Our Readers #1 Question
The #1 question we receive from employers usually involves a premium audit bill.
Q: I have just received an audit billing of $47,500 from our Workers Compensation policy from last year. What do I do now? My total premium for last year was $93,000. The bill is for over 50% of what I paid last year.
A:
- Do not just pay the bill. Do not just write a check and assume it is a part of doing business. Once you write the premium audit billing check, you have lost a large amount of leverage.
- Ask for a full breakdown of the premium billing and why it changed.
- If it was due to tremendous growth by your company and payrolls spiked, you likely owe it, but just make sure you understand where the increased figures all came from before writing the check.
- If the premium audit bill was due to a major change to your policy, you should be very wary of what changed.
- If you do not feel comfortable writing the check, please consult a premium audit specialist company. That, of course, is what we do every day.
StockUnlimited - You may have a deadline in the number of days to appeal the audit. Do not wait until the very last minute, as there may be penalties for not responding if you question the payroll audit. Always use certified return receipt mail if you decide to launch a dispute.
- Along with #6, do not call or email for premium audit help if the deadline to pay or dispute the audit is in a few days.
- Do not just dispute the premium audit bill because you think it is just too expensive. You must have some basis for your dispute. Remember, this is the same agent and workers comp insurance carrier that you will have to deal with next year.
#1 – #8 from above is why we say “Stop just writing checks.”
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