On Monday, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) moved to block a lawsuit that challenged proposed premium rate hikes of workers’ compensation insurance in Florida.
The NCCI is a licensed rating agency that makes rate filings on behalf of many of the worker’s comp insurers in Florida. The council had proposed a 19.6% increase in premiums, effective Oct. 1, following the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to remove the legal limits on temporary total disability benefits and attorney fees.
Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation is set to hold a public hearing on the rate hike on Tuesday in Tallahassee.
Miami lawyer James Fee, who represents injured workers, filed a lawsuit the previous week in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court in an attempt to halt the public hearing. Fee’s lawsuit names the NCCI, the Office of Insurance Regulation, and state Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier.
The NCCI, in a legal motion filed Monday, claimed that delaying the rate increase “could cause severe public harm, as workers’ compensation rates are currently not adequate to meet claims.” The group remarked that insurers could fall over $1 billion short of what they need to pay claims.
“If delayed, the unfunded liability will increase by tens of millions of dollars each month and may threaten the solvency of Florida’s workers’ compensation insurers and their ability to pay claims,” the council said in its motion. “Insurers may react to this threat in ways that impact the availability and affordability of insurance products for Florida employers.”
Also on Monday, the office of Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier asked the court to move the dispute to Tallahassee. The office cited a legal presumption that lawsuits against state agencies belong in Leon County Circuit Court, reported
saintpetersblog.com.
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