New Hampshire business insurance requirements

New Hampshire requires workers' compensation from the first employee, and the Department of Labor expects employers to have the policy in place before they hire anyone. There is no state fund. Small corporations and LLCs get a useful option: they can exclude up to three officers or members. The state also stands apart on two other fronts: its paid family leave plan is voluntary, backed by a tax credit, and its auto law works through financial responsibility rather than the usual mandate.

Workers' compensation requirements

A private employer is anyone who "employs one or more persons," including people hired outside the state who actually work in New Hampshire (RSA 281-A:2, VIII). The employer must insure with a licensed carrier or qualify to self-insure (281-A:5). The Department of Labor puts the timing bluntly: employers "must apply for and obtain coverage prior to the hiring of any employee" (NH DOL).

Corporate officers and LLC members are covered unless excluded. A corporation or LLC "may elect to exclude up to 3 executive officers or members," and the exclusion is valid only once filed with the labor commissioner (281-A:18-a). Up to three such officers or members are also left out of the head count, so a company whose only workers are its officers or members may not count as an employer at all; confirm with the division. Sole proprietors and partners are employees only "if they elect to be personally covered" (281-A:2, VI(a)). See can owners and officers exclude themselves from workers' comp?.

Anyone who performs services for pay is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring business can show the worker meets every element of a statutory test, including control over how and when the work is done (281-A:2, VI(b)). Direct sellers and qualified real estate brokers and agents are carved out. See independent contractors and workers' comp: the misclassification risk.

A contractor "shall bear the liability of the subcontractor" for comp owed to the sub's employees unless the sub has secured coverage, and can recover what it pays from the sub. The rule also covers excavation, drilling and timber cutting jobs (281-A:18). Officers and members a sub has properly excluded do not count as uninsured employees for this purpose. Get a certificate of insurance or a copy of the filed exclusion before work starts; the department's online verification tool draws on policy data reported by NCCI as its designated agent.

An employer that fails to secure coverage can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $2,500, plus up to $100 per employee for each day of noncompliance, counted from the first day and capped at one year. Anyone "with control or responsibility over decisions to disburse funds and salaries" who knowingly failed to insure is personally liable for the penalties, and the commissioner can ask the superior court to bar the employer from doing business until it complies (281-A:7). Injured employees of an uninsured employer can still claim benefits through the commissioner, and an award becomes a lien on the employer's property.

New Hampshire has no state fund; coverage comes from private carriers or self-insurance, and NCCI files loss costs. Employers no carrier will write go to the residual market, which NCCI administers through the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Association; for 2026 the servicing carriers are LM Insurance (Liberty Mutual), Technology Insurance (AmTrust) and Travelers (NCCI administrators; servicing carriers). See workers' compensation insurance: how it works and assigned risk and residual markets for workers' comp.

Disability and paid leave mandates

There is no state disability insurance program. Paid family leave is voluntary. The Granite State Paid Family Leave Plan, created in 2021, uses the state's purchasing power for its own employees to make family and medical leave insurance available "on a voluntary basis" to other public and private employers, and to individuals whose employers do not offer it (RSA 21-I:99-100). An employer that sponsors the coverage gets a business enterprise tax credit equal to 50% of the premium it pays (RSA 77-E:3-e). Check current rates and the carrier with the state before enrolling, and see state disability and paid family leave programs: every mandate in 2026.

Commercial auto requirements

A motor vehicle liability policy in New Hampshire must provide at least $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to two or more people in one accident and $25,000 for property damage (RSA 259:61), the same amounts required as proof of financial responsibility (264:20). The state's law works through financial responsibility: after a reported accident, an owner or driver without a policy faces license and registration suspension until posting security and maintaining proof of coverage (264:3). For a business that distinction is academic; no lender, landlord or customer will accept an uninsured fleet. Private passenger policies must include at least $1,000 of medical payments coverage, but commercial policies on more than four vehicles, garages and trucking operations are exempt (264:16). Interstate for-hire carriers need at least $750,000 under federal rules; see FMCSA insurance requirements and filings for motor carriers and commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out.

The business insurance market in New Hampshire

Flooding and storms are the recurring catastrophe. FEMA declared major disasters for storms and flooding that began July 9, 2023 (DR-4740), a winter storm and flooding from April 3, 2024 (DR-4799) and storms and flooding from June 10, 2026 (DR-4947). Flood is excluded from standard commercial property forms, and NFIP commercial limits stop at $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for contents, with the program authorized only through December 11, 2026 (FEMA). See Commercial flood insurance: NFIP limits and private options.

Surplus lines producers file a sworn statement of gross premiums by January 31 each year and pay 3% of gross premiums less return premiums, with late-payment penalties of 3% to 12% of the tax (RSA 405:29). New Hampshire has no FAIR plan: none appears among the plans in the Property Insurance Plans Service Office's member list (PIPSO), so commercial property the standard market declines generally goes to the surplus lines market. See surplus lines taxes, stamping fees and diligent search.

Liability law that affects premiums

A plaintiff can recover if his fault "was not greater than the fault of the defendant, or the defendants in the aggregate," with damages reduced by his share (RSA 507:7-d). Personal actions, which include injury, property damage and contract claims, must be brought within three years of the act or omission, or within three years of when the injury reasonably could have been discovered (508:4).

Where to get help

• New Hampshire Insurance Department (insurance.nh.gov): Consumer Services 603-271-2261, or 800-852-3416 toll free in state. Consumer Services takes complaints against insurers and producers.
• Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division (dol.nh.gov): 603-271-3176 or 800-272-4353, for coverage verification, officer and member exclusions, and claims.

Confirm your obligations with the division or a licensed broker, and compare states with the workers' comp and benefits requirements by state.