Questions from
the field.

A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) provides businesses with outsourced employer services such as payroll processing, payroll tax administration, workers’ compensation, human resources support, employee benefits, compliance assistance, and risk management.

Through a co-employment relationship, the PEO assumes responsibility for certain administrative employer functions while you continue to own, operate, and control your business.

A PEO can only offer its own program. A PEO broker can evaluate your business and compare multiple PEO options on your behalf.

Caruthers Consulting works with multiple PEO markets, allowing us to evaluate differences in pricing, workers’ compensation appetite, industry eligibility, benefits, HR services, technology, and underwriting requirements.

Instead of asking, “Is this business right for our PEO?” our job is to ask, “Which PEO is right for this business?”

Different PEOs have different strengths, pricing structures, workers’ compensation programs, underwriting guidelines, and industry appetites.

A construction company may be an excellent fit for one PEO and completely outside the underwriting appetite of another.

Rather than completing the same process with multiple providers, Caruthers Consulting helps identify appropriate markets, present your business to those markets, compare proposals, negotiate where possible, and explain the differences between your options.

Never. Caruthers Consulting is compensated by the PEO when a client is placed, similar to the way an insurance broker may be compensated by an insurance carrier.

Our objective is to help you find the right PEO relationship without adding another professional-services bill to your operating expenses.

PEO pricing varies considerably depending on factors such as your payroll, number of employees, industry, workers’ compensation classifications, claims history, benefits requirements, and services needed.

PEOs also structure their fees differently. This can make two proposals that appear similar on the surface very different when the total cost is analyzed.

Caruthers Consulting helps clients evaluate the overall economics of a proposal—not simply the advertised administrative fee. Side-by-side comparisons, dollar for dollar, are standard.

Yes. One of the services we can provide is a review of your current PEO arrangement.

PEO billing can include administrative fees, workers’ compensation costs, payroll taxes, benefit expenses, and other charges structured in different ways. We can help determine what you're actually paying and compare it with other available options.

If your existing PEO is still the best solution, there may be no reason to change.

In most situations, yes! But savings should never be assumed, and we will make sure you have everything you need to make a well informed decision.

Depending on the business, savings may come from workers’ compensation pricing, benefits, administrative efficiency, technology consolidation, risk management, or reduced internal HR and payroll workload.

Our focus is the total value of the relationship. The least expensive PEO isn't necessarily the best PEO, and the most expensive isn't necessarily the most comprehensive.

Yes. This is one of the areas where working with the right PEO can be particularly valuable.

Businesses in higher-hazard industries or those with difficult workers’ compensation histories may have limited options in the traditional insurance market. Certain PEOs specialize in industries and workers’ compensation exposures that other providers will not consider.

Caruthers Consulting has extensive experience working with blue-collar and higher-risk businesses where workers’ compensation is a major consideration.

Yes!

A cancellation or non-renewal does not automatically mean your business is ineligible for a PEO. The reason for the cancellation matters.

We can evaluate situations involving claims history, experience modification factors, underwriting concerns, audit issues, carrier appetite changes, and other circumstances to determine what PEO markets may be available.

If you're facing an upcoming cancellation or lapse in coverage, contact us as early as possible so we have the maximum amount of time to evaluate your options.

Certainly.

A high experience modification factor can make traditional workers’ compensation expensive or difficult to obtain, but it doesn't automatically disqualify your company from every PEO.

PEO underwriting guidelines vary significantly. We can evaluate your claims history, operations, payroll, classifications, safety practices, and other factors and determine which markets may be willing to consider the risk.

Yes, depending on the frequency, severity, circumstances, and current status of those claims.

Underwriters typically want to understand what happened, what corrective actions were taken, and what your company is doing to prevent similar losses in the future.

A well-documented loss history and strong explanation of corrective measures can make a significant difference in underwriting.

Yes. These industries are a major focus of Caruthers Consulting.

We work with businesses in construction, contracting, manufacturing, fabrication, transportation, distribution, service trades, and other blue- and gray-collar industries.

