Workers' Comp Renewal Checklist for Agents: Payroll, Class Codes, Loss Runs, and Return to Work

10/12/2026

A workers' comp renewal is the one conversation you are guaranteed to have with every commercial client every year. It is also the conversation most likely to go wrong quietly. The payroll estimate gets rolled forward from last year, the class codes stay the same because nobody asked what changed, the loss runs arrive two weeks before expiration, and the client finds out at audit, or at the next renewal, that the premium was built on a business that no longer exists.

This checklist is written for commercial lines agents and account managers who want a repeatable workers comp renewal process. It follows the order the work should actually happen in, and it ends with a copy-ready checklist you can adapt for your agency. It does not replace the carrier's underwriting guidelines or your state's rating rules, and nothing here should be read as a promise that a particular step will lower a premium or a mod. Those outcomes depend on the carrier, the state, and the client's own experience.

When to Start the Renewal Conversation

For most accounts, the renewal process should start 90 to 120 days before expiration. That is not a regulatory deadline; it is a practical one. You need time to collect payroll and operations information, request loss runs from the current carrier, review the experience rating worksheet when it is published, and, if the account will be marketed, give underwriters enough time to quote.

Larger or more complicated accounts need more lead time: multi-state employers, accounts with a debit mod, contractors with heavy subcontracting, or any business that changed ownership during the year. For a small, stable account with no claims, 60 days may be enough.

A simple way to set the timeline:

• 120 days out: Calendar the renewal, send the client the information request, and order loss runs.
• 90 days out: Review payroll, operations, and class codes with the client. Check whether a new experience mod has been published or is expected.
• 60 days out: Decide whether to renew in place or market the account. Submit to markets if marketing.
• 30 days out: Review proposals with the client, confirm the payroll basis and classifications on the binder, and document the client's decision.

The rating effective date on the experience rating worksheet matters here. Under NCCI's Experience Rating Plan, the mod is usually calculated during the current policy term, generally 60 to 90 days before the rating effective date, so the new mod may or may not be available when you start. If it is not out yet, note that the renewal quote may be issued on a preliminary or contingent basis and revised later.

Payroll Projections and Class Code Changes

Workers' comp premium starts with payroll. In NCCI states, the rate for each classification is applied per $100 of payroll, the classification premiums are added together, and the experience mod is applied to that total. A wrong payroll estimate does not change what the client ultimately owes, because the audit trues it up, but it does change cash flow, and an audit bill the client did not expect damages the relationship with the agency, not just with the carrier.

Questions to ask about payroll

Ask the client for the payroll actually paid during the expiring term, broken out by job type, and an honest projection for the next twelve months. Then ask the questions that change the projection:

• Are you planning to hire, lay off, or change seasonal staffing?
• Did pay rates change, or will they?
• Did any employees move between field and office work?
• Are owners or officers drawing different pay than last year?
• Did you start using subcontractors, or stop using them?
• Did you add a location or start working in a new state?

Payroll for workers' comp purposes is not the same as gross pay on a W-2. NCCI's Basic Manual includes items such as commissions, bonuses, and holiday and vacation pay, and excludes items such as tips, employer contributions to group insurance and pension plans, and severance pay except for time worked or vacation accrued. The extra pay for overtime can also be excluded if the client's records show it separately. Make sure the client's estimate is built on the same definition the auditor will use. ABTC's principles of premium auditing course goes deeper into how auditors apply those payroll rules.

Questions to ask about classifications

Classification errors are expensive in both directions. Ask what the business does now, not what it did when the policy was first written:

• Has the business added a new product, service, or type of customer?
• Has it stopped any operation that is still classified on the policy?
• Are there employees who split time between classifications, and do the payroll records support a split?
• Has the clerical or outside sales staff grown, and are those employees actually exclusive to that work?

If the operations changed, discuss classification with the underwriter before binding. Do not re-class an account on your own to make a quote look better. The auditor will classify based on what the business actually does, and the client pays the difference.

Loss Runs, Open Claims, and Reserves

Order currently valued loss runs from the incumbent carrier early, and ask for at least the years that will appear on the experience rating worksheet. Most underwriters will want several years of history, and you need the runs whether you renew in place or market the account.

