Paying The Premium Audit Bill Misunderstanding
Last week, I wrote a post concerning paying the premium audit bill. I have heard from a few of our weekly newsletter readers that the title of the newsletter article and the article itself sounded like an employer should just pay the bill. I apologize as nothing could be further from what I had intended to say on workers compensation premium audit bills.
One of the best comments I have ever heard or possibly read referred to any bill. Your company should pay what you owe, but not a cent more. Premium audit bills are no exception. A piece of advice that I post on often is to pay the undisputed amount and not just refuse to pay any of the bills whatsoever if there is a pending dispute. If you feel that you do not owe a partial amount on a bill, then pay the undisputed amount when the bill is due. Your company does not have to pay the disputed amount – if it is based on a valid dispute.
Recently, and I think it is due to the economy, I have received numerous calls and emails where a dispute process was entered into with the carrier to delay paying the bill. That is one of the quickest ways to ruin a company’s reputation with their agent and carrier. A word of caution – expect a cancellation notice from your carrier if this has happened. Insurance carriers are becoming much less patient with invalid disputes.
I do not mean to sound like a Workers Compensation insurance company advocate. I am just reporting what we have seen over the last two years in the insurance environment. There are no new companies being created and most companies have reduced their staff. Workers Comp carriers have seen premiums fall quickly. Their margins have become thinner.
What is an invalid dispute? Any dispute where your non-payment is based on the insurance policy and premium audit bill was just too expensive. Your company needs to have re-calculated the premium audit with real and true numbers. The insurance carrier’s audit department will need something in writing within 30 days maximum on the basis for your dispute.
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