These businesses often have more complicated workers’ compensation exposures, making proper classification, underwriting presentation, claims management, and PEO selection particularly important.

Yes, depending on your operations and how subcontractors are utilized.

The PEO may want information regarding the type of work being subcontracted, certificates of insurance, subcontractor agreements, and whether subcontractors maintain their own workers’ compensation and general liability coverage.

We help gather and present this information during the underwriting process.

Timing depends on the complexity of your business and how quickly the required underwriting information can be provided.

Straightforward accounts may move quickly, while higher-risk businesses, complicated loss histories, multiple workers’ compensation classifications, or multi-state operations may require additional underwriting.

Our role is to identify appropriate markets, provide underwriters with a complete submission, answer questions quickly, and move the process toward bindable terms as efficiently as possible.

Requirements vary, but we will commonly request information including:

• Employee count and estimated annual payroll
• Payroll by workers’ compensation classification
• Description of business operations
• Current workers’ compensation information
• Workers’ compensation loss runs
• Experience modification information, when applicable
• Current payroll or PEO information
• Employee census information if benefits are being evaluated
• Information regarding subcontractors or specialized operations, when applicable

Our goal is to gather the necessary information once and use it to approach appropriate PEO markets on your behalf.

No.

You continue to own and operate your company. You remain responsible for managing your workforce, including hiring decisions, compensation, scheduling, supervision, job responsibilities, and day-to-day operations.

The PEO handles certain employer-related administrative responsibilities through the co-employment relationship.

No.

A traditional payroll provider primarily processes payroll and related tax filings.

A full-service PEO can combine payroll with workers’ compensation, human resources, employee benefits, compliance assistance, risk management, claims support, onboarding, technology, and other employer services.

For many businesses, the workers’ compensation, HR, and risk-management components are just as important as payroll processing.

Many PEOs offer access to health insurance and other employee benefits, including dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, and retirement programs.

Benefits vary considerably between PEOs, and participation requirements may apply.

If benefits are important to your business, Caruthers Consulting can include them as part of the PEO comparison rather than evaluating payroll and workers’ compensation alone.

No.

Some PEOs allow businesses to maintain outside benefits, while others have specific participation requirements. If maintaining your existing health plan is important, we can focus on PEO programs that accommodate that structure.

Absolutely!

However, a mid-year change should be evaluated carefully because payroll taxes, employee benefits, workers’ compensation, deductibles, and other considerations can be affected by the timing of a transition.

We'll help evaluate whether switching immediately or waiting for a more appropriate transition date makes better financial and operational sense.

Usually less difficult than business owners expect when the transition is properly managed.

Caruthers Consulting helps coordinate the process from initial analysis through underwriting, proposal comparison, enrollment, and implementation.

Our goal is to minimize the administrative burden on your company while helping ensure important details aren't overlooked during the transition.

Not necessarily.

PEOs have dramatically different underwriting appetites. A business that is undesirable to one provider may fit another provider's program very well.

This is especially common with construction, manufacturing, transportation, higher workers’ compensation classifications, adverse loss history, and other specialized risks.

We can independently evaluate the market rather than relying solely on the opinion of your current provider.

Yes.

In addition to PEO brokerage services, Caruthers Consulting can assist business owners with broader risk-management and commercial insurance needs through our sister agency, Ocala Commercial Insurance.

Depending on your business, this may include general liability, commercial auto, property, inland marine, umbrella coverage, and other commercial insurance products.

This allows us to look beyond payroll and workers’ compensation and better understand the overall risk and insurance needs of your business.

Our relationship doesn't end when you enroll; it begins.

We remain available to assist with service concerns, renewals, workers’ compensation issues, pricing changes, claims-related concerns, and evaluating alternative PEO options when circumstances change.

As your business grows or changes, we can also help determine whether your current PEO remains the right fit.

It starts with a conversation.

We'll learn about your business, workforce, payroll, workers’ compensation exposure, claims history, current provider, benefits needs, and the problems you're trying to solve.

From there, we can determine which PEO markets make sense to pursue and help you compare your options.

