Excess profit ban is lifted for workers’ compensation carriers

The following article was published in The Florida Current on February 15, 2012:

Excess Profit Ban is Lifted for Workers’ Comp Carriers

By the staff of The Florida Current

A pair of workers’ compensation bills cleared the House on Wednesday but there are no companions to either measure in the Senate.

The first bill to get the nod was HB 4169,  a measure that exempts workers’ compensation carriers from the state’s excessive profits laws. It passed by a 92-25 margin with mostly Democrats opposing the measure.

The bill deletes the requirement that workers’ compensation carriers be required to return “excess profits” to policyholders. The Office of Insurance Regulation reports that the workers’ compensation carriers have returned more than $200 million in excess profits to their policyholders since 2003. Bill sponsor Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville, downplayed the $200 million figure, saying it amounted to less than 1 percent of overall premium collected during that same time.

Florida’s excess-profits law kicks into effect after insurers’ underwriting gains exceed the anticipated amount.  Employer liability, commercial property and commercial casualty still are subject to the requirement.

Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Fort Lauderdale, said the law has been in effect for 32 years and questioned why the Legislature is moving to abolish it.

The House also approved HB 4181 which removes a requirement that the Department of Financial Services maintain a list of “certifiable” health-care providers that are authorized to treat workers’ compensation patients.  That bill passed unanimously.

Find this article here:  http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/article.cfm?id=26591997