Do We Need To Pay The Premium Audit Bill Immediately?
All employers have concerns on whey they should need to pay premium audit bills as soon as they receive them from their insurance carrier.
As I have mentioned often, employers call or email us with this question more than any other by far.
The insurer is usually preparing to cancel the employer as they have not paid their premium audit bill timely. I received an email with this exact concern just before I wrote this post.
We usually respond – If you owe it, then you owe it, and if you do not owe it, then you do not – if there is a good reason to dispute the premium audit.
The rule in any state is that the employer must pay the undisputed part of the premium audit bill. We usually see on the premium audit bills some type of statement that says – Please pay or dispute in 10 days.
Your company actually has more than 10 days in most states as the time limit to dispute an audit is usually at least 30 days. In the Workers Comp policy, hidden in the back pages is the same statement limiting your company’s time to dispute or pay to 10 days. The state insurance laws have the final say.
In most cases, your company will not be bothered by the insurance carrier for 30 days. Most states agree with the 30 days. In our opinion, an employer needs some time to:
- Request the audit workpapers and review them.
- Decide whether a dispute is warranted
- Consult their agent
- If necessary, have the workpapers and premium audit bill reviewed by an expert consultant.
This blog is full of advice on how to handle this situation. The main thing to not do is to file the bill away in a drawer and ignore it.
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