How to Verify Workers Compensation Coverage and Avoid Audit Surprises

Avoid major financial surprises and potentially devastating circumstances.  Audits do not need to be a surprise, and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has worked to provide additional tools to you.

The Office of Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) strongly recommends that you always verify workers comp insurance coverage for any subcontractor you hire. Even if you have a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from the subcontractor, it is very crucial that the information on the COI is verified to make sure there is coverage and continues to be coverage for the time you work with them.

GA law OCGA 34-9-8(a) states: A principal, intermediate, or subcontractor shall be liable for compensation to any employee injured while in the employ of any of his subcontractors engaged upon the subject matter of the contract to the same extent as the immediate employer.

This means employees of subcontractors may seek workers compensation benefits from you, should their employer not have coverage at the time of injury.  Ultimately, this means you and your workers compensation carrier may be left providing coverage.  At audit, your insurance company will be looking to confirm that your subcontractors had coverage.  Without evidence that they did, your insurance company will charge for the subcontractor according to the services that subcontractor provided.  You can avoid what can be significant charges by securing a certificate of insurance and we also recommend you verify that certificate through the online portal.

Verifying workers comp coverage has never been easier!

1. Go to https://www.ewccv.com/cvs/?ref=https://sbwc.georgia.gov/

2. Click on the “ACCEPT” button if you accept the privacy notice to continue.

3. Select the State (there’s a drop-down arrow) associated with the address of the employer.

4. Click on one of the 3 tabs; Employer, FEIN, and Address to begin search.

5. Click on “CLEAR” each time you do a new search.

6. When you find results, then click on the results to get to the next screen that has more policy info.

7. Make Sure You Get Notice of Cancellation! When you get to the screen with more policy info, then be sure to click on the “TRACK POLICY” and register your email so that you can get notifications of cancellation.

However, you need to register similarly for that policy Every Year to get notifications about the status of the policy, so be sure to re-register around renewal.