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A revised workers compensation rate filing for a 13.8 percent decrease by the National Council on Compensation Insurance has been approved by Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier. The amended filing to NCCI’s August rate request of 13. 4 percent was submitted on Nov. 7 per an order from OIR. The extra .4 percent decrease is attributed in part to a difference in insurers’ profit and contingencies provision, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation noted in the Nov. 2 order. Click here to read more:

If there was ever an impossible-to-predict year, 2019 is it. An unstable White House, divided Congress, uncertain-at-best economic outlook, contentious relations with Russia, China, and North Korea, Brexit…jeez I yearn for the days of boredom. But, far be it from to miss an opportunity to demonstrate how fallible I can be, so here goes. 1. The work comp insurance market will harden – a little. 2. A very big external event/issue/mess will affect the economy – and thus workers’ comp 3. There will be significantly fewer M&A deals in work comp services – and those deals will be either pretty small or really big 4. Facility costs will be the new focus for payers and service companies 5. New business models for Pharmacy Benefit Management will gain traction Click here to read more:

Continuing the predictions for workers' comp in 2019. 6. The “advocacy” claims model will gain a lot more traction. 7. “Opt-Out” will not gain traction. 8. Service companies that deliver best-in-class customer service – and build that into their branding messaging – will win. 9. More success in reducing long-term opioid usage by more payers. 10. Payers will implement business models and processes using Artificial Intelligence Click here to read more:

The appointment of two new Florida Supreme Court justices has galvanized the business community’s interest in tackling attorney fees in the workers’ compensation insurance system. Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida, has since 2016 called for the Legislature to limit what plaintiffs’ attorneys can charge injured workers. He acknowledged that lawmakers’ reluctance has thwarted the issue of passing fee caps because of fears that such limits could be struck down by the Supreme Court. Click here to read more:

A new report from OSHA takes aim at the workers’ compensation industry and fires a barrage of accusations. The government report came out on today (Wednesday, March 4, 2015), the same day that ProPublica and NPR released a scathing expose on the industry, specifically targeting insurers, state regulators, and the business community. Original article no longer available

Minimum-wage workers will get a pay raise, businesses will get a break on insurance bills and a few new laws will take effect Tuesday as 2019 begins in Florida. Minimum-wage workers will start earning $8.46 an hour Tuesday, up from $8.25 an hour in 2018 — and more than a dollar above the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Florida’s minimum wage ticks up each year because of a 2004 constitutional amendment that ties the rate to inflation. Click here to read more:

Florida’s agriculture and construction employers could soon be required to train outdoor workers and managers on avoiding heat-related illnesses under proposed legislation filed earlier this week. The heat illness prevention bill, sponsored by Orlando Democrat Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, would set a statewide standard for all outdoor workers to be given plenty of drinking water, access to shade and 10-minute rest breaks enforced after every two hours of outside labor. “We often call the farmworkers the ‘invisible ones’ because what they do is unseen, is unheard,” Smith said. “They do such important work and they’re often forgotten and we want to make sure that we’re protecting [them].” Click to read more:

As an employer, one of your most important assets are the people that make your work possible: your employees. When an incident happens on the job, it can be challenging to see an employee sidelined by an injury. Planning to get them back to work can be even harder. An effective return to work program is one of the best ways to retain an injured worker. It creates flexible work options for an employee while they are recovering and helps you save on your claims costs. Steve Summers, a Field Service Manager (FSM) at Missouri Employers Mutual, works with policyholders to help them develop solutions after a claim. Summers became an FSM a few years after joining MEM in 2007. As a liaison between employers and MEM claims management staff, Summers works to improve overall claim outcomes. Developing a return to work program is one of the top methods Summers recommends for getting your employees back on the job. Click here to read more

A handful of states are reopening for business following coronavirus-triggered lockdowns, raising two compelling questions: Must employers ensure the workplace is safe? And will they be held liable if employees contract the virus? The short answer is that while health care providers must follow federal safety guidelines to guard against contagion, other businesses are not obligated to do so, leaving it to states and localities to set standards, experts say. And sick employees who seek damages, typically through worker’s compensation, must prove that they contracted the virus at work – an especially thorny challenge. Click to read more:

Florida’s workers’ compensation rates will decline for the third consecutive year in 2020 if the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) follows a national insurance rating bureau’s recommendation. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has filed its annual proposal with the OIR that calls for an average 5.4 percent rate decrease for state employers, effective Jan. 1. Following a 14.5 percent increase in 2016, Florida’s workers’ compensation rates have gone down by a combined 13.8 percent since – by 9.5 percent, plus an additional 1.8 percent as a result of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), in 2018, and by 13.4 percent beginning January 2019. Click to read more:

The downward trend for Florida workers’ compensation rates is set to continue next year thanks to favorable loss experiences from policy years 2017 and 2018. The latest filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) proposes an average statewide rate decrease of 5.7% in the voluntary market. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2021 if approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which is currently reviewing the proposed rates. NCCI is a licensed rating organization authorized to make recommended rate filings on behalf of workers compensation insurance companies in Florida. “As always, OIR will review the filing to ensure the proposed changes are not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory and evaluate its potential effects on the insurance marketplace and employers, who are required by law to carry this insurance on their employees,” the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said in a statement. The filing is based on experience data as of year-end 2019 from policy years 2017 and 2018. Click to read more:

If an out-of-state contractor’s home state’s workers’ compensation insurance policy is from a state listed in the link below, the out-of-state contractor can only work in Florida for no more than 10 consecutive days, or no more than 25 total days, during a calendar year.EndFragment Click to read more: