TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today issued a
final order approving the National Council on Compensation Insurance's (NCCI) amended rate filing for workers' compensation insurance rates that will become effective Jan. 1. The 6.8 percent rate decrease marks the seventh annual consecutive drop in workers' compensation rates since 2003, the year the Florida Legislature passed sweeping reforms of the workers’ compensation system.
The Office conducted a hearing on Oct. 6, 2009, and heard testimony from NCCI, industry experts and the public about NCCI’s initial Aug. 20 rate filing.
Commissioner McCarty issued an
order on Oct. 15 finding the 6.8 percent reduction in NCCI’s original rate filing justified, but he took exception to some of NCCI’s methodologies used in determining that rate; including its calculation of policyholder dividends, cost of capital, investment yields, minimum premiums and proposed roofing rate. That Order requested NCCI to modify its original filing and resubmit it; which it did on Oct. 19.
Today’s final order approves the NCCI’s amended rate filing in its entirety and notes all requested changes in Commissioner McCarty’s Oct. 15 order have been made. The NCCI’s amended rate filing for workers' compensation insurance rates will become effective Jan. 1.
With this rate change, the cumulative overall statewide average rate decrease since 2003 will be more than 63 percent.
The overall average rate impact at an industry group level will be as follows:
Percent Change
Industry Group 1/1/10 Filing Cumulative 10/1/03–1/1/10
Manufacturing -4.7% -60.0%
Contracting -10.8% -65.4%
Office and Clerical -6.2% -63.3%
Goods and Services -3.8% -62.2%
Miscellaneous -6.7% -62.1%
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TOTAL -6.8% -63.2%
About the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) has primary responsibility for regulation, compliance and enforcement of statutes related to the business of insurance and the monitoring of industry markets. Business units within the Office are organized based on regulatory expertise and include the areas of life and health, property and casualty, specialty lines and other regulated insurance entities. It is within the Office that the mission of public protection is implemented through regulatory oversight of insurance company solvency, policy forms and rates, market conduct performance and new company entrants to the Florida market.
For more information about the Office, please visit
www.floir.com. If you would like to review and compare homeowners insurance rates in Florida, go to
www.shopandcomparerates.com.
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