Subcontractor FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions by Subcontractors Beginning Work on a Wrap-Up

Have questions about starting a Wrap-Up project? You’re not alone. We’ve compiled a list of questions that are frequently asked by the subcontractors we deal with everyday regarding Wrap-Ups. We hope your question is answered below. If not, please reach out to TSIB; check your CIP Manual for an Administrator contact name and telephone number.

CIP stands for “Controlled Insurance Program.” Once you are enrolled, this program provides your company with onsite proof of coverage for the type of CIP you are enrolled – Full Wrap (Workers’ Compensation, General Liability and Excess/Umbrella coverage) GL Only Wrap (General Liability and Excess/Umbrella coverage) or WC Only Wrap (Workers’ Compensation coverage – including Employer Liability).

The Sponsor has requested your enrollment in the program. All subcontractors of all tiers must enroll unless specifically excluded from the program by Sponsor. See this CIP Manual (Section 3) for exclusions, or refer to your Bid Documents for additional information.

The Sponsor pays the premium of the insurance(s) provided under the CIP. You’re not “double-covered” – and just for the CIP job(s) you’re enrolled on. You should receive credit from your insurance carrier for your CIP participation; TSIB will provide you with a Certificate of Insurance and copies of any payroll reports, if needed. Keep CIP project payroll separated from your corporate work for your insurance auditor, and keep a copy of your CIP COI for evidence of enrollment.

If you are required to enroll, your lower tier subcontractors must also enroll prior to beginning work on site. Please provide TSIB with their contact information, and make sure they receive a copy of the CIP Manual. The Manual contains all of the information and forms.

TSIB has a Contractor Portal that can be used for a variety of tasks – from enrollment, to payroll reporting, uploading documents, to monitoring your delinquencies or those of your lower tiers. Please contact the Service Center to obtain a User ID and Password. You can access our portal here.

Yes, you need to do a separate enrollment form for each contract you’re awarded on a project. Also, on-site payroll must be reported separately for each enrollment.

Whether it’s from the NCCI or your State WC Bureau, each company is assigned a tracking number for workers’ compensation experience. It is typically attributed after a company has employed workers for 3 or more years. You or your insurance broker can typically access this number online through NCCI or your state bureau by searching with your FEIN or corporate name.

Rate pages are the policy pages from your Workers’ Compensation, General Liability and Excess/Umbrella policies that show your class codes, credits and debits the insurance company used to determine the premium for your policies. They need to be from the policy period in which your contract was issued. Also, if your Excess/Umbrella policy is “flat rated,” please send the page from your policy that states that, or a letter from your carrier. Your broker can often assist you with providing these pages.

TSIB does not collect certified payroll. You are required to report payroll using the online Form via the Contractor Portal. Please report only your onsite hours and unburdened payroll. Reports are due by the 10th of each following month, or as required by your project. If you have more than one enrollment on a project, payroll must be separated and reported for each enrollment.

Please be sure to cover all dates in the month from the date your CIP coverage began – even if it’s a weekend or holiday, and no work is performed. Make sure your dates run consecutive from report to report. If one report ends on 12/31/2013, your next report needs to begin on 1/1/2014. Also, if you are not on site in any month, you must submit a “ZERO” report for that month (zero dollars in payroll and zero man-hours).

Reportable payroll does not include the premium portion of any overtime pay. Gross payroll includes the overtime pay. Please note: If you are reporting payroll in a monopolistic state or Pennsylvania, Delaware, Nevada or Utah, they require the entire unburdened overtime payroll to be reported as Reportable payroll. If you are unsure whether to include the unburdened overtime portion as Reportable payroll, please consult with the Workers’ Compensation Bureau in the state where the project is located.

New York State (and a few other states) enacted a law which limits the amount of payroll that is reported for Workers’ Compensation premium purposes for eligible construction classification codes. A payroll cap is applied to the actual weekly payroll, per employee. This limitation needs to be taken into account when reporting payroll to the CIP. The limitation is subject to change annually. If you have any questions regarding the cap, please contact either the Workers’ Compensation Board in the state where the project is located or your insurance agent/broker.

You can obtain a sample COI in the CIP Manual for your project, on the Contractor Portal, or you can call the Service Center for assistance.

Excluded Subcontractors are required to provide an Additional Insured Endorsement (CG 20 10 11 85 endorsement, or its equivalent). This needs to be attached to your Certificate of Insurance and needs to cover both “ongoing” and “completed” operations.

Please complete a Notice of Work Completion. This form must be signed by your Parent Contractor in order to be accepted for processing (the Parent contractor must sign off on all lower-tier contractors). Once processed, your CIP contract will be closed, and you won’t need to send us anything further.

We’re letting you know that the CIP portion of the project is ending. If you have any further work to do at the jobsite, you will simply need to provide your own certificate of insurance. The Service Center can provide you with a sample Certificate of Insurance that will meet the program requirements.

Please call your Administrator directly, listed in your Manual.

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