Insurance Premium Audit Preparation Checklist

This checklist covers the records most auditors ask for when reviewing workers' compensation or general liability premiums. It is meant to help you collect payroll summaries, tax filings, subcontractor certificates, general ledger support, and any classification notes before the audit starts. It does not replace the audit itself; it helps you arrive organized and ready to answer questions.

Use it whenever your carrier, broker, or third-party auditor schedules a premium audit, and reuse it for each policy period being reviewed. Many organizations also run it at year-end or a few weeks before renewal so missing records can be found early. If your payroll or subcontractor mix changes during the policy term, it is worth updating the checklist sooner.

The DRI is usually someone in accounting, payroll, finance, or operations who can gather records across departments. In smaller businesses, the owner or office manager may own it, while a broker or outside bookkeeper may help assemble supporting documents. The key is to assign one person to coordinate collection and one person to verify completeness before the audit.

Yes, but the exact documents requested can differ by policy type and carrier. Workers' compensation audits usually focus on payroll, job classifications, officer exclusions, and subcontractor exposure, while general liability audits may emphasize sales, subcontractor work, or gross receipts. This template gives you a shared preparation structure that you can customize to the policy being audited.

The most common issues are missing payroll reports, incomplete subcontractor certificates, mismatched tax filings, and unclear employee classification support. Another frequent problem is waiting until the audit appointment to search for records, which creates delays and follow-up requests. This checklist helps you verify each item before the auditor asks for it.

Yes. You can add checklist items for union reports, job-costing records, certificates of insurance, owner/officer documentation, or state-specific filings depending on your operations. You can also remove items that do not apply, but keep the checklist item wording specific enough that each answer can be marked yes, no, or N/A.

Ad hoc collection usually scatters records across inboxes, shared drives, and text messages, which makes it easy to miss one required document. A checklist creates a single source of truth, shows what is blocking the audit package, and makes follow-up tasks visible. It also gives you a repeatable process for the next audit instead of starting from scratch.

Yes. It can be paired with payroll systems, document storage, accounting software, or ticketing tools so supporting files are attached where they live. Many teams also link it to renewal workflows, broker requests, or internal approval steps so the audit prep work stays traceable. The checklist itself should still remain the primary record of what was collected and verified.