New Hampshire Business Insurance Guide 2026

Who must carry it: 1 or more employees (New Hampshire RSA 281-A:2, Definitions (VIII, Employer with respect to private employment)).

Exemptions and exclusions

Executive officers of a corporation and LLC members and managers are not counted as employees, except those in excess of three (RSA 281-A:2, VIII(a)). Sole proprietors and partners are not employees unless they elect coverage (RSA 281-A:2, VI(a)) (New Hampshire RSA 281-A:2, Definitions (VIII, Employer with respect to private employment)).

The agency to ask is the New Hampshire Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division. Pricing is separate from the legal rule: the workers' comp calculator multiplies the payroll, rate and modifier you enter, and the workers' compensation guide explains the coverage.

New Hampshire's financial responsibility law sets proof amounts of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage (N.H. RSA 264:20, Amount of Proof of Financial Responsibility (New Hampshire General Court)). The state can require that proof after certain convictions (RSA 264:2) or after a reported accident (RSA 264:3).

We could not confirm from an official page whether New Hampshire otherwise requires liability insurance. Confirm with the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles or the New Hampshire Insurance Department.

Private passenger auto liability policies issued in the state must include uninsured motorist coverage (RSA 264:15) and at least $1,000 per person of medical payments coverage (RSA 264:16). Commercial policies differ: the medical payments rule does not apply to a commercial policy insuring more than four automobiles (RSA 264:16), and a commercial policy need not provide uninsured motorist coverage for vehicles the policyholder does not own (RSA 264:15).

These amounts are the proof of financial responsibility the state can require, not a confirmed general insurance requirement. Commercial and for-hire vehicles can face different or higher federal or state requirements, and leases, lenders and clients can ask for more; see our commercial auto guide.

New Hampshire has a voluntary state paid family and medical leave insurance plan (NH PFML), offered through MetLife as the state's insurance partner. It pays 60% of the average weekly wage, up to the Social Security wage cap, for up to six weeks a year (NH Paid Family and Medical Leave).

Employers are not required to buy it; it is available to NH employers as a group plan and to workers as an individual plan costing no more than $5 a week. Employers that buy the six-week plan through MetLife may claim a Business Enterprise Tax credit equal to 50% of the premium they pay (NH Paid Family and Medical Leave).

What employers do: No mandate: employers may choose to buy NH PFML group coverage (or another approved PFML plan) and choose how to share the premium with workers (NH Paid Family and Medical Leave).

In New Hampshire, licenses, leases and client contracts can add their own insurance or bond conditions, such as minimum general liability limits; track each one with the certificate of insurance checklist and compare states in the requirements-by-state guide.

• Workers' compensation: New Hampshire Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division
• Auto liability proof amounts: N.H. RSA 264:20, Amount of Proof of Financial Responsibility (New Hampshire General Court)
• Paid leave and disability insurance: State of New Hampshire, NH Paid Family and Medical Leave

Use the state requirements checklist to organize what to ask. You can also request coverage help for a PolicyBenchmark follow-up about your New Hampshire business.