2025 preliminary premium rates
WorkSafeBC announces that the average base premium rate for 2025 is 1.55 percent of employers' assessable payroll, which has been maintained at the same level since 2018. Our strong financial results have enabled us to keep the average rate flat for 2025.
Together with worker and employer stakeholders, we're working to reduce serious injuries and enhance return-to-work opportunities. In doing this, we can collectively help to prevent injuries, improve return-to-work outcomes, and ultimately lower insurance rates.
COVID-19 claims costs and your insurance rate
Learn more about the approach taken by WorkSafeBC to recognize the negative impact that COVID-19 claims costs may have had on employers.
Find your rate
Our classification unit, industry, and rate search engine contains information on the premium rates for 2025, as well as information from previous years.
Find my classification unit, industry, or rate
You can learn more about changes to our classification structure by downloading the 2025 classification unit changes.
How the rates are set
The Workers Compensation Act requires WorkSafeBC to set premium rates annually for employers in order to pay for the workers’ compensation system.
Employers are placed in one of 514 classification units with other similar businesses. These classification units are then placed into one of 55 insurance pools we refer to as rate groups.
Employers in each rate group pay the costs of injuries and diseases that occur to the workers within the group, with the intent that each rate group be self-sufficient with regard to compensation costs. This limits cross-subsidization between industries, maintains relatively stable insurance rates, and limits growth of unfunded liabilities in the rate groups.
Each year, costs in some rate groups go up, some go down and others stay the same. In 2025, 59 percent of employers in B.C. will experience a decrease in their industry base rate, 33 percent will see their industry base rate increase, and 8 percent will see no change.
Examples of industries with rate decreases include: Acute Care, Commercial Cleaning, Construction, General Retail, Local Government, Public School District, General Trucking, First Nations Operations, Restaurants, and Hotels.
Examples of industries with rate increases include: Physician Professional Services, Dentistry, Counselling or Social Services, Residential Social Services, Home Improvement Centres, Large Retail Store, Supermarket, Commercial Bus or Public Transportation, Ferry Services, and Law Enforcement.
Example of industries with little to no change to their rates include: Advanced Education, Auto Service or Repair, Law, Waste Removal, Low Slope Roofing, Fire or Flood Restoration, Road Construction, Pulp and Paper Mill, Orchard and Oil or Gas Pipeline Construction.
More information
Resources
Preliminary insurance rates for 2025
See the preliminary insurance rates for all industries in British Columbia in 2025.
Changes to classification units for 2025
Each year when we set premium rates for the next year, we review the current classification structure to ensure we continue to provide fair insurance rates. This document outlines the classification...
Classification and rate setting structure changes
Each year when we set premium rates for the next year, we review the way we classify firms and industries. We are proposing to expire or move the classification units listed in this document starting...
See also
Media Backgrounder: Premium Rates
This backgrounder provides an overview of how WorkSafeBC is funded, how premium rates for employers are determined, and some key facts about premium rates.
Media Backgrounder: Financial Management
This backgrounder provides an overview of how the workers’ compensation system is funded, WorkSafeBC’s financial obligations, and some key facts about our financial management.