It seems that our company is frequently contacted by employers seeking help when a workers comp audit goes wrong usually brought on by the receipt of an unexpected audit bill from the insurance carrier.
What can an employer do if they have a problem with their audit? Here’s a few things to think about.
- Were you prepared for your audit? We see this quite often as an area that creates problems with audits. Be sure to prepare for your audit. When the employer’s not prepared and does not have the documents required by the auditor to be reviewed, it just causes delays and improper completion of the audit. Most of the time, lack of proper documentation will cause the auditor to put the audit on hold, having to wait for the employer to send additional documentation at a later date. If that information is never received then the auditor will close his case and return it to the insurance carrier marked incomplete.
- As an employer, do you understand the process and purpose of an audit? Ask your insurance agent to help you understand the process. If your agent can’t help you then contact a workers comp consultant. Regardless how you become informed about the process and purpose it’s important that you know how the audit works, what it’s for and what to expect upon completion.
- Does your audit contain errors or mistakes? Most the time it’s nearly impossible for an employer to maintain the knowledge base needed in order to thoroughly analyze their work comp audit. Here’s where you may need to ask for help so be sure to seek the assistance of an independent work comp consultant to analyze your completed audit.
- Is there a list common errors that an employer can use? Sure there are common mistakes that happen on audits and you can use this list to check off common mistakes that occur. But be aware there are many items that can go wrong, many items that can contribute to additional premium being paid by an employer.
- What can an employer do when things go wrong with their audit? Many times we are called to help an employer who is having an audit problem after they’ve tried to work through the problem themselves. And I’m sure other work comp consultants out there would say the same thing. So if there was only one suggestion I could give, that would be do not wait to ask for help! Time is not on your side when it comes to resolving problems with a workers compensation audit.
I hope you’ve found this information helpful!
