Workers' comp premium review for contractors
Contractors often have several kinds of labor in one ledger. The premium record needs to show employees, insured subcontractors, and unsupported payments separately.
What the official record says
California’s WCIRB says insurers audit employer records to determine payroll under the approved reporting plan. A New York DFS opinion on a disputed subcontractor charge says employee status is a factual question that can involve control over work methods, payment, equipment, and the true relationship. The opinion does not say that an invoice label alone decides the issue. This is why a contractor file needs both certificates and the underlying labor record.
What to check on the document
Use the payroll journal, general ledger, subcontractor ledger, 1099 file, contracts, and certificates covering the same dates as the policy.
- Match each subcontractor certificate to the named entity and policy period before relying on it.
- Separate employee payroll by the codes already used on the policy and carrier statement.
- Put disputed duties beside the carrier’s code and send the classification question through the broker.
How to use the result
The worksheet should let an auditor follow every total back to a source document. If the carrier counted a subcontractor, the rebuttal record should show the certificate, contract, payment total, dates, and relationship facts without declaring the legal classification. If the records support the carrier’s treatment, the free check should say the bill looks right.
A premium review starts with the policy, the carrier’s audit statement, payroll records, and subcontractor documents for the same policy period. We preserve the class codes the carrier used and show the described work beside them. A class-code argument belongs with the broker and carrier. Auditors are often right; the free check says so when the bill looks right.
Operated by Reality Contact, LLC. This is document preparation and arithmetic, not insurance advice. Reality Contact, LLC is not an insurance agent, adjuster, or licensed insurance consultant. We do not contact your carrier; you or your broker sends it. No contingency.