• We have our workers compensation under control, what could be wrong?
Most of our clients think that they have the workers compensation under control. It is important to recognize that the carrier and auditor may commit the errors. The carrier’s auditor is typically at the office for only 1 or 2 hours to confirm the estimated payroll versus the actual. The payroll, in most companies is segregated by department. This can lead to errors at the time of audit. Additionally, the carrier and the rating board frequently make mistakes in the experience ratings.

• Will our carrier drop us for requesting a refund?
The carriers will work with a client because they wish to maintain the relationship and keep the client. Even if you are no longer insured with a carrier, they may attempt to secure your business in the future. Our relationship with the carrier is more important than that of our client. We work very hard to maintain a good working relationship with the carriers. What we do is simply part of their normal business process.

• We change carriers every year, is that going to be a problem?
Believe it or not most of our clients have multiple carriers over the audit period. Due to the expensive nature of workers compensation it is typically put to bid annually. The audit process is subject to error and the carriers are aware of that fact. They want to have the correct information and charge the correct premium to the insured.

• Why does our broker not provide this service?
As you can well imagine your broker is responsible for a multitude of policies for numerous clients. As such, there is not enough time to look at every detail of every policy for every client. The broker’s primary responsibilities are to make certain that you are properly insured and at a competitive price from a carrier that will provide the level of service you expect.

• My broker works very closely with us on the workers compensation policy. How is it you can help?
Brokers that do get very involved in the workers compensation programs typically monitor claims activity. This can make our service more valuable, because the more activity in the way of adjustments the greater the likelihood of an error in the modification calculations. The payroll audit aspect of our service is an area that 99.9% of all brokers do not get involved with at all. In fact, many brokers send a letter to the insured asking them to carefully review the audit because they have no way to verify its accuracy.

• Our accounting firm reviews the workers compensation audits. Wouldn’t your efforts be redundant?
Our expertise is solely in the workers compensation arena and as such we are typically successful in spite of the efforts of numerous other professionals who may have a working knowledge of workers compensation, yet be unaware of certain rules that would save a company money.

• Do you sell insurance?
We do not directly sell insurance although we have relationships with many companies that can help if you so desire.

• We are very concerned with the confidential nature of the information involved. Will you share it with anyone?
We have a confidentiality clause in our agreement and will be happy to sign a separate agreement if you wish. We do not sell your information to third parties; your only contact will be with Corporate Cost Solutions Inc. and its affiliated companies.

• What kind of refund can I expect?
We typically recover in the range of 12% to 14% of the premiums we examine. This can be quite a large sum when you look at the prior years’ premiums and the future savings.

• Who gets the refund?
Your carrier will always send the credits or checks directly to you or your broker. The broker receives the refunds when your premiums were paid to the broker as opposed to directly to the carrier. In these cases, the broker must forward the refund or apply the credit to your account.

• What exactly is involved here (how much of my time is going to be diverted from other tasks?)?
Very little of your time is required throughout the process. The audit is done remotely, from our office at your convenience with all communication by phone/email. We will assist in gathering any paperwork if necessary. Typically, a brief telephone conversation may be needed to discuss and understand your operations. The experience and reserve review is also conducted at our offices and completely invisible to you (simply sign a release for the data we require).

• What information do you require?
To conduct the payroll audit we require the same payroll information that you supply to the carrier’s auditor (spreadsheet, master controls etc.), audit bills and the worksheets (from the carrier’s annual audits) for all years to be reviewed (typically the three most recently closed policies).

• What if I can’t find the worksheets and or audit bills?
It is best if you have them but not a problem if you don’t. The carrier has copies, which can be easily obtained.

• What about our dividends, premium adjustments that result from Retros or the annual audit?
First, dividends are not subject to our fees unless we increase them as a direct result of our work. The same would apply to Retro adjustments or return premiums resulting from an overestimate of payrolls. Our fees are only attached to savings we produce.