Health Insurance for Solar Installers and Solar Company Owners

How installers usually get covered

Solar installers end up in a few different spots:

• W-2 at a larger installer. You may have a group plan, often with a sizable share of the premium coming out of your check for family coverage.
• W-2 at a small company with no plan. Very common. You are on your own, and the Marketplace is the default most people land on.
• 1099 installers and subcontractors. You get paid per job or per kilowatt. Nobody withholds anything, and nobody buys your coverage.
• Owners of small solar companies. You need a plan for yourself and maybe a way to help your crew.

What the pay looks like

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $53,140 for solar photovoltaic installers in May 2025, with about 31,100 jobs in 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). That is the wage figure for employees. Lead installers, electricians who install solar and owners can earn a good deal more, and 1099 crews can have big months and empty ones.

Why solar income is hard to predict

Solar work depends on things you cannot control: changes to incentives, permit backlogs, utility interconnection rules, interest rates on customer loans and storms. A company can be booked six months out and then slow to a crawl when a program changes.

That matters most on the Marketplace, where premium help is based on what you expect to earn. For 2027, the credit stops completely at 400 percent of the federal poverty level: $63,840 for one person, $86,560 for two, $109,280 for three and $132,000 for four. Estimate low, take the credit, then have a strong second half, and you repay the entire advance credit on Form 8962 when you file.

The reverse happens too. An installer who expected a big year and skipped the credit may have qualified after a slow fall. The Marketplace reconciles at tax time either way, but the surprise bill is the one that hurts.

The 2027 Marketplace in plain terms

• Higher premiums. KFF's review of 2027 filings found a median proposed increase of about 15 percent.
• A hard cutoff. No phase-out above 400 percent of the poverty level.
• Narrow networks. Many plans are HMOs or EPOs with no out-of-network coverage except emergencies.
• One window. Open enrollment runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, with December 15 the deadline for a January 1 start.
• High exposure. The out-of-pocket maximum is $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family.

For an installer whose income will clearly finish under the line, the credit can still make the Marketplace a good deal. Above it, these drawbacks are why I price a private plan first.

How a private plan works

A private, medically underwritten plan is priced on your age, ZIP code and health. What you made on installs this year does not change the rate. You answer health questions and the insurer decides whether to approve you. If approved, coverage can start on the first of a month, which helps when you change companies mid-year or go from W-2 to 1099.

Private plans are not ACA Marketplace plans. Benefits and pre-existing condition rules vary by plan, and networks vary too. I walk through those details plan by plan before you choose.

Roofs, ladders and underwriting

BLS names the main hazards: falls from ladders and roofs, electrical shock and burns from hot equipment. Installers also lift panels and racking all day in full sun, which wears on backs and shoulders, and heat illness is a real risk in southern states.

Underwriting asks about injuries, surgeries and ongoing treatment. A healed sprain from two years ago is rarely an issue. A recent back surgery or a pending shoulder repair can lead to an exclusion or a decline. If that is your situation, the Marketplace accepts everyone during open enrollment or a special enrollment period and does not price on health.

Workers' comp versus health insurance

Workers' compensation covers job injuries for employees, and it is separate from health insurance. If you are a W-2 installer, your employer's workers' comp policy usually handles an injury on a roof. If you are a 1099 subcontractor, you may not be covered by the company's policy at all, and some general contractors require subs to carry their own. Ask the company you work with what applies, and ask any health plan how it treats an injury that happens at work. That is a question for the company or an attorney, not legal advice from me.

Going from W-2 to 1099

A lot of installers leave a company to run their own crew. When job coverage ends:

1. Ask your employer for the exact last day of coverage.
2. Apply for a private plan with a start date on the first of the following month, which takes effect only if approved.
3. Keep COBRA available while underwriting finishes. It lasts up to 18 months for employers with 20 or more employees and can cost up to 102 percent of the full premium.
4. If your health makes approval unlikely, enroll on the Marketplace within 60 days of losing coverage.

The 1099 contractor guide covers this switch in more detail.

For solar company owners

If you run a solar company and want to help your crew, you do not have to set up a traditional group plan. An ICHRA lets an employer of any size give workers a monthly allowance toward their own individual coverage, and a QSEHRA is open to employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees. Both have rules about who is eligible and how the allowance is offered, so plan them with your payroll provider.

For your own premium, how you hold the business matters. A sole proprietor or single-member LLC owner may be able to claim the self-employed health insurance deduction on IRS Form 7206, while a more-than-2-percent S corporation owner generally runs the premium through the company and reports it in W-2 wages. General information, not tax advice — confirm with your CPA based on your specific entity structure.

Commission pay, sales roles and income swings

Not everyone in solar is on a roof. Many people move between installing, site surveys and sales, and solar sales is often commission-heavy. A few big months can carry a year, and a program change can stall a whole pipeline of signed deals. If part of your household income comes from commissions, the Marketplace estimate gets even harder, because a deal that closes in December counts toward that year.

A private plan sidesteps that, since commissions never enter the price. If you are healthy, that predictability is a big part of the appeal.

Moving to where the work is

Solar work follows incentives and sunshine, and some installers move states for a better market. Your health coverage follows your home address. If you move permanently, that can open a special enrollment period on the Marketplace in your new state. A private plan priced on your old ZIP code generally has to be reviewed when you move, so call me before you go. The guide to using health insurance in another state covers what changes.

Questions to ask before you enroll

• Are your doctors and the nearest urgent care in the network?
• How does the plan handle a fall or a burn that happens off the job?
• If you add your crew later through an ICHRA, will your own plan change?
• Does the plan allow you to pick a payment date that matches when jobs pay out?

When the Marketplace is the better fit

If your household income will honestly come in under 400 percent of the poverty level, or if you have a health condition underwriting will not accept, the Marketplace is often the right home. I compare both and tell you straight.

What to bring to a quote

• Your home ZIP code and the ages of everyone to be covered.
• Your medications and any injuries or surgeries in recent years.
• Whether you are W-2, 1099 or an owner, and roughly what this year and next look like.
• Your doctors' names, so we can check networks.

I work with solar crews in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Colorado and other states, all by phone or video. Get a quote and I will lay out private and Marketplace options side by side.