Wisconsin Insurance Code: Core Laws for Licensed Producers

Wisconsin's insurance legal framework is built on Wisconsin Statutes, Chapters 600-655 — administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). What makes Wisconsin's framework most distinctive is the combination of BadgerCare Plus partial Medicaid expansion (100% FPL threshold; 100-138% FPL directed to Healthcare.gov — the only comparison state with this structure), modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar (Wis. Stat. § 895.045), required UM (stackable), the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB) — Wisconsin's independent workers' comp rating bureau (not NCCI) — and the 10 consecutive years of workers' comp rate decreases (2025 marked the 10th year). Add the Annuity Best Interest standard (effective April 15, 2022 — one of the earliest in the comparison series), the LTC training Wisconsin Medicaid content requirement, and the no-grace-period renewal policy — and Wisconsin's insurance legal landscape is more distinctive than its Midwest peer profile suggests.

Wisconsin Insurance Legal Framework

OCI Commissioner Authority

OCI contacts:

PO Box 7872, Madison, WI 53707-7872; 101 E. Wilson St., Madison, WI 53703

608-266-8699; [email protected]; oci.wi.gov

Commissioner authority:

License, suspend, revoke intermediaries and insurers

Market conduct examinations; administrative actions (published monthly)

Issue cease and desist orders; impose civil penalties

OCI's "Intermediary's Guide to Wisconsin Insurance Law": OCI publishes this official free study resource for the WI laws exam section — 34th Edition, August 2025. Download at oci.wi.gov.

Producer Licensing (Chapter 628)

PLE: 20 hrs/line; 8 hrs general; 12 hrs line-specific; Certificate 1 year; bring to PSI; pass exam before PLE = retest

Exemptions: WI tech college; 4-yr business/insurance; veterans; designations; Form OCI 11-026; 90 days prior

PSI: $75/exam; no combined; 70% both sections ONE sitting; 180-day validity; no wait retake; PSI Bridge (Chrome); Fieldprint $36 FPWIOCIInsurance 180 days

Application: $75/line + $10 + $5.60; 48-72 hr wait; 180 days to apply; 90 days docs; 1-3 business days

Temporary license: very limited

Veterans: WDVA exam fee reimbursement + license fee waiver

Renewal: 2 years; last day birth month; $35 resident; NO grace period

CE: 24 hrs (3 Ethics); $1.00/credit hour; no carryover; no duplicates in same period

Wisconsin Auto Insurance Laws

Wisconsin is an at-fault state.

Wis. Stat. § 344.15 — Minimum requirements:

$25,000 bodily injury per person

$50,000 bodily injury per accident

$10,000 property damage (same as Missouri's $10,000 statutory floor — both are distinctively low)

Modified comparative negligence (Wis. Stat. § 895.045): Wisconsin uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar:

Plaintiff at 50% or less fault → recovery reduced proportionally by fault %

Plaintiff at more than 50% (51%+) fault → BARRED from recovery

Same standard as Indiana (51% bar) but Wisconsin-specific statute

UM required:

$25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident bodily injury UM

UM stacking allowed across multiple vehicles on same policy

UIM: optional

No PIP requirement; MedPay optional

Statute of limitations: 3 years for personal injury (Wis. Stat. § 893.54).

Uninsured driver context: ~571,454 uninsured Wisconsin drivers (est.).

Wisconsin Workers' Compensation (Wis. Stat. Chapter 102)

Coverage: Very broad — nearly ALL employers and employees

Public and private employers; full-time; part-time; minors; family member-employees

No 5-employee or 3-employee threshold (unlike Missouri or some other states)

Exemptions: domestic servants; some farm employees; volunteers receiving ≤$10/week

Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB):

Independent rating bureau — NOT NCCI; NOT ICRB (Indiana)

Wisconsin's own rate service organization; created by Wisconsin law

Regulated by OCI; works closely with DWD

All Wisconsin workers' comp carriers are WCRB members

WCRB phone: 262-796-4540; wcrb.org

Rate trend — 10 consecutive years of decreasing workers' comp rates:

3.2% decrease effective October 1, 2025 (per DWD/OCI joint announcement)

10th consecutive annual decrease — reflects strong Wisconsin workplace safety culture

DWD and OCI jointly approve and announce annual rate changes

Administered by: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) — Worker's Compensation Division; NOT OCI.

Exclusive remedy: Chapter 102.

Wisconsin Health Insurance

Healthcare.gov: Federal ACA marketplace (no state-based exchange).

BadgerCare Plus: Wisconsin Medicaid with distinctive partial expansion:

≤100% FPL → BadgerCare Plus (Medicaid)

100-138% FPL → Healthcare.gov (marketplace; with PTCs)

Section 1115 waiver (not standard ACA expansion)

ONLY comparison state with this partial expansion structure

No Wisconsin individual mandate.

Wisconsin Healthcare Stability Plan: State reinsurance waiver mechanism holding marketplace rates down — verify current status at oci.wi.gov.

5 Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Wisconsin Stability Plan and how does it affect health insurance advisory? The Wisconsin Healthcare Stability Plan is a Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver that allows OCI to operate a state reinsurance program for the individual health insurance marketplace. The reinsurance program helps hold marketplace premium rates lower by covering a portion of high-cost claims — enabling insurers to price marketplace products more competitively. For health insurance producers in Wisconsin, the Stability Plan means marketplace options may be more affordable than in states without similar reinsurance mechanisms.
• How does Wisconsin's UM stacking provision affect advisory? Wisconsin allows UM coverage stacking — policyholders can combine UM coverage from multiple vehicles on the same policy to increase total UM protection. If a policyholder has three vehicles each with $25,000/$50,000 UM, stacking potentially provides $75,000/$150,000 in combined UM protection. Producers should explain stacking availability to Wisconsin clients with multiple vehicles, particularly given the ~571,454 uninsured Wisconsin drivers who make UM protection practically important.
• Why does Wisconsin's 10-year workers' comp rate decrease trend matter for commercial advisory? Wisconsin's 10 consecutive years of workers' comp rate decreases reflect genuine improvement in workplace safety and claims performance across the state. For commercial producers, this trend is an advisory talking point — Wisconsin's declining rates make it an attractive operating environment for employers from other states considering expansion, and the trend may create opportunities to shop accounts for better rates as carriers compete more aggressively in a favorable market.
• What is the workers' comp DWD vs. OCI distinction and why does it matter? Wisconsin workers' comp is administered by DWD (Department of Workforce Development) — Worker's Compensation Division, not OCI. OCI regulates insurance companies and producers (including workers' comp insurers); WCRB sets rates; DWD administers the actual workers' comp benefit system. When Wisconsin employers have workers' comp questions, they contact DWD at 608-266-3046 or dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc. When insurance questions arise about policy structure, they contact OCI or their carrier.
• Does Wisconsin's broad workers' comp coverage requirement create commercial advisory opportunities? Yes — Wisconsin's virtually universal workers' comp coverage requirement (all employers with employees, very few exemptions) means commercial producers serve virtually every Wisconsin employer with at least one employee. This is broader than Missouri's 5-employee threshold (which exempts small businesses with 2-4 employees). Every Wisconsin business from a sole proprietor with one part-time employee to a major manufacturer needs workers' comp coverage.

Build Your Career on Strong Wisconsin Compliance Knowledge

Wisconsin's OCI framework, BadgerCare Plus partial expansion, 51% comparative fault, WCRB, and 10-year rate decrease trend form the foundation of Wisconsin insurance practice. JustInsurance's OCI-approved Wisconsin courses cover the Insurance Code in depth.

Enroll today and build your Wisconsin insurance career on solid compliance ground.