When the runs come in, review them with the client rather than just forwarding them:

• Open claims: For each open claim, ask the client what they know. Has the employee returned to work? Is there a settlement discussion? Is the claim litigated?
• Reserves: Large reserves on old claims drive the mod. If the client believes a reserve is overstated, the right path is a conversation with the carrier's adjuster, documented in writing, not a promise from you that it will come down.
• Medical-only claims: In states that have approved NCCI's Experience Rating Adjustment, only 30% of a medical-only claim's primary and excess loss is used in the mod calculation. Medical-only claims still matter, but they matter less than indemnity claims.
• Claims that do not belong: Look for claims coded to the wrong employer, duplicate entries, or a claim that was closed but still shows a reserve. Report errors to the carrier in writing.

Loss runs are also the best opening for a conversation about how injuries are reported and managed, which leads into the return-to-work review below. For the claim-side mechanics, the workers' compensation claims process post walks through the stages from first report to closure.

Experience Mod Worksheet Review

If the client is experience rated, get the current worksheet and read it with the client. NCCI publishes the mod in states that use its Experience Rating Plan. California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania do not use the NCCI plan; their own rating bureaus calculate mods. Indiana, Massachusetts, and North Carolina use the plan, but their independent bureaus produce intrastate mods. The four monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming) run their own programs.

When reviewing an NCCI worksheet, check:

• Experience period: The mod is generally based on three years of payroll and loss data, and it excludes the policy year that is currently in force. A bad year will usually affect three renewals, and an improvement will take time to show.
• Payroll by class code: Compare the payroll on the worksheet with the audited payroll for each year. Errors in the payroll reported by the carrier flow straight into expected losses.
• Claims listed: Match each claim on the worksheet to the loss runs.
• Status: A preliminary mod may be revised once a state's final rating values are approved. A contingent mod means NCCI was still waiting on audited payroll or loss data from the carrier.
• Ownership: If the client bought, sold, merged, or restructured, the employer must notify the insurer in writing within 90 days of the change, using NCCI's ERM-14 form or a signed narrative on company letterhead. NCCI may issue, revise, or retract the current mod and up to two prior mods because of ownership changes, and businesses with more than 50% common majority ownership are generally combined into one mod.

If you find an error, raise it with the carrier that reported the data. In NCCI states, the Basic Manual and Experience Rating Plan include a dispute process if the employer and insurer cannot resolve it. For a full walk-through of how mods, classifications, and audits interact, see the workers' comp premium control and audit mastery course.

Return-to-Work and Safety Program Changes Since Last Term

Underwriters ask what has changed. So should you. A renewal is the natural point to ask whether the client's injury prevention and claims management practices have improved, stayed the same, or slipped.

Questions worth asking every year:

• Do supervisors know how and when to report an injury? Who reports it to the carrier, and how fast?
• Is there a written return-to-work or modified-duty program? Has it been used this year?
• Have there been any new safety programs, training, equipment changes, or a new safety lead?
• Were there any OSHA inspections, citations, or recordable injuries?
• Who coordinates when an injured employee is also on FMLA leave or asks for an ADA accommodation?

A documented return-to-work program gives an underwriter something concrete to evaluate. Be careful about how you present it to the client: describe these practices as things carriers consider and things that support recovery, not as guaranteed premium credits.

This is also where the employer's internal knowledge gaps show up. If the person managing claims at the client has never been trained, say so diplomatically and point them to resources. The Workers' Compensation Training & Certification program covers injury reporting, communicating with insurance representatives, medical restrictions and return to work, and how premiums are determined, which makes it a practical recommendation for the client's HR or safety contact.

Marketing the Account vs. Renewing in Place

Not every account should be marketed every year. Moving carriers has costs: a new carrier's claims team, new reporting procedures, a new audit relationship, and the risk that a market will not renew after one term. Renewing in place has costs too, if the incumbent's pricing or service is no longer competitive.

Reasons to consider marketing:

• The renewal pricing changed significantly and the carrier cannot explain why.
• Claims handling or audit service has been poor and documented complaints were not resolved.
• The client's operations changed and the incumbent's appetite no longer fits.
• The carrier issued a non-renewal or restricted terms.

Reasons to lean toward renewing in place:

• Stable pricing and good service.
• Open claims that are being managed well and would be disrupted by a change.
• A recent audit dispute that is close to resolution.

