Just about every business day, we get a phone call or email from some employer somewhere in the U.S. who is facing what we call a "Shock Audit" for Workers Comp insurance. Today's call is from a California construction company that is on the receiving end of a Shock Audit for $100,000 of additional premium.
As I told this worried gentleman, I can't promise we can help his particular situation, but I'll be glad to take a look at it to see if we can. I mean, we can help an awful lot of the people who reach out to us, but not all of them. But I'm always happy to take a look at the audit documents to see what might be done for a particular employer.
Another thing I say a lot is "in a perfect world, I should have to be doing something else for a living." I mean, if the Workers Comp insurance system ran fairly and smoothly there wouldn't be so many problematic premium audits--and certainly not so many of these Shock Audits that are excessive and plain old wrong.
Don't get me wrong--I'm happy to be in demand. And thanks to the wonderful reach of the internet, employers all over the country can find us and seek help. That wasn't the case when I started Advanced Insurance Management, back in 1987. Of course, nowadays it isn't just me doing the helping.
My son, Scott Priz, joined the firm back in 2003, after graduating from the University of Chicago. And to my delight, he took to this unusual line of work with alacrity and enthusiasm and has helped more than his share of our clients over the ensuing years. And then, a few years back, he took a further step--he got his law degree, bringing a whole new level of expertise to the mix. Scott brings a rather unique combination of expertise to bear for clients--more than twenty years of experience as a consultant on Workers Comp audits and premiums, along with admission to the bar. It's a powerful and rare combination.
There's another thing I say a lot, as well. "Insurance may be the middle name of my company, but we don't sell insurance. We fix it." Because we don't sell insurance. We specialize in fixing insurance industry errors in Workers Comp classifications, audits, experience modifiers, and premium charges. But we don't compete with insurance agents and brokers. We're genuinely independent consultants who specialize in a unique service.
Some folks in the insurance industry get rubbed the wrong way when I talk like that, I know. When I gave a presentation at a local meeting of premium auditors a while back, I could sense a fair degree of skepticism from the audience--even some hostility, I think. But facts are facts. The majority of the people who reach out to me have been overcharged on their audits. And that's proven by the fact that, in most of those cases, I'm able to get those audits reduced significantly.
Remember, no one reduces an audit bill just because I ask nicely. No insurance company changes classifications or payrolls or premiums just because they like me. A lot of them aren't exactly in my fan club, I figure. They correct those audits and reduce the charges because I identify and document errors in how the premiums were calculated. And under the rules, insurance companies have an obligation to calculate those premiums correctly.
It's just that a lot of these Shock Audits haven't really been calculated correctly. And that's where I come in. I know how to dispute premium audit charges, and dispute them successfully.
So anyway, keep those cards and letters coming in, folks. Or in this day and age, emails and texts. I'm always glad to take a look.
