Annual rate decrease approved
As the special legislative session gets underway today in Tallahassee on federal vaccine and mask mandates on COVID-19, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has withdrawn its request to start a catastrophe fund in Florida that among other things, would handle future pandemics. NCCI had proposed the fund to Florida regulators over the summer, which would kick-in for single-event catastrophes resulting in more than $50 million in aggregate workers’ comp losses across all states, excepting certified acts of terrorism. The fund would have resulted in an additional charge of $20 million annually to Florida businesses, given that catastrophe losses are not figured into regular rates.
In a letter last Thursday to Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier withdrawing its filing for the new rule, NCCI wrote that “the item will be resubmitted at a future date as and when appropriate.” The next day, Altmaier approved NCCI’s proposed annual workers’ comp rate filing unchanged – a 4.9% decrease in rates effective in January 2022 on new and renewal policies. “Safer workplaces, innovative techniques, and improved risk management practices have resulted in the continued decline in workers’ compensation claims, ultimately benefitting Florida businesses,” said Altmaier in a release.
NCCI, in pursuing its Cat Fund, had said exposure to catastrophic workers’ comp losses exists in Florida, with the coronavirus pandemic being the most recent example. The number of Floridians filing workers’ compensation insurance claims from COVID-19 illness is ping-ponging. August saw the highest number of claims this year with 6,706. The highest month in 2020 was July with 8,403 claims, per the chart below.
Source: Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation, October 2021 (Click to enlarge here)
There have been 57,888 COVID claims filed during the pandemic through September 2021. Insurers and self-insurers have paid out about $136 million on COVID claims so far, an average of $2,357 per claim. The COVID claims make up 6.6% of the total cost of all workers’ comp indemnity claims, a percentage that has been steady throughout the pandemic, according to the latest report from the Division of Workers’ Compensation.
There have been 86 COVID workers’ comp death claims from March 2020 through September 2021. In the past two weeks, Florida has recorded its lowest level of COVID-19 cases, with just 2.6% testing positive, according to the Florida Department of Health. NCCI says it is keeping an eye on so-called “Long-Haul” COVID cases – workers with relatively mild cases who end with chronic long-term complications. It recently posted this report from Paradigm, a healthcare management organization, which said “potentially millions of people could become functionally impaired for an extended period of time subsequent to acute COVID-19 illness.”
LMA Newsletter of 11-15-21
