Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A rule proposed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (Division) to implement last year’s legislation authorizing first responders to receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD without a physical injury will likely be ratified this Session so that it can take effect. The House approved their rule ratification bill, HB…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A rule proposed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (Division) to implement last year’s legislation authorizing first responders to receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD without a physical injury will likely be ratified this Session so that it can take effect. The House approved their rule ratification bill, HB…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 429, a bill to clean up the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association (FWCIGA) assessment scheme and make a minor change to Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), passed the House on April 11, 2019 with a vote of 115-0. There was no floor debate on the bill. It…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 426 by Sen. Flores (R) makes firefighters who are diagnosed with certain cancers eligible to receive specified cancer related benefits in lieu of workers’ compensation. The bill cleared its last Senate committee on April 11, 2019 with one amendment increasing employer retirement contributions for firefighters that participate in…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 429, a bill to clean up the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association (FWCIGA) assessment scheme and make a minor change to Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), is poised for a floor vote on April 11, 2019. The bill was hear on the House floor for the first…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On April 9, 2019, the Senate Finance and Tax Committee passed SB 264 which deals with how the Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA) handles unclaimed dividends and premium refunds. The bill was not amended. Under the bill, the FWCJUA can retain unclaimed dividends or premium refunds…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel With assurance from Rep. Byrd (R), the bill sponsor, that he will amend the comp reform bill at the next committee stop to add some attorney fee reform measures, the House Government Operations & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee passed the bill during its meeting on April 9, 2019. It is…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A rule proposed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (Division) to implement last year’s legislation authorizing first responders to receive workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD without a physical injury will be ratified under bills moving toward passage this Session. HB 983, the House PTSD rule ratification bill, passed its…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel After spending an hour amending the workers’ comp bill and taking public testimony on it, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee postponed a vote on their workers’ comp bill. This is the second time a vote has been postponed – both times because the sponsor did not have enough…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House voted its workers’ comp reform bill out of its first committee on March 26, 2019 when the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee unanimously passed the bill. The Senate bill was set for its first committee hearing this week, but it was postponed, allegedly because the sponsor…