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Guide

How a premium audit charges you for subs

After a policy year, your workers' comp and general liability carriers usually check what you actually paid, and the final premium follows. What you paid subs is part of that check.

Facts checked Nov 7, 2026 · Sources

What the auditor asks for

When the audit letter comes, carriers and state funds ask for records like these. Each carrier sends its own list.

  • Payroll records and tax forms for the policy year
  • Your ledgers
  • A list of the subs you paid, with what each one was paid
  • A certificate for each sub, for the dates they worked

To tick them off as you find them and print the list, use the audit letter checklist.

A sub with no certificate on file

If you can't show a certificate for a sub you paid, the carrier charges premium on that work as if your own crew had done it. Some carriers add the sub's whole cost when no certificate is on file.

For workers' comp, the rules of NCCI, a rating bureau many states use, can count a sub's whole contract price when the sub's own payroll records aren't there. When the job's papers show what part was payroll, that part counts, but not less than 90% of the price for work that is labor only. If a sub's bills include materials, ask your auditor whether only the labor counts.

General liability audits look at what you paid subs too, and charge for subs without the coverage your carrier asks for.

The general liability your carrier asks for

Carriers set their own bar for a sub's general liability. Their audit pages say:

Harford Mutual and Amerisure$1M in limits
Nationwide$1M / $2M
State FarmAt least your own limits
Great AmericanAt least your own limits, or $500K per occurrence

Your policy or your agent can tell you yours. Coverstamp checks each certificate against the requirements you set.

What it can add

Say you paid Lindvall Concrete $29,460 this year, and there is no certificate on file. At a workers' comp rate of $14 per $100, the audit could add $4,124, and more if your experience mod is above 1.00.

Rates differ by trade and state: New Jersey's 2015 table set roofing at $38.06 per $100 of payroll. Your rate is on your policy's rate page.

To see it for every sub you paid, upload a payments report and tick the subs you can show a certificate for. No account needed, and with no report at hand you can type a total and your rates there instead.

A certificate that comes later

New York's state fund says proof of coverage you send after the audit can lead to an adjustment. Other carriers decide for themselves, so a certificate for every date a sub worked is the record to keep.

If you disagree with the bill

Each carrier has its own procedure and deadline. Pennsylvania's state fund gives 30 days from the bill, for example, and Chesapeake Employers has a form of its own. You can ask the carrier to review the bill, in writing, with your documents.

If that doesn't settle it, your state's insurance department or its workers' comp rating bureau can tell you where a premium dispute goes next. The part you don't dispute may still be due on time, so check the bill.

To put your charges and reasons in a plain letter, use the free audit dispute letter.

Beyond the premium

In many states, a general contractor can owe workers' comp benefits to an uninsured sub's injured workers. Your state's workers' comp agency can tell you how it works in yours.

Sources

Facts checked Nov 7, 2026. This page states facts, not insurance or legal advice. Found a mistake? Email hello@coverstamp.com, and see how we check facts.

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Coverstamp keeps track of your subs' certificates for you. It asks for each one, checks it against your requirements and follows up on what's missing. It opens in early 2027, and people on the list get in first.

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