The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently delivered its annual workers’ compensation insurance rate filing to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Based upon its review of the most recent data available, NCCI has proposed an overall average rate level decrease of 5.7 percent, effective January 1, 2021 in Florida. To view NCCI’s Overview of the proposed rate filing,…
After 3 years of workers compensation rate increases, Florida based companies may see a small decrease come 2015. The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. announced in a statement on Friday, August 22 that they are recommending an overall rate decrease for workers compensation in Florida. This has not happened statewide since 2010.
NCCI is the licensed rating and statistical organization that fosters a healthy workers compensation system for Florida. They suggested an average rate decrease of 2.5% with an effective date of January 1, 2015. The decrease is still pending approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation, who makes the final decision.
Florida legislature unanimously passed the Florida Information Protection Act of 2014 (FIPA) on April 30, 2014. The new bill requires specified entities to take reasonable measures to protect and secure data containing personal information in electronic form and for them to notify individuals of data security breaches within 30 days of the occurrence. This bill went into effective on July 1, 2014. Understanding the changes and how it impacts your business is vital.
Due to increasing frequency of cyber security breaches, this statute became a necessity for the state legislature to address the growing concern. Last year alone, corporations experienced a 15 percent increase in average data breach costs – totaling about $3.5 million. The most common, not to mention most costly, type of data breach is a malicious insider or criminal attack.
Traditional insurance policies were not designed to insure against the emerging risk of cyber incidents, though limited coverage may be available with some programs. The Business Owners Policy that is commonly purchased by small to medium sized businesses rarely covers even a limited amount of electronic data loss for a business. There are however some common policies that can offer a bit more coverage such as some boiler and machinery, directors and officers or even crime policies but the limits are usually low and the coverage is very limited. It’s important to be mindful of the increasing vulnerability of your business’s confidential customer and client information as massive data breaches become increasingly popular.
In response to the ever-growing internet reliance, insurers have developed new coverages that apply to a variety of cyber security and other privacy liability risks. Each new program is tailored to meet the unique needs of the individual technology used by the company and level of risk involved. While your company may not need all of these coverages today it is important to know they exist as well as revisit them as your company grows. These coverages are typically available as a package or on an individual basis.
Since 2010, over 2,400 cyber-attacks have been reported in the United States exposing 382 million private records. 2013 was one of the worst recorded years for cybersecurity and 2014 is on track to surpass it; the overpowering number of attacks has increased momentum among insurance providers and legislators to produce more substantial safety measures.
Recent attacks affected well-known organizations such as JPMorgan, Target, eBay, NATO, Adobe, Neiman Marcus, and many more. In April 2014 many companies were affected by the Heartbleed Bug, though only a fraction reported lost records until this month when it was reported that Community Health Systems suffered a breach that may have affected as many as 4.5 million patients.
For the first time ever, cybercrime has moved into the top 10 global business risks. According to a recent study that analyzed published data, business organizations accounted for 84% of records exposed by cyber-attacks, followed by medical and healthcare organizations at 9.6%.
Insurance premiums, for many associations, are their largest overhead cost; which is why it is very important to accurately forecast any changes for the upcoming year. Many factors in the marketplace effect insurance premiums making it challenging to budget this line item.
In this article, we list out 8 market conditions and trends that impact your insurance renewal premiums and provide you with an educated look at how it will increase or decrease the amount you budget for in 2015.
Our goal is to properly protect the assets of the association with financially viable insurance at the most competitive cost. Budgeting, requires that we take a closer look at your policies, coverages, appraisals, and market conditions and then project our best estimate of where the costs will be at your next renewal.
Factors to Consider When Budgeting for Insurance
1. Property Rates Stabilized in 2014 and are expected to remain soft in 2015. A select set of risks are even beginning to show decreased rates. Since many factors impact the final property rates, we suggest budgeting around 5% increase for property insurance premiums. Assuming a “flat” renewal rate, this would include some consideration for replacement cost values beginning to go up.
Summer has come to an end and right around the corner is high-season for many Florida companies. High-season extends from November thru April and for many that means increased business due to the snow birds and tourists returning for the warm weather. Businesses can expect to be serving a population that is nearly 22% larger during these months. The Florida winter season brings with it great reward for business owners, but not without risk. Preparing your business for the influx in population is imperative for a successful season.
Here are the top 5 ways to manage your company’s risk before high-season is here.
There is a new form of identity theft in Florida, and it is affecting businesses and the information they have on file with the State of Florida. You need to be aware of this latest scam and how to prevent it from happening to your business.
All business entities in the state (like corporations and limited liability companies) must register with the state’s Division of Corporations, the keeper of the official records for all business entities in the State of Florida. The information kept on file by the Division of Corporations, which includes a company’s name, address, and names and addresses of owners/directors, is public and available to anyone who logs into the Division of Corporations’ website at www.sunbiz.org.
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) has notified distributors, contractors, regulatory agencies, fire departments, & jurisdictional authorities of recently discovered counterfeit sprinkler heads. The counterfeit thermal bulb activated sprinkler heads, mimicking Nanjing Fire Protection Technology Company’s Fire Sprinkler Model NX005, can be identified by the “NX” or “C-I” markings on the wrench boss of the fire sprinkler frame. It may also have “model NX005” on the sprinkler deflector and bear the counterfeited UL Mark. Nanjing Fire Protection Technology Co Ltd do not have the “NX” or “C-I” markings on the wrench boss.
Real change in safety performance will come about with a change in the safety culture of an organization. Think about the change in the use of seat belts from 30 years ago to now. What got people to put them on without even thinking about them? Gory accidents? Probably not. It was leadership backing up a change in behavior, and then repetitive education, enforcement, and encouragement. Change in culture requires consistent leadership and repetition. A systematic change in the values of the target audience is needed, not a new priority that comes and goes with funding priorities. There are certain steps safety managers can take to make safety a greater value to management and front-line employees. Here are nine steps to a successful safety culture:
