State regulators issued an order Tuesday that calls for overall workers-compensation insurance rates to drop by 5.1 percent next year.
The Office of Insurance Regulation rejected a smaller 1.9 percent decrease proposed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which annually proposes rates for workers-compensation insurers.
Regulators gave the council, known as NCCI, until Monday to make a new filing with the required changes. The lower rates are expected to take effect Jan. 1.
"Florida's workers' compensation market is both competitive and affordable,'' Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a prepared statement. "This approval would represent a 60 percent cumulative reduction in Florida workers' compensation rates since 2003, and having competitive rates is a critical element in bringing new jobs to our state. It allows Florida's businesses to continue growing economically, while helping injured workers get the medical assistance they need to return to work."
Lawmakers passed a massive overhaul of the workers-compensation system in 2003 to reduce rates, but that law faces at least three challenges in the Florida Supreme Court.
