08/27/2026
Your workers comp policy ends. You think you are done.
Then a bill shows up three months later.
That is how workers comp audits work on Long Island, and a lot of contractors are caught off guard by it.
Here is the mechanic. Your premium at the start of the year is an estimate, based on the payroll you reported when you signed up. At the end of the policy term, the carrier audits your actual payroll. If you paid out more than you estimated, you owe the difference. No warning, just a bill.
Two things make it worse.
First, subcontractors. If a sub you hired does not carry their own workers comp, your carrier may fold their payroll into yours during the audit. That number goes up fast.
Second, job classifications. If any of your workers did work that falls into a higher-risk class code than what you reported, the rate applied to that payroll is higher.
The audit is not optional and it is not negotiable once the numbers are set.
Questions about how your current policy handles payroll reporting? DM us.
