Employer FAQs
You've got questions, we've got answers.
Below you will find a list of the most frequently asked questions.
General Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get a Certificate of Insurance?
New Mexico Mutual does not issue certificates of insurance. Please contact your insurance agent for a certificate of insurance.
What is a notice of cancellation?
A notice is sent to policyholders letting them know that their policy will be cancelled. Policies can be cancelled for various reasons and if you would like your policy to be considered for reinstatement, please contact your agent for further information.
What is a non-renewal notice?
A notice is sent to policyholders letting them know that their policy will not be renewed. If your policy is being considered for non-renewal, you will get a notice at 30 days prior to the expiration of your policy. Please contact your agent for further information.
Why am I being classified under a certain class code?
Workers’ compensation classifies the governing operations in accordance with National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). If you have any classification questions, please contact your insurance agent.
Who should I contact to update my policy information?
For changes to contact or address information, please contact us at 505-345-7260. For all other changes, please contact your insurance agent.
Claims Management Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a medical only claim and a lost time claim?
Claims resulting from a work-related injury fall into two groups: medical only claims and lost time claims. A lost time claim occurs when a worker misses more than seven calendar days (one week) of work due to the injury. Although most work-related injuries are not serious enough for a worker to lose more than three workdays, it is still important that workers report the injury to their employer immediately.
What should I do if one of my employees receives a bill for medical care?
Ask the employee to send a copy of the bill to their claims adjuster. The employee should also contact the provider and remind them that the care they are receiving is covered by workers’ compensation and all bills should be sent to their adjuster.
As an employer, what are my return to work and rehiring obligations following a job accident?
You are not required to hold a worker’s job position open following a job accident if worker is unable to return to work. You can replace the worker. However, once the worker reaches Maximum Medical Improvement and is released to return to work by the doctor, you are required by law to rehire worker, if:
- The worker requests re-employment.
- You are hiring,
- The treating doctor certifies the worker is fit to perform the pre-injury job or a modified duty job without significant risk of re-injury,
- The job is available.
If you are hiring, you shall also offer to rehire the worker who applies for any job paying less than the pre-injury job – provided the worker is qualified for the job, and the doctor certifies that the worker is fit to perform the job offered without risk of re-injury. If you have more questions, click here.
What is the amount and duration of Wage Loss Benefits?
If a worker is taken off work duty by an “authorized health provider,” workers’ compensation insurance pays 66 2/3% of their average weekly wage, called Temporary Total Disability (TTD) Benefits. These benefits go into effect on the 8th day of non-work status. The first 7 days of non-work status are not payable unless they are off work up to 4 weeks. The first payment of benefits will be mailed to them 21 days after they are off work. Thereafter, benefits will be mailed to them every 2 weeks.
TTD Benefits will stop either when the doctor releases them to full work duty or when they reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), which is that point in time the doctor feels they are as good as they are going to get from medical treatment. If the doctor believes they have some remaining disability after they reach MMI, they may then be eligible for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits for a specified period of time, depending on the type of injury.
Premium Audit Frequently Asked Questions
What is premium reporting and why do I have to do complete them?
Workers Compensation Insurance is based on payroll. Premium reporting is a payment plan typically assigned to businesses that have fluctuating payroll amounts. A deposit is made on the policy, and then you report your payrolls as you go and make a premium payment toward actual wages for that reporting period rather than making payments towards an estimated annual premium. This helps to ensure that your payments are based more accurately on actual wages incurred throughout the policy period in order to prevent large differences at final audit. Please note that all classifications and exposures are subject to verification at final audit.
How do I complete the premium report?
Please refer to the ‘Interim Premium Report and Payment Instructions’ Sheet for details on how to complete the paper report form. You may also submit a premium report online through your New Mexico Mutual account at: https://www.newmexicomutual.com/WageReport/
What action is required if I do not have any payroll for this reporting period?
We still need to receive the completed premium report form to confirm that there were no actual wages paid during the reporting period. Please complete and return the report entering zeros as the payroll amount(s) being reported.
How do I calculate the deduction for the overtime payroll?
You may deduct the premium overtime amount on the gross wages being reported for each period, or you can report the full gross wage amount(s) and wait for the premium overtime deduction to be applied at final audit. Regular overtime pay (time and one-half) is included at 2/3 or 66.6%, while double overtime pay is included at 1/2 or 50%. For example, if gross wages for an employee included $300 of regular overtime pay, $200 of the overtime pay is reported while $100 of the overtime pay is deducted. If gross wages for an employee included $600 of double overtime pay, $300 is reported while $300 of the overtime pay is deducted.
How do I submit a report?
Mail to:
New Mexico Mutual | P.O. Box 27805 Albuquerque, NM 87125-7805
Fax to: (505) 348-9320
Email to: audit@newmexicomutual.com
Submit Online: https://www.newmexicomutual.com/employers/policy-corner/ and click on the “Premium Reports” button.
How do I submit a report?
You may submit Interim Reports by Mail to:
New Mexico Mutual
PO box 27805
Albuquerque, NM 87125-7805
You may Fax the reports to: 505-348-9320
You may E-mail the reports to: audit@newmexicomutual.com
Please do not send multiple reports as one combined pdf. Each report should be submitted as a separate document for processing.
