Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • July 2016 | Page 8
Office Receives
Amended NCCI
Workers’ Compensation
Rate Filing
The Office of Insurance
Regulation received an
amended rate filing yesterday
by the National Council on
Compensation Insurance (NCCI)
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%
to 19.6%.
Individual projected rate
impacts for all three recent legal
changes include the following:
• A 2.2% projected rate increase
for the June 9th Florida
Supreme Court decision in the
case of Westphal v. City of St.
Petersburg (Westphal), 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.
• A 15% projected rate increase
for the April 28th Florida
Supreme Court decision in the
case of Castellanos v. Next Door
Company (Castellanos), which
found the mandatory attorney
fee schedule in Section 440.34,
Florida Statutes, unconstitutional
as a violation of due process
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DITCHMEN • JULY 2016
under both the Florida and
United States Constitutions.
• A 1.8% projected rate increase
related to updates within the
Florida Workers’ Compensation
Health Care Provider
Reimbursement Manual (HCPR
Manual) per Senate Bill 1402.
The manual becomes effective
on July 1, 2016.
NCCI is proposing an effective
date of October 1, 2016 for
new and renewal workers’
compensation policies and that
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.
The Office has scheduled a
public rate hearing for August
16, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. to give
NCCI an opportunity to discuss
the filing and interested parties
and other stakeholders the
ability to provide testimony or
comments. The hearing will be
held in the Jim King Committee
Room, 401 Senate Office
Building, 404 South Monroe
Street, Tallahassee, Florida.
A media advisory with more
details will be released at a later
date.
NCCI is a licensed rating
organization authorized to make
rate filings on behalf of workers’
compensation insurance
companies in Florida.