A broker should check nine things before your workers comp renews. The four that cost the most when they are missed are your job categories, your payroll estimate, your claims multiplier worksheet, and the states listed on your policy. Who this is for: contractors and trade owners whose renewal is 30 to 90 days out.
The short version
- Job categories and payroll drift every year. Check both against what your crew does and earns now.
- The worksheet behind your claims multiplier often has errors, like a closed claim that still shows money set aside to pay it.
- Owner forms, subcontractor certificates, and the list of states on the policy go stale the fastest.
- The market changes. Quotes from two or three other insurers tell you whether your renewal is fair.
- Start 60 to 90 days before renewal. Fixes take weeks, not days.
What is on the renewal checklist?
Here is the list a good broker works through. Premiums here are illustrative and depend on trade, payroll, state, and claims history.
| The check | What goes wrong if skipped | What you send |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Job categories (insurers call them class codes) | A bookkeeper rated as a field worker | A list of who does what |
| 2. Payroll estimate | Too high and you overpay all year. Too low and the audit bill hurts | Year to date payroll by employee |
| 3. Claims multiplier worksheet (your experience mod) | Wrong or stale claim amounts inflate the multiplier | The worksheet |
| 4. Open claims | A closed claim keeps counting against you | Your claims report |
| 5. Owner inclusion or exclusion forms | You pay for an owner you meant to exclude | The state form on file |
| 6. Subcontractor certificates | Uninsured subs get charged to your policy at the sub's own trade rate, on the contract price if you have no payroll records | Certificates from every sub you paid |
| 7. States on the policy | Work in a state not listed may have no coverage | Every state your crew worked in |
| 8. Waivers your contracts require | A certificate gets rejected mid job | Contracts asking for a waiver |
| 9. Market check | You renew above what two other insurers would charge | Nothing, the broker shops it |
How does a broker check my job categories and payroll?
The broker compares each employee's real duties to the category they are rated under. Categories drift. A helper became a foreman. The owner's spouse started doing the books. Each change can move payroll to a cheaper or a costlier category.
Then the broker compares your year to date payroll to the estimate on the expiring policy. Running 20 percent under, the renewal estimate should come down. Running over, raise it now rather than get a large bill after the premium audit, the insurer's year end check of your real payroll.
What is on the claims multiplier worksheet, and what can be wrong with it?
Your experience mod is a multiplier on your price based on your claims history. You only get one once your premium is big enough for your state's size threshold. Below it there is no multiplier and no worksheet, and the price rides on job categories and payroll alone. Above it, the group that sets job category rules in your state (the rating bureau) sends a worksheet listing every claim it used.
A broker reads the worksheet for four errors: a claim that closed for $8,000 but still shows $30,000 set aside to pay it (the reserve), a claim that belongs to another business, payroll in the wrong category, and a claim listed twice. Each can be corrected if your insurer files corrected data with the rating bureau. Ask in writing and ask early. Bureaus limit how far back a published multiplier can be changed, and a correction that lands after the new policy is priced may not reach it.
Why do the owner forms, the subs, and the states matter?
- Owner forms. In most states corporate officers are covered unless they file a form to opt out, and sole proprietors and partners are not covered unless they opt in. See whether you can exclude yourself.
- Subcontractor certificates. If a sub had no workers comp of their own, most states let the insurer charge you for that sub at audit, at the rate for the sub's own kind of work, not yours. If you can show the sub's actual payroll, the charge is built on that. If you cannot, the insurer can charge on the contract price or a set share of it, which is usually much more. Get a certificate from every sub before they start, and keep their invoices.
- States on the policy. Your policy lists the states where you are covered, plus a line for other states where you might start work later in the year. That second line only helps for work you start after the policy begins. If a crew was already in that state, it has to be on the main list. North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming need their own state fund policy.
When should a broker start the renewal review?
Sixty to ninety days out. A correction to your claims multiplier can take weeks, a new insurer needs two to three weeks to quote, and an owner exclusion form must be filed before the new policy starts in many states. If the market check shows a better price, see when switching insurers saves money.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: An electrical contractor in New York with nine employees and a $61,000 workers comp renewal asks a new broker for a second look 75 days out. The expiring claims multiplier is 1.14.
What went wrong: The worksheet shows a 2023 back strain claim with $34,000 still set aside to pay it. The claim had closed a year earlier for $9,200, but the insurer never reported the closing. The payroll estimate was also $80,000 too high.
What it cost: With the claim corrected, the multiplier dropped to 1.03. With the payroll estimate trimmed, the renewal came in at $52,400 instead of $61,000, an illustrative saving of about $8,600.
The fix: Ask for the worksheet and your loss runs every year, and check that every closed claim shows as closed.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What should a broker check before renewing my workers comp?
Nine things, listed in the table above. The four that cost the most when they are missed are your job categories, your payroll estimate, your claims multiplier worksheet, and the states on your policy.
Q: How do I get my claims multiplier worksheet?
Ask your insurer or broker for the experience rating worksheet, or request it from the rule setting group for your state. It lists every claim and payroll year used.
Q: Do I need to tell my broker if I take a job in another state?
Yes, before the crew goes. Your policy lists the states where you are covered, and a state that is not listed may leave you with no coverage for an injury there.
Q: What if my payroll dropped this year?
Tell your broker before renewal so the new estimate matches your real pace. You pay less up front, and the audit at year end confirms it. If you overpaid, the audit returns the difference.
Q: Can I do the renewal review myself?
You can do parts of it, like checking payroll and collecting subcontractor certificates. Reading the worksheet, matching duties to job categories, and shopping the market are easier with a broker.
Q: What if my current broker never does any of this?
Ask for the checklist in writing and a date for each item. If the answer is a renewal quote with no review behind it, another broker can run the review before the new policy starts.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Running this renewal checklist, and correcting the worksheet and job categories before the new policy starts, is the most common thing our workers comp clients ask us to do.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.