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It would seem the biggest story would be the end of Florida’s hurricane drought as the state got hit by not one, but two hurricanes this year, the first hurricanes for Florida since 2005. ​ But those catastrophes weren’t the only storms Florida experienced in 2016. Florida Supreme Court decisions that upended the state’s workers’ comp system and subsequent rate hikes; the effect of ongoing abuse of assignment of benefits; the continuing battle over flood insurance rates; and the state’s first new insurance commissioner in 13 years, were all major headlines throughout the year. ​ Those in the industry say each of these stories will have a significant impact on the state going into 2017. Click here to read more:

Florida’s workers’ compensation rate increase of 14.5 percent will remain in effect while a Florida appeals court reviews a legal challenge to the state’s recent rate-making process. The First District Court of Appeals granted an extension to the stay issued on Nov. 28 when the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) filed its notice of appeal to Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers’ order halting the rate increase, which took effect Dec. 1. Click here to read more: ​

Tallahassee — The battle lines are being drawn. Or maybe they never went away. But Florida senators this week got a taste of the debate that will play out in the coming months among business, legal and labor groups as the Legislature looks at revamping the workers' compensation insurance system. For business groups, the issue is about too much money going to attorneys who represent injured workers. For workers' attorneys, the issue is about insurers not properly paying claims. And for labor unions, the issue is about a system that has slashed benefits for people hurt on the job. ​ Click here to read more:

A state appeals court Monday said an increase in workers' compensation insurance rates will continue amid a legal battle about whether Florida's Sunshine Law was violated during the rate-making process. The 1st District Court of Appeal approved a stay of a Nov. 23 ruling in which Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers said the 14.5 percent rate increase should be rejected because of Sunshine Law violations. The stay will remain in place while the appeals court considers appeals of Gievers' Sunshine Law ruling. Click here to read more:

A Florida lawmaker reportedly has introduced a bill that would allow companies in the state to forgo purchasing workers compensation insurance. ​ The bill, introduced Wednesday by state Rep. Cord Byrd, a Republican from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, would permit employers to elect not to purchase workers comp insurance, according to a copy of the legislation posted online by Florida Politics. Employers that don’t provide workers comp coverage would be required to notify their employees, and their workers would be allowed to file tort claims against the company if injured at work. Click here to read more:

Florida's workers' compensation system has seen significant upheaval this year, with two Supreme Court opinions voiding much of the law and creating uncertainty for businesses. That underscores the importance of determining workers' comp rate increases in the open so the public can assess whether they seem fair and justified. Instead, the ratings agency that proposes rates and the state Office of Insurance Regulation, which approves them, did their work in secret. Now a circuit judge in Leon County has found that work should be done in the sunshine, and she's absolutely right. Click here to read more:

The Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District declared that NCCI and FLOIR were not in compliance with Florida Sunshine Law statutes. The ruling is contained here. Click here to read more:

As expected, state insurance regulators have issued a final order jacking up the price of worker’s compensation insurance by nearly 15 percent. The order was published Thursday. The decision approves the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) request “for an overall combined statewide average rate increase of 14.5 percent,” the Office of Insurance Regulation said in a press release. The rate hike, which applies to new and renewal policies, is effective Dec. 1. The increase continues to be bitterly opposed by business groups. Click here to read more:

Pointing to a major Florida Supreme Court ruling on attorneys’ fees, state regulators issued an order Tuesday that said workers’ compensation insurance rates should increase 14.5 percent starting later this year. The long-awaited order by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation trimmed a proposal that called for increasing rates 19.6 percent. Nevertheless, business groups immediately warned that a 14.5 percent increase would hurt employers. Click here to read more:

Florida insurance regulators on Tuesday tentatively approved a 14.5 percent increase in workers' compensation insurance rates. Industry representatives had sought a 19.6 percent hike. ​ ​The National Council on Compensation Insurance, an industry group authorized to make rate filings on behalf of workers' comp insurers, hinged much of its rate request on the impact of a Florida Supreme Court decision in April that declared a mandatory cap on attorneys' fees for such cases was unconstitutional. Read more here:

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has given contingent approval for an overall statewide workers’ compensation rate increase of 14.5 percent to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. The rate increase is in response to two recent Supreme Court rulings undoing reforms passed in 2003 and rocking the state’s workers’ compensation system. ​ In the Sept. 27 order, OIR disapproved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) filing for a 19.6 percent increase, on behalf of insurers, saying that much of an increase on new, renewal and outstanding policies was not justified. Click here to read more:

The rate impact of recent Florida Supreme Court rulings on the state's workers' compensation system is currently in the hands of regulators, as the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) decides on the National Council on Compensation Insurance's (NCCI) filing seeking a 20 percent rate increase. ​ The fallout is just beginning from the Castellanos v. Next Door Company, 192 So.3d 431 (FLA., April 28, 2016) and Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 194 So.3d 311 (FLA., June 9, 2016) rulings, and it would end with higher rates. The decisions are also expected to increase the amount of litigated claims in the state, as negotiated fee agreements between claimants and attorneys are now permissable, and a claimant's attorney is no longer prohibited from receiving compensation beyond the state's statutory fee schedule. Click here to read more: