Report: Florida Workers’ Comp Market ‘Competitive’

The state’s annual report on workers’ compensation insurance says Florida’s market is “competitive,” and its availability is not a significant problem.

The Office of Insurance Regulation issued the report Wednesday on the coverage employers buy for workers who are hurt on the job.

The clean bill of health contrasts with problems plaguing Florida’s auto and property insurance systems.

The former is riddled with fraud and the later has viability and availability issues despite high rates.

The report notes Florida’s workers compensation insurance rates this year are 58.6 percent lower than they were in 2003. That’s even though an 8.9 percent rate increase went into effect Sunday.

The rate reductions followed legislation that made a number of changes in the system including lowering the cap on lawyer’s fees.