The Premium Audit Bill Arrives Without Explanation
We receive this premium audit bill question quite often. I wanted to reiterate what how an employer should handle the situation.
The question is – Our company received a workers compensation premium audit billing from our insurance carrier. We did not receive any audit results, just a bill. How do we handle this situation?
The premium auditor will sometimes leave his/her results with you at the time of the audit. This is rarer now than in the past. Usually, you will receive the results of the audit approximately 14 – 30 days after the premium auditor visits your business.
The premium audit billing will usually arrive 30 – 60 days after the auditor has performed the audit. The bill will usually ask for payment within 10 days. The audit billing may have a copy of the audit attached to the bill as your first notice of the premium audit results.
If you only receive a bill without having seen any of the results, I recommend writing the insurance carrier (certified return receipt) and ask for a copy of the audit results. The carrier will usually provide an address for questions. You should receive the audit results back from your request letter within two weeks. Written documentation is very important.
I do not recommend calling your insurance carrier. You are legally entitled to the audit results – including any auditor workpapers. You are not actually disputing the audit by asking for the supporting documents. If you decide to dispute the audit, that is another matter.
Each workers comp insurance carrier has their own audit process schedule. The audit process is somewhat dictated by state law and the NCCI or State Rating Bureau. One of the easiest places to find the audit rules is actually in your policy. There are very specific time lines the carrier must follow in the premium audit process.
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