Workers' comp rates rise $111M

Employers statewide face a 6.1% increase in workers' compensation rates in 2013, a hike that could force businesses to pay at least $111 million more in premiums.

It's the third year in a row of a state-mandated increase, though Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says the rates are still lower than the 2003, when the Legislature passed several reforms. McCarty's office approved a 7.8% increase in 2010 and an 8.9% increase in 2011, according to a report by the News Service of Florida.

McCarty, in a statement, says the higher rates are based on an October report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance. “Even with this rate increase,” McCarty says in the statement, “Florida's rates are still 56% below the rates prior to the 2003 reforms, and are competitive with other states nationally.”