Already with a PEO? We can review your current arrangement.

Having workers’ compensation problems? Let us evaluate your available markets.

Considering a PEO for the first time? We'll explain the process and help you determine whether a PEO makes sense for your business.

A construction PEO is a Professional Employer Organization capable of providing services to contractors and construction-related businesses.

Depending on the PEO, services may include payroll, payroll tax administration, workers’ compensation, HR support, claims management, employee onboarding, compliance assistance, benefits, and risk-management resources.

The important distinction is underwriting appetite.

Many PEOs have limited appetites for construction. Others specifically understand and accept certain construction trades, but pricing varies greatly among those who accept. Finding the right PEO is therefore particularly important for contractors.

Workers’ compensation is often the initial reason contractors investigate PEOs, but it isn't the only potential benefit.

A construction PEO can potentially consolidate:

• Payroll processing
• Workers’ compensation
• Payroll taxes
• HR administration
• Employee onboarding
• Claims management
• Safety and risk-management resources
• Employee benefits
• Compliance assistance
• Timekeeping and related technology

For growing contractors, outsourcing these functions can allow management to spend more time operating and developing the business rather than managing back-office administration.

No.

PEO underwriting appetites vary significantly, particularly in construction.

Some PEOs avoid construction almost entirely. Others accept certain trades but exclude others. Some may accept a contractor based on payroll, loss history, geographic territory, subcontractor usage, or specific employee duties.

Caruthers Consulting works with multiple PEO markets so we can identify providers whose underwriting appetite aligns with your actual operations.

Eligibility depends on the individual PEO, but potential classes can include general contractors, concrete contractors, carpentry, electrical contractors, plumbing, HVAC, paving, excavation, fencing, landscaping, demolition, masonry, roofing, welding, fabrication, and numerous specialty trades.

Higher-hazard operations may require additional underwriting and may have fewer available markets.

We evaluate each business individually rather than assuming that every contractor fits the same program.

Yes, depending on the contractor's operations and available PEO markets.

Underwriters may want to understand what work is self-performed, what work is subcontracted, employee duties, project types, maximum heights or depths, equipment used, geographic territory, and historical workers’ compensation losses.

A detailed underwriting presentation can be especially important for general contractors.

Yes.

A high experience modification factor does not automatically prevent a contractor from qualifying for a PEO.

The PEO may evaluate the underlying claims, payroll, classifications, safety program, corrective actions, and current operations before making an underwriting decision.

Caruthers Consulting can evaluate whether PEO markets exist for the particular risk.

Potentially, but lower cost should never be guaranteed.

PEO workers’ compensation programs can sometimes provide contractors with competitive alternatives to their current workers’ compensation arrangements.

However, we evaluate the total PEO cost—including administration, workers’ compensation, payroll taxes, and other applicable expenses—rather than focusing solely on one rate.

In most cases, yes.

A cancellation or non-renewal does not necessarily eliminate PEO options.

We will want to understand why coverage is ending, review your loss history, classifications, payroll, operations, and other underwriting information, and then determine whether an appropriate PEO market is available.

If your coverage is approaching cancellation, contact us as early as possible.

Yes, depending on the claims.

Underwriters will typically evaluate claim frequency, severity, circumstances, open reserves, corrective actions, and the contractor's current safety practices.

A contractor with losses isn't automatically uninsurable. The details behind those losses matter.

Construction companies commonly have employees performing different types of work that may fall under different workers’ compensation classifications.

Proper classification is critical.

During the underwriting process, we work to provide a detailed explanation of operations and payroll allocation so the PEO understands what employees actually do.

Often, yes, provided they qualify under the applicable classification rules.

Employees performing exclusively clerical office duties may qualify for a clerical classification rather than a construction field classification.

Simply calling someone an “office employee,” however, does not automatically determine their classification. Actual duties and exposure matter.

It depends on their actual duties.

An estimator who works exclusively in an office may present a different exposure from an estimator who regularly visits active jobsites.

The same principle applies to salespeople, project managers, supervisors, and other employees who split time between office and field environments.

