It’s final. This week, the Florida Insurance Commissioner issued a directive for workers’ compensation rates to be decreased by 9.8% beginning in 2018. His final order increased the rate reductions recommended by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). In addition, State Insurance Commissioner David Almaier asked NCCI to analyze the impact of eliminating the attorney fee caps in future work comp rate recommendations. Last year (2017), Florida businesses paid huge increases in work comp base rates (an average 14.5% increase) due to several Florida Supreme Court decisions in 2016 that removed the caps on attorney fees in workers’ compensation claim cases.
Despite the rate rollback, Florida businesses still have strong incentives to actively manage the risks of employee injury, maintain a safety focus and OSHA compliance culture and actively control the cost of claims, should they occur. Take steps today to protect your business and control your experience mod from rising claim costs and take action to keep employees focused on job site safety and not taking unnecessary risks. Call us to learn more.