Relief may be on the way for Florida businesses paying painfully high workers’ compensation rates.
In October, Florida regulators will consider an overall premium level decrease of 9.6%, as recommended by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, according to media reports.
Last year’s rate hike was the result of a Supreme Court ruling regarding personal injury trial lawyers and the fees they charge. Judges ruled that it was unconstitutional to cap attorney fees.
The 5-2 decision stemmed from a case that involved an attorney who was paid less than $200 after working more than 100 hours to successfully represent an injured worker.
Justices determined that attorneys should be able to charge a reasonable amount and not be limited to the state’s scheduled legal fees.
Policyholders feared that legal fees in workers’ compensation cases would skyrocket as a result, thus the call for higher premiums.
Now NCCI is proposing to lower premiums, effective Jan. 2018, thanks to an 8% decrease in claims over the past two years.