We want to accurately describe these duties during underwriting rather than relying solely on job titles.

Yes, subject to the PEO's underwriting requirements.

The PEO may require information about subcontractors, including certificates of insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, general liability coverage, written agreements, and the type of work being subcontracted.

Subcontractor management is particularly important for construction businesses.

This can create significant problems.

Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, uninsured subcontractor exposure can potentially create workers’ compensation liability or additional premium.

Contractors should maintain appropriate subcontractor documentation and certificates of insurance and follow the requirements of their insurance carrier or PEO.

Yes. Contractors participating in a PEO workers’ compensation program can obtain evidence of applicable workers’ compensation coverage.

Certificate requirements should be discussed during the placement process, particularly if your customers or general contractors have specific contractual requirements.

PEOs generally have established processes for issuing certificates of insurance.

If your business regularly needs certificates for new jobs, tell us during the evaluation process. Certificate management and responsiveness should be considered when selecting a PEO—not just pricing.

Some PEOs and payroll platforms have capabilities designed to assist contractors with more complicated payroll requirements.

If your company performs government, public works, prevailing-wage, or other projects with specialized payroll requirements, tell us upfront so we can evaluate PEOs and technology appropriate for those needs.

Potentially.

Multi-state construction creates additional workers’ compensation, payroll, tax, and employment compliance considerations.

Not every PEO is approved or willing to handle every state or construction exposure, so your geographic footprint should be evaluated before selecting a provider.

Many PEOs offer access to employee benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and retirement programs.

For contractors competing for skilled labor, benefits can become an important recruiting and retention tool.

Benefit availability, pricing, participation requirements, and eligibility vary by PEO.

No.

You continue operating your company and directing your employees.

You decide who to hire, what employees are paid, which projects you accept, how jobs are performed, and how your company operates.

The PEO assumes certain administrative employer responsibilities through the co-employment relationship.

This is particularly important in construction because PEO underwriting appetites vary so dramatically.

Calling a PEO directly tells you whether that particular PEO wants your business.

Working with Caruthers Consulting allows us to ask a different question:

Which PEO wants your type of business?

We can evaluate your trade, workers’ compensation classifications, payroll, experience mod, claims history, subcontractor usage, geographic territory, benefits needs, and other factors and identify PEO markets that make sense to approach.

Yes.

“Difficult to place” does not mean “impossible to place.”

One PEO may dislike your particular workers’ compensation classification while another actively writes it.

If your renewal pricing has increased substantially, your service has deteriorated, or your current provider no longer wants your industry, it may make sense to evaluate the market before renewing.

We will commonly request:

• Employee count
• Annual payroll
• Payroll by workers’ compensation class code
• Detailed description of operations
• Current workers’ compensation information
• Experience modification worksheet, if applicable
• Currently valued loss runs
• Current PEO or payroll information
• States where employees work
• Subcontractor usage
• Certificates of insurance or subcontractor information when applicable
• Safety practices
• Information regarding specialized or higher-hazard operations

More complicated contractors may require additional information.

Our objective is to prepare a complete underwriting submission upfront so we can reduce unnecessary back-and-forth and obtain decisions as efficiently as possible.

Never.

Caruthers Consulting is compensated by the PEO when a client is placed.

This allows contractors to use us to evaluate multiple PEO options without simply hiring another employee or consultant to conduct the search.

We can also assist with broader commercial insurance needs through our sister agency, Ocala Commercial Insurance.

Depending on the contractor and available markets, those needs may include general liability, commercial auto, inland marine and equipment coverage, property, umbrella or excess liability, and other commercial insurance products.

This allows us to understand more than just your payroll. We can look at the broader insurance and risk-management needs of the company.

Contact Caruthers Consulting and tell us about your business.

We'll discuss your trade, payroll, employees, workers’ compensation classifications, current coverage, claims history, experience modification factor, subcontractor usage, and what you're trying to improve.

From there, we'll determine which PEO markets make sense to approach.

Workers’ compensation provides benefits to employees who suffer covered work-related injuries or illnesses. Depending on the circumstances, benefits may include medical treatment, wage replacement, rehabilitation, and other benefits established by state law.

Workers’ compensation also protects employers by providing a structured system for handling covered workplace injuries.

Florida workers’ compensation requirements depend on the type of business, number of employees, industry, and other factors.

Construction businesses are subject to particularly strict workers’ compensation requirements. Business owners should evaluate their individual circumstances rather than assuming they qualify for an exemption.

Workers’ compensation pricing can be affected by several factors, including:

• Your industry and workers’ compensation classification codes
• Total payroll
• Claims frequency and severity
• Experience modification factor
• Safety practices
• Geographic exposure
• Employee duties
• Subcontractor exposure
• Carrier underwriting appetite
• Current insurance market conditions

Two businesses with similar payroll can have dramatically different workers’ compensation costs depending on their operations and loss history.

Workers’ compensation classification codes categorize employees according to the type of work they perform and the risk associated with that work.

Each classification carries a rate that is generally applied to payroll assigned to that classification.

Proper classification is extremely important. Incorrect class codes can result in inaccurate premiums, audit problems, unexpected additional premiums, and underwriting issues.

An Experience Modification Rate—often called an Experience Mod, E-Mod, or EMR—is a factor used in workers’ compensation pricing that reflects an employer's historical loss experience relative to expectations for similar businesses.

Generally, an experience modification above 1.00 can increase workers’ compensation costs, while a modification below 1.00 may reduce them.

For contractors, the experience mod can also affect the ability to qualify for certain projects or work with particular general contractors.

Yes!

A high experience modification factor does not necessarily mean your business has no options.

We can evaluate your current program, loss history, classifications, payroll, operations, and other factors to determine whether alternative traditional insurance or PEO workers’ compensation programs may be available.

Longer-term, improved claims management and safety practices may also help improve your workers’ compensation results.

In most cases, yes.

Underwriters typically evaluate more than the total dollar amount of your losses. They may consider frequency, severity, type of injury, whether claims remain open, corrective actions taken, and whether the circumstances that caused previous claims are likely to occur again.

How your loss history is presented to an underwriter can be extremely important.

Start evaluating alternatives as quickly as possible.

A cancellation or non-renewal does not necessarily mean your business is uninsurable. The reason for the carrier's decision matters.

Carrier appetite changes, claims, audits, payment history, operational changes, classifications, and underwriting concerns can all produce different solutions.

Caruthers Consulting can evaluate both traditional workers’ compensation and PEO options where appropriate.

That depends on the complexity of the business and the information available.

If your expiration or cancellation date is approaching, contact us immediately. Complete loss runs, payroll information, classifications, current policy information, and a detailed description of operations can substantially improve the speed of the underwriting process.

We cannot guarantee that coverage will be available by a particular deadline, but our goal is to identify appropriate markets and move qualified submissions through underwriting as efficiently as possible.

Yes, and for some employers workers’ compensation is one of the primary reasons to consider a PEO.

A PEO can combine workers’ compensation with payroll, payroll taxes, HR services, compliance assistance, and other employer services.

Certain PEOs also have workers’ compensation programs designed for industries that can be difficult to place in the traditional insurance market.

Yes.

With a traditional policy, the employer generally purchases its own workers’ compensation policy directly through an insurance carrier.

Under a PEO arrangement, workers’ compensation may be provided through the PEO's workers’ compensation program as part of the broader co-employment relationship.

Neither approach is automatically better. The appropriate structure depends on your business, pricing, claims history, classifications, operational needs, and available markets.

Some do.

PEO workers’ compensation appetites vary dramatically. One PEO may decline an exposure that another PEO regularly writes.

This is one of the primary advantages of working with an independent PEO brokerage. Caruthers Consulting can identify PEOs whose underwriting appetite better matches your particular industry and exposure.

Yes.

Construction and contracting businesses are a significant focus of Caruthers Consulting.

We understand that construction workers’ compensation frequently involves multiple classifications, subcontractors, certificates of insurance, jobsite exposures, experience modification requirements, contractual requirements, and other underwriting considerations.

