State Approves a 9.8% Decrease to Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Premiums for Employers

State Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has ordered a 9.8 percent decrease in the premiums that private employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance for their employees.

The new rates will apply to both new and renewal workers’ compensation insurance policies effective in Florida as of January 1, 2018.

“The Office will continue to monitor the marketplace and support reforms that provide additional cost savings for Florida’s businesses,” said Altmaier.

“Florida’s job creators will no doubt appreciate this significant cost savings, a step that will support our state’s growing economy,” said Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. “I’m pleased to see the cost of business going down, and as the Legislature looks at our workers’ compensation system, I will be working with them on proposals to lock in these lowering rates.”

The National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) received the rate decrease approval on November 9 from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The NCCI rate filing had been pending since August 28.

The rate decrease is expected to assist small businesses in being able to afford workers’ compensation insurance, lessening the number of employers that do not carry such insurance for their employees. Workers’ Compensation insurance provides medical and income benefits for employees who are injured in the course of their work-related activities.