On August 16, 2016, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation conducted a public hearing at the 412 Knott Building, 404 South Monroe Street, Florida Capitol Complex, Tallahassee, FL. The purpose of the public hearing was to discuss NCCI’s proposed overall average statewide rate increase of 19.6% for workers’ compensation insurance. NCCI, who files on behalf of Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance companies, submitted the rate filing as a result of recent Florida Supreme Court decisions on Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg and Castellanos v. Next Door Company, as well as, impacts from updates to the Florida Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual per Senate Bill 1402.

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

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A 2.2% projected rate increase for the June 9th Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, in which the Florida Supreme Court found the 104-week statutory limitation on temporary total disability benefits in Section 440.15(2)(a), Florida Statutes, unconstitutional because it causes 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.

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A 15% projected rate increase for the April 28th Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Castellanos v. Next Door Company, which found the mandatory attorney fee schedule in Section 440.34, Florida Statutes, unconstitutional as a violation of due process under both the Florida and United States Constitutions.

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A 1.8% projected rate increase related to updates within the Florida Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual per Senate Bill 1402. The manual is effective on July 1, 2016.

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The effective date of the proposed rate change for new and renewal business is October 1, 2016. NCCI is also proposing the 19.6% 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.