RATES DECLINE FOR THE 4TH TIME IN 5 YEARS

After an initial proposed 2021 workers’ compensation rate decrease of 5.7%, David Altmaier, FL Insurance Commissioner, demanded a better deal and the average rate decrease expanded to an average of 6.6%.

“It is a little bit of a pattern that our recommendations tend to get slightly cut back in Florida,” said Jeff Eddinger, senior division executive at NCCI, the ratemaking organization for 37 states.

Altmaier’s biggest sticking point and reason for rejecting the initial filing was the NCCI’s use of loss data from large-deductible policies.  NCCI does not consider that type of data in any other state when calculating rates or loss costs and without that data, average rates could be significantly lower.

  • Contracting = Average decrease of 8.8%
  • Manufacturing = Average decrease of 7%
  • Office/Clerical = Average decrease of 5.1%

While attorney fees have climbed since the 2016 court ruling known as Castellanos v. Next Door Co., the impact has not outweighed other cost reductions.  NCCI did not include the potential impact that COVID-19 may have on future claims and payroll, however.

Altmaier’s actions are nothing new for Florida, Eddinger said. Over the years, state regulators have agreed with NCCI’s initial filings only about 40% of the time.

Going forward, the NCCI will leave out the large-deductible policy data, Eddinger said. But Altmaier may yet have other concerns next year.

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