Yes.

We regularly work with businesses in blue- and gray-collar industries where workers’ compensation represents a significant expense or underwriting challenge.

These can include construction, manufacturing, fabrication, transportation, distribution, field services, and skilled trades.

Often, yes, when the employees and their duties meet the applicable classification requirements.

For example, qualifying clerical employees may be eligible for a separate clerical classification rather than being included in a higher-rated field classification.

Workers’ compensation classifications should always reflect the actual duties and applicable classification rules rather than simply an employee's job title.

Subcontractors can have a major impact on workers’ compensation audits and underwriting.

Depending on the circumstances, insurers or PEOs may require certificates of insurance, subcontractor agreements, proof of workers’ compensation coverage, and information regarding the work being performed.

Using subcontractors does not automatically eliminate workers’ compensation exposure.

Workers’ compensation premiums are commonly based on estimated payroll and exposures at the beginning of the policy period and reconciled after the policy ends.

Additional premium may result from higher-than-anticipated payroll, changes in classifications, uninsured subcontractors, newly discovered exposures, or other differences between estimated and actual operations.

Large unexpected audits are one reason accurate payroll and classification information is important from the beginning.

If the frustrations of workers’ compensation audits are becoming too much to bear, considering a PEO becomes a great alternative: audits disappear for good.

Loss runs are reports showing workers’ compensation claims associated with your business.

They typically include information regarding claim dates, amounts paid, reserves, claim status, and other loss information.

Underwriters commonly request 3-5 years of currently valued loss runs when evaluating a business for coverage.

Workers’ compensation underwriting is about understanding what employees actually do.

Terms such as “contractor,” “manufacturer,” “trucking company,” or “maintenance company” can describe businesses with completely different exposures.

A detailed description helps an underwriter understand employee duties, equipment, jobsite exposures, subcontracted work, safety procedures, and other factors that can affect eligibility and pricing.

Yes.

We can evaluate your current arrangement and determine whether it makes sense to explore alternatives.

If your existing program is competitive and appropriate for your business, changing simply for the sake of changing may not make sense.

Yes, depending on your business and available markets.

Our objective is not to force every company into the same solution. For some businesses, a PEO may provide the strongest overall option. For others, traditional workers’ compensation combined with standalone payroll and HR services may make more sense. This is where our sister agency, Ocala Commercial Insurance, steps in.

The goal is to find the structure that best fits your business.

Helpful information generally includes your current workers’ compensation policy, payroll by classification, employee count, experience modification worksheet when applicable, currently valued loss runs, current premium or PEO invoices, and a detailed description of your operations.

For contractors, information regarding subcontractors and certificates of insurance may also be required.

Contact Caruthers Consulting and tell us what problem you're trying to solve.

Whether you're facing a cancellation, high renewal, difficult classification, poor claims history, high experience modification factor, or simply want a second opinion, we'll evaluate the situation and determine what markets may make sense to pursue.

We work with small and mid-sized businesses to identify their biggest constraints, uncover opportunities, and connect them with practical solutions that improve profitability, cash flow, and long-term growth.

This can include operational, financial, and organizational bottlenecks; unnecessary costs and inefficient processes; staffing, payroll, insurance, risk management, cash flow, and operations; and evaluating where your time and capital can produce the greatest return.

We can help uncover potential tax credits and incentives and coordinate with qualified tax professionals to determine eligibility.

We can assist with business loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, and other funding solutions, including helping identify appropriate lending and financing options and connecting you with potential funding sources.

We can assist with understanding common entity structures and when to involve a CPA or attorney; preparing and filing articles of incorporation or organization with the appropriate state agency; the IRS EIN application process; business banking and credit setup; payroll and HR setup; identifying business insurance needs; funding options; and ongoing business guidance.

Yes. We can help establish payroll, onboarding processes, workers’ compensation, and other systems before your first hire, and help identify insurance coverage your operation may need as it gets started.

Caruthers Consulting does not provide legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. When appropriate, we help clients identify and coordinate with qualified third-party professionals.