a different class. Low-voltage work as a business of its own — burglar and fire alarm installation, security systems, audio-visual, and data cabling — usually falls under separate classes, not 5190. A plumbing or HVAC contractor who also does some wiring is not automatically 5190 for that payroll, and an electrician is not 5183.
Fire sprinkler — 5188
NCCI 5188 · AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER INSTALLATION & DRIVERS
5188 is automatic fire sprinkler installation: the risers, mains, branch lines, heads, and the testing that goes with installing a sprinkler system inside a building, plus the drivers tied to the crew. It is fire protection, not ordinary plumbing — if sprinkler installation is most of the work, the code is 5188, not 5183. Fire alarm installation is a separate low-voltage class, and lawn irrigation is not 5188.
When you do more than one
Most contractors are rated on one governing class — the one that describes most of the work. Construction classes have a narrow exception: payroll for one employee can be split between construction codes only when your records show the hours or wages for each kind of work. Estimates and percentages after the fact do not count, and an audit will put the payroll in the highest-rated class that applies. If your crews really do plumbing and HVAC, keep the time records. We will ask about the mix and price it honestly.
Splitting payroll with 8810
8810 is clerical office employees. Payroll can be split to 8810 only for people whose duties are exclusively clerical and who work in an office physically separated from the shop and the field. A CSR who also runs parts to a job, an owner who estimates in the truck, or a dispatcher who walks the warehouse is not 8810. We will ask about the mix. We will not promise a split that the audit will take back.
What actually drives your rate
Your rate is not a number on this page. In NCCI states it is built from the loss cost or rate filed for your class code in your state, the carrier’s multiplier, your experience modification, schedule and other rating factors, and the payroll you put in each class. Hazards — work above 20 feet, trenches over 5 feet, gas lines — affect how the account is viewed. Claims in the last three years affect how the account is viewed. None of that is an online premium, and we will not show you one. An indication is a preliminary estimate based on information you provide that we have not verified. It is not a quote.
State specifics
Our first six states are NCCI states, and the four codes are the same in each: plumbing 5183, HVAC 5537, electrical 5190, fire sprinkler 5188. Texas writes under the Texas Department of Insurance’s rules; the codes match, except Texas HVAC contractors are usually classed 5536. The statutes, the filings, and the certificates are not the same. Arizona requires coverage at one employee and the Registrar of Contractors wants a certificate on file if you hold an ROC licence with employees. Utah requires coverage for employees and DOPL wants proof of coverage on file with DOPL named as the certificate holder. Florida construction employers with one or more employees must secure compensation under Fla. Stat. §440.38, on a Florida policy or Florida endorsement. Georgia requires coverage at three regular employees, Missouri at one employee for construction, and Illinois at one employee. Texas lets most private employers choose, but a non-subscriber loses its defenses if a worker sues. Read the state pages for that. We do not write California, or the monopolistic state-fund states of Ohio, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.
Arizona·Utah·Florida·Georgia·Missouri·Illinois·Texas
What would my rate be?