Whatever you decide, document the recommendation and the client's decision. If the client declines your recommendation to market the account, or declines coverage options you offered, get that in writing. Use the workers' comp policy design post for the coverage-side questions, such as other-states coverage and employers liability limits.

A Renewal Checklist to Adapt

The text below is a sample. Adapt it to your agency's workflow, your carriers' requirements, and your state's rules.

Sample: Workers' Comp Renewal Checklist

Account: ______________ Expiration: ______________ Account manager: ______________

120 days before expiration

• [ ] Renewal calendared and client notified of timeline
• [ ] Information request sent: payroll by job type, owner/officer information, subcontractor list, locations and states, operations changes
• [ ] Currently valued loss runs requested from incumbent carrier

90 days before expiration

• [ ] Payroll reviewed against workers' comp payroll definitions (overtime, officers, exclusions)
• [ ] Projected payroll documented by class code, with client's sign-off
• [ ] Operations reviewed; any classification questions sent to underwriter in writing
• [ ] Experience rating worksheet obtained (or noted as not yet published)
• [ ] Worksheet payroll and claims compared with audits and loss runs; errors reported in writing
• [ ] Ownership changes identified; ERM-14 or state equivalent submitted if needed

60 days before expiration

• [ ] Open claims reviewed with client; questions sent to adjuster
• [ ] Return-to-work, injury reporting, and safety changes documented
• [ ] Decision made: renew in place or market; reason documented
• [ ] Submissions sent (if marketing)

30 days before expiration

• [ ] Proposals reviewed with client; coverage differences explained
• [ ] Client decision documented, including any declined options
• [ ] Binder checked: named insured, states, class codes, payroll basis, mod, endorsements
• [ ] Certificates and audit reminders scheduled

Build the Client's Bench Strength

Your renewal process is only as good as the information the client gives you, and that depends on whether the person handling workers' comp at the client knows what matters. For commercial lines staff building their own expertise, ABTC's workers' compensation training covers state-specific claims and coverage knowledge.

For the client's HR, payroll, or safety contact, the Workers' Compensation Training & Certification program is online and self-paced, with one year of access, an optional exam for the Certified Workers' Compensation Administrator designation, and team enrollment with a manager progress view for three or more learners. It is professional training, not state insurance CE. A client contact who understands reporting, restrictions, and how premiums are determined makes every renewal easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early should a workers comp renewal start?

For most commercial accounts, 90 to 120 days before expiration is a practical starting point. That gives you time to collect payroll and operations data, order loss runs, review the experience rating worksheet, and market the account if needed. Larger, multi-state, or claims-heavy accounts need the longer end of that range. Small, stable accounts with no claims can sometimes be handled in 60 days. The goal is to avoid binding on last year's numbers because there was no time to ask what changed.

Do I need new loss runs for a renewal in place?

Yes, in most cases. Even if the carrier is not changing, the client should see the current state of open claims and reserves, and you need them to check the experience rating worksheet. Loss runs also open the conversation about reporting practices and return to work. Underwriters for other markets will generally ask for several years of currently valued runs if you decide to market the account later, so having them on file saves time.

What happens if the renewal payroll estimate is wrong?

The premium is adjusted at audit based on actual payroll. If the estimate was too low, the client receives an additional premium bill; if too high, a return premium. The final cost is based on actual payroll either way, but a large audit bill is a cash-flow problem and a relationship problem. Building the estimate with the client, by class code and with their sign-off, is the best protection.

Who calculates the experience mod?

In states that use NCCI's Experience Rating Plan, NCCI calculates and publishes it. California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania use their own rating bureaus instead, and Indiana, Massachusetts, and North Carolina have independent bureaus that produce intrastate mods under the NCCI plan. Monopolistic states run their own programs. Check the rating organization for your client's state before you explain the mod.

Can a return-to-work program lower a client's premium?

It can help the client manage claim costs, and some underwriters consider it when evaluating an account, but no agent should promise a premium reduction. The mod reflects past losses, and pricing depends on the carrier, the state, and the account's experience. Present return-to-work and safety programs as good practice that supports injured employees and claims outcomes, and let the underwriter decide how they affect pricing.

Should I market every workers' comp account at renewal?

No. Marketing makes sense when pricing, service, appetite, or terms have changed in a way the incumbent cannot address. Moving carriers also has costs, including new claims and audit relationships. Whatever you decide, document the recommendation and the client's choice in the file.

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