Monday, October 14, 2014

Tallahassee, Fla. – On behalf of Florida’s business community, the Associated Industries of Florida's (AIF) Workers' Compensation Coalition today issued the following statement, attributed to its General Counsel Tammy Perdue, regarding the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's (OIR) hearing on the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to reduce workers' compensation insurance rates by an average of 3.3 percent in 2015.

“On behalf of Florida's business and insurance community, we appreciate the extensive data and information that NCCI has shared today and believe it is the proper basis to set next year's rates, particularly since it is based on the objective aggregate claims data Florida's system has experienced.

“However, we urge OIR to continue to be vigilant in monitoring other factors that could swiftly and significantly alter the balance of the system and create the need for additional, unscheduled rate reviews.  Currently, there are at least three cases pending before the Florida Supreme Court that are seeking to have some or all of Florida's workers' compensation law declared unconstitutional.  Additionally, Amendment 2, which seeks to legalize the medical use of marijuana, is before Florida voters on the November ballot. 

“We believe any change in current law and operation of the system will certainly impact behaviors and functions, resulting in Florida's employers bearing increased workers' compensation costs.

“As our state, particularly our small employers, is just now climbing back to a point of economic success, it remains critical for the workers’ compensation system to maintain its balance, for rates to be actuarially sound, for the market to be competitive, and costs to be predictable and stable.  As such, AIF's Workers' Compensation Coalition will continue to advocate, as we always have, for a system that fulfills its express legislative intent.”

For more information on AIF's Workers' Compensation Coalition, please visit https://aif.com/menu_councils_workerscomp.html and follow @voiceofflbiz.