Experience modification (X-mod)
Your experience modification, or X-mod, compares your actual workers' comp losses to the losses expected for a roofing company with your payroll. It's multiplied against your premium, so it's the biggest number you control.
- 100%
- Average. No credit or debit.
- Below 100%
- Fewer losses than expected. An 80% mod cuts premium by about 20%.
- Above 100%
- More losses than expected. A 130% mod raises premium by about 30%, and some carriers won't quote over a set mod.
How you get one. You don't apply for a mod. The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) calculates it from the payroll and claim data your carriers report. You become eligible once your payroll over the experience period produces enough expected losses to cross the WCIRB threshold, which is updated each year. The experience period is generally the three policy years ending one year before the mod takes effect, so this year's mod reflects claims from a few years back.
Why claim count matters. Since 2017, California counts only the primary portion of each claim, and the first $250 of each claim is dropped. That means several small claims hurt your mod more than one large claim. Report every injury promptly, but get injured workers proper care early and back to work safely, because that keeps claims small.
WCIRB publishes your mod, and you can look it up for free on its website. Ask us to review it if the payroll or claims on it look wrong.
X-mod calculator: what your mod costs in dollars
A claim usually stays in your mod for three policy years, so the three-year figure is the real cost. Estimate only. Assumes the same payroll and rate each year.
Think your mod is wrong, or want to know what's driving it? Send us your mod worksheet and we'll review the claims and payroll on it.
Payroll reporting and audits
Workers' comp is quoted on estimated payroll and settled at audit on actual payroll. The audit is where most roofers get a surprise bill: payroll was higher than estimated, owner or family wages were missed, payroll was put in the wrong class code, or an uninsured subcontractor got added to your payroll.
We pair roofing workers' comp with Hourly, a payroll service that calculates your premium from each actual payroll run. You pay as you go instead of a large deposit up front, and audit time comes with clean, matching records instead of a surprise bill.
- Premium tracks your real payroll every pay period
- Hourly rates on record for every employee, so 5553 high-wage workers stay in 5553 at audit
- Payroll records are already in the format auditors ask for
- Certified payroll reports for prevailing wage and public works jobs
- Accepts ITINs
- Competitive pricing. Ask us for a side-by-side with your current payroll provider.
We may receive compensation when you sign up for a payroll service we recommend.
Get a roofing insurance quote
One application, several markets that write roofing. Free review of your current policy.