As the Insurance press has published, NCCI filed for an 8.9 percent increase in workers compensation rates for Florida for 2012.
So what does that mean for businesses working on the waterfront?
First and foremost the Longshore multiplier to change state rates to Longshore is decreasing slightly from 2.23 to 2.17 -- not much, but for those that do not have an established Longshore code; the 2.7% reduction will help offset part of the 8.9% increase!
For those who have an established Marine/Longshore code, the rates are generally following the same pattern of single digit rate rises with three notable exceptions:
6834 Boat Builders (not fiberglass nor wood as they have their own codes) is actually DROPPING from $3.17 to $2.95 due to expected claims dropping from $1.21 to $1.10 per $100 of payroll. So the small number of Steel/Aluminum or other boat builders in Florida will see a 7% drop in rate due to their good class experience.
However both 6006F (marine contractors) and 7327F (containerized stevedoring) are both seeing hefty increases this year. 6006F increase to $15.99, a 20% jump over the 2010 rate and 7327F leaps 36% to $31.29 for 2011.
It must be stressed of course that these are only filings right now, and may change before January 1st, but even if the overall number changes those last two classes are looking at significant increases this year.
Watch this blog for more information once the rates are finalized