How To Dispute A California X-Mod

As a follow up to my last post, I wanted to explain how to protest a CA X-Mod. As I have said in many previous posts, do not just sling out a protest because you think your company is paying too much $ in premiums. That type of protest does much more harm than good.

If you feel there is a mistake after reviewing your X-Mod sheets, the first step would be to send a written protest to your current insurance carrier. While your insurance carrier may not be able to assist much without getting the WCIRB involved, at least it is a starting point. The carrier may not have followed the previous inspection by the WCIRB.

Before contacting the WCIRB, please make sure that the protest will not cause an increase in your X-Mod or premiums. This can and does happen sometimes. There is a possibility that the carrier will order an inspection by the WCIRB to better classify your business. Even after the WCIRB inspects your business and issues an opinion, you can appeal the decision to the Policy Ombudsman or the Insurance Commissioner. Appealing to the Insurance Commissioner should be used only as a last resort as this may damage the relationship with your agent and insurance carrier.

The address to send the protest is:

Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau
525 Market Street, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94105-2767
Attn: Customer Service


The Policyholder Ombudsman should be carbon copied at the same address.