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CFO SINK CHEERS PROPOSED SIXTH CONSECUTIVE
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION RATE DECLINE
Florida Chief Financial
Officer Alex Sink cheered the news today that Florida’s
employers could see a sixth consecutive decline in workers’
compensation rates. The National Council on Compensation
Insurance today filed a request with the Office of Insurance
Regulation for an average 14.1 percent rate decrease, which
if approved would constitute a cost savings of about $465
million for Florida employers effective January 1, 2009. The
cumulative rate decrease since 2003 is 58 percent. A hearing
on the proposed rate decrease is expected in October.
“A stable and viable workers’
compensation system is good for everyone, especially for
Florida businesses and their employees – the backbone of our
economy,” said CFO Sink, who oversees the Department of
Financial Services, which includes the Division of Workers’
Compensation, the agency charged with regulating
workers’ compensation in Florida. “No other state has
matched Florida’s rate reductions, and no other state is
working harder to take care of employers and employees.”
Augmenting the rate cuts, Division of
Workers' Compensation outreach efforts have resulted in a
more than 25-percent reduction in workers’ compensation
lost-time injury rates, and compliance and enforcement
activities have added more than 43,000 employees to the
workers’ compensation system during the last four years.
“By improving compliance, we not only protect more workers
but also bring more premiums into the system, which helps to
further reduce rates,” said CFO Sink.
Florida is a leader in workers’
compensation rate reductions and CFO Sink noted that in the
past year, the Division hosted regulators from Connecticut
and New York wanting to learn about Florida’s investigative
and enforcement operations. CFO Sink said while enforcement
is a top priority, the Division is expanding its education
and outreach activities in an effort to prevent compliance
problems.
The Division’s Bureau of Compliance now
has certified instructors who, beginning in October, will
present approximately 40 continuing education programs a
year throughout Florida, focusing on compliance and coverage
issues important to contractors and employers.
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