NCCI agrees to bigger cuts in workers compensation insurance rates

BOCA RATON — The National Council on Compensation Insurance has resubmitted its annual rate filing with state regulators, proposing to cut workers comp premiums by 18.4 percent.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has estimated the cut will save employers $700 million.

NCCI, which makes the rate filing on behalf of all workers comp insurers in Florida, originally proposed a 16.5 percent cut. However,  OIR rejected the filing and asked for the 18.4 percent decrease instead. NCCI could have appealed OIR’s order but chose to accept the bigger cut.

The new rates will go into effect on Jan. 1, if OIR approves the filing.

Including the current proposal, rates will have decreased a cumulative 51.4 percent since the Legislature overhauled the state’s workers comp code in 2003.

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty called the overhaul "both courageous and necessary, because for years workers' compensation was a troublesome issue for the state."

Before the legislative reforms, Florida consistently ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country for the highest workers' compensation rates; however, since 2003, Florida has dropped out of the top 10 rankings. The 2008 change could drop Florida as far as the mid-20s, depending on the rate changes in the other states.

The reductions by industry sectors:

                         1/1/08 Filing      Cumulative since 2003

Manufacturing          -17.5%         - 47.6%
Contracting               -17.9%        - 52.0%
Office and Clerical    -21.3%        - 50.8%
Goods and Services  -19.0%         - 51.5%
Miscellaneous           -15.2%         - 53.0%

TOTAL                   -18.4%          - 51.4%

Source: NCCI

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