Amended NCCI Workers’ Compensation Rate Filing Reflects Additional Rate Increase

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) received an amended rate filing by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (“NCCI”) yesterday, June 30, 2016.  The filing, which addresses a third legal change affecting Florida’s workers’ compensation system, increases NCCI’s initial proposed combined average rate increase from 17.1 percent to 19.6 percent.

Individual projected rate impacts for all three recent legal changes include the following:

• A 2.2 percent projected rate increase for the June 9 Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg (Westphal), in which the Florida Supreme Court found the 104-week statutory limitation on temporary total disability benefits in Section 440.15(2)(a), F.S. unconstitutional because itcauses a statutory gap in benefits in violation of an injured worker’s constitutional right of access to courts.  The Supreme Court reinstated the 260-week limitation in effect prior to the 1994 law change.
• A 15 percent projected rate increase for the April 28 Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Castellanos v. Next Door Company (Castellanos), which found the mandatory attorney fee schedule in Section 440.34, F.S. unconstitutional as a violation of due process under both the Florida and United States Constitutions.
• A 1.8 percent projected rate increase related to updates within the Florida Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual persuant to Senate Bill 1402.  The Manual becomes effective on July 1, 2016.

NCCI is proposing an effective date of October 1, 2016 for new and renewal workers’ compensation policies, and that the proposed 19.6 percent rate increase apply to all workers’ compensation policies in effect as of October 1, 2016 on a pro-rata basis for the remainder of each policy’s term.

The OIR has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed rate for August 16, 2016 at 9 a.m. to give NCCI an opportunity to discuss the filing and interested parties and other stakeholders the ability to provide testimony or comments.

The hearing will be held in the Jim King Committee Room, 401 Senate Office Building, 404 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida.

Further details from the OIR will be forthcoming.

For more information about the amended rate filing, read the NCCI press release.  For previous information released by the OIR on this issue, see the May 27 OIR Statement or the April 28 OIR Statement. 

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.

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