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The Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District declared that NCCI and FLOIR were not in compliance with Florida Sunshine Law statutes. The ruling is contained here. Click here to read more:

As expected, state insurance regulators have issued a final order jacking up the price of worker’s compensation insurance by nearly 15 percent. The order was published Thursday. The decision approves the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) request “for an overall combined statewide average rate increase of 14.5 percent,” the Office of Insurance Regulation said in a press release. The rate hike, which applies to new and renewal policies, is effective Dec. 1. The increase continues to be bitterly opposed by business groups. Click here to read more:

Pointing to a major Florida Supreme Court ruling on attorneys’ fees, state regulators issued an order Tuesday that said workers’ compensation insurance rates should increase 14.5 percent starting later this year. The long-awaited order by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation trimmed a proposal that called for increasing rates 19.6 percent. Nevertheless, business groups immediately warned that a 14.5 percent increase would hurt employers. Click here to read more:

Florida insurance regulators on Tuesday tentatively approved a 14.5 percent increase in workers' compensation insurance rates. Industry representatives had sought a 19.6 percent hike. ​ ​The National Council on Compensation Insurance, an industry group authorized to make rate filings on behalf of workers' comp insurers, hinged much of its rate request on the impact of a Florida Supreme Court decision in April that declared a mandatory cap on attorneys' fees for such cases was unconstitutional. Read more here:

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has given contingent approval for an overall statewide workers’ compensation rate increase of 14.5 percent to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. The rate increase is in response to two recent Supreme Court rulings undoing reforms passed in 2003 and rocking the state’s workers’ compensation system. ​ In the Sept. 27 order, OIR disapproved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) filing for a 19.6 percent increase, on behalf of insurers, saying that much of an increase on new, renewal and outstanding policies was not justified. Click here to read more:

The rate impact of recent Florida Supreme Court rulings on the state's workers' compensation system is currently in the hands of regulators, as the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) decides on the National Council on Compensation Insurance's (NCCI) filing seeking a 20 percent rate increase. ​ The fallout is just beginning from the Castellanos v. Next Door Company, 192 So.3d 431 (FLA., April 28, 2016) and Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 194 So.3d 311 (FLA., June 9, 2016) rulings, and it would end with higher rates. The decisions are also expected to increase the amount of litigated claims in the state, as negotiated fee agreements between claimants and attorneys are now permissable, and a claimant's attorney is no longer prohibited from receiving compensation beyond the state's statutory fee schedule. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court declared the state's scheme for handling injured workers unconstitutional in three cases earlier this year, one of them involving the city of St. Petersburg. ​ The result is a potential 20 percent increase in workers' comp insurance for Florida businesses. Click here to read more:

An insurance industry council moved Monday to block a legal challenge to proposed workers’ compensation premium increases of nearly 20 percent, warning that delay would threaten the solvency of Florida’s system for compensating injured workers. ​ The state Office of Insurance Regulation is scheduled to take up the rate hike Tuesday morning in Tallahassee. Delay, the National Council on Compensation Insurance warned, “could cause severe public harm, as workers’ compensation rates are currently not adequate to meet claims.” Click here to read more:

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation can retroactively reclassify a company's workforce and collect more than $1 million in back premiums regardless of whether the employer was at fault, the state Supreme Court has ruled. ​ Aaron's Inc., formerly Aaron Rents Inc., is an Atlanta-based rent-to-own retailer that has done business in Ohio for more than 20 years, court records show. When the company first applied for workers comp coverage, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation assigned it occupational classifications of 8044 and 8810 for furniture and clerical workers, respectively. Click here to read more:

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced July 1 that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed an amended rate filing to address a third legal change affecting Florida’s workers’ compensation system. This amended filing increases NCCI’s initial proposed combined average rate increase from 17.1 percent to 19.6 percent. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the state’s 104-week cap on temporary total disability benefits is unconstitutional. ​ Bradley Westphal, who worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the city of St. Petersburg, Florida, sustained compensable injuries to his back and knee in 2009, court records show. He later received back surgery and additional medical treatment for nerve damage in his legs. Click here to read more:

The Florida Supreme Court declared today, June 9th, 2016, the current system for temporary total disability (104 weeks) unconstitutional in this case. The final ruling is attached. Click here to read more: