| The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) announced that it has increased the premium threshold for requiring an employer to undergo a physical premium audit. Effective October 1, 2019, the threshold for requiring an annual physical audit is increasing from $5,000 to $10,000. Insurers will have the option of performing physical audits every year for employers who pay less than $10,000 in premium, but they will not be required to do so. The rules still require a physical audit the first year a policy with a premium below $10,000 is written with a particular carrier, then once every three years after that. The rule change, which the New York State Department of Financial Services has approved, "enables carriers to focus resources on where they are most meaningfully spent," the announcement said. What this means to you: If you sell Workers' Compensation insurance, some of your clients will no longer have to meet with auditors every year. Instead they will be asked to sign payroll statements and return them to the carriers. Clients who have grown accustomed to annual audits may be confused about this change, so you should prepare to answer their questions. |