The Hidden News for Florida Longshore Employers

Florida Workers’ Compensation rates will rise by an average of 14.35% effective December 1^st and the industry has covered the impact of that on the “dry” businesses in Florida.  But the news for Employers with Longshore exposure is buried in the detail of the new filing.

STATE ACT CLASSES WITH LONGSHORE LOAD:

For risks that fall into the “non-traditional” Longshore world – e.g. a risk that does electrical work in a Longshore environment – there is some good news!  Even though the “DRY” or State Act rate may have gone up an average of 14.35%, the new Longshore load has been reduced from 1.20 to .92!  That means that instead of multiplying the state rate by 2.20 you now multiply it by 1.92.

The math on this is a little complex, but the bottom line is that the effective Longshore rate for those codes will DROP a hair… 0.2% -- not much, but DOWN not UP!

TRADITIONAL LONGSHORE CLASSES:

The average rate increase for the “traditional” Longshore classes is increasing 3% over the January 1, 2016 rates.   There is a long and even more complex explanation as to why these rates are increasing, but bottom line is the increase is a modest 3% rather than the 14.5% for their “dry” counterparts

Some of the more common classes and rate comparisons are:

CODE	2015 Rate	2016 Rate	% Difference
6006F – Marine Const.	$17.62	$18.08	+3%
6824F – Boat Building	$8.96	$9.19	+3%
6872F – Ship Repair	$12.22	$12.54	+3%
7317F – Stevedoring	$12.26	$12.58	+3%
8726F – Steamship Line	$2.70	$2.78	+3%

 These new rates will apply only on risks that are new or renewing after December 1, 2016. 

The bottom line is that whilst the “dry” business are going to be hit heavily with rate increases as the policies renew, the effect on Longshore business is going to be modest.

Keep Calm and Carry On; seems to be a good motto for this change in the marine world!