You may submit the reports online by going to: https://www.newmexicomutual.com/employers/policy-corner/ and click on the “Submit a Premium Report” button.
How do I make a payment for my premium report?
You may include a payment & payment coupon when you mail in the completed report. You may call our Billing Department directly at (505) 343-7744 or use our automated phone payment system at (866) 285-2979 to set up an electronic payment.
You may pay through our website at: https://www.newmexicomutual.com/employers/pay-my-bill/.
Please Note: The website will NOT show an amount due for a recently submitted Interim Report. You can still submit a payment; however, you will need to enter in the payment amount manually. You can only set up recurring payments for a fixed amount. We do not recommend doing this when you are on an Interim Reporting payment plan as the amounts will be different for each reporting period.
How do I revise a submitted report?
You can re-submit a report using the normal reporting methods, just add a note that you are correcting the report, or you can adjust the next report up or down to correct the amounts, or you may contact our office and request that the reporting period be Reversed and set back up so that you can submit the report through the online system. Please note that reports MUST be re-submitted on the SAME day that the reversal is made, or the final audit completed at the end of the term will correct for any reporting or math errors on the interim report(s) processed.
What action is required if I need to add a class code for this reporting period?
Any requests for class code changes are subject to Underwriting review and approval. Should you determine that a class code may need to be added, please contact your Insurance Agent with a detailed description of the change in operations and/or duties of the individual(s) in question so that your agent can determine with the Underwriter if a policy change is required. Please note that all classifications and exposures are subject to verification at final audit.
What if my policy is cancelled or final audited?
If a policy is final cancelled, please still submit your report and payment due for any reporting periods already requested, but only up to the cancellation date. Once the final audit has been processed, all final calculations are complete and there is no longer any need to process additional premium reports.
How do I report covered Officer Minimum/Maximums or Sole Proprietor/Partner flat fees?
If actual payroll amounts are submitted on each report, any required adjustments can be made at final audit. You may also divide the required minimum, maximum or flat amount by the number of reports and report that portion as wages.
What happens if my report is late?
When a report is not submitted by the due date, it is automatically Estimated by the system with a pro-rated wage amount, based on the original policy estimates. You will receive an Approved Interim Report with the estimated wage amount(s) completed by the system and where the Audit Method will state “Estimated”. The system will also automatically bill you based on the Estimated Premium Amount.
Please note that the report still needs to be submitted and can be sent to us for correction by mail, fax or E-mail. You may also contact our office and request that the reporting period be reversed and set back up so that you can submit the report through the online system. Please note that reports MUST be re-submitted on the SAME day that the reversal is made.
Once a late report has been received, you will receive 2 more Approved Interim Reports:
- One will be a Reversal of the Estimated report
- One will be the re-processed report with the correct wage amount(s) received.
My invoice/website shows a different amount that what I submitted. What is going on?
Your report may not have been received at all, or it may have been submitted beyond the due date (See “What happens if my report is late?”)
The paper interim report forms always list the original Estimated Combined Modifier as of the date coverage was bound or renewed. During the policy period, the Combined Modifier can change; however, the paper reports do not reflect any updates to the Combined Modifier. This can happen multiple times and for several reasons. The online entry option will use the most current Combined Modifier, and not what is listed on the paper report form.
The system will only accept whole numbers, and as such, the system rounding process is slightly different than the manual process and can result in $1 – $2 differences in the total.
A common math error when manually calculating the form is to omit the Terrorism Risk Premium, or to not divide the payroll by 100 before multiplying by the rate.
Please note that the final audit, completed once coverage is cancelled or expired, will correct any reporting or math errors made during the policy term.
Why does the website not show a reporting period for the last month of my policy?
Please note that most of the Premium Reporting payment plans do not have a premium report due during the final month of the policy term as this is typically when the renewal deposit is due for your next renewing term.
What should I do if I did not receive my reporting form in the mail?
Please contact us by phone so that we can provide you with a copy of the interim report form that is due. Please do not cross out dates or modify prior paper forms as this may cause confusion and the system does not permit reporting dates to be changed.
What if my address has changed?
As interim report forms are sent via mail to the mailing address listed on the policy, it is important that your mailing address be kept current. Please contact your Insurance Agent directly with your correct mailing address so that they can request a policy change to have this information updated in our systems.
Contact the Premium Audit Department
Mail: New Mexico Mutual | Attn: Premium Audit Department
P.O. Box 27825
Albuquerque, NM 87125-7825
Phone: (505) 343-7720
Fax: (505) 348-9320
Email: audit@newmexicomutual.com
What payroll documents am I required to submit with my premium report?
None – There are no required back-up documents that need to be submitted with your premium report form. All supporting payroll documentation will be verified when the final audit is completed.
I made a policy change in the middle of the term. How does this affect my deposit paid?
If a policy change has been completed during the middle of your term that resulted in an increase to the overall estimated annual premium amount, you will receive an invoice for the applicable balance of the deposit premium that is due as a result of the estimated premium increase. If a policy change is completed that reduces the estimated annual premium amount for the term, you will be credited the applicable premium difference from the original deposit to your billing account.