TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida appeals court is keeping in place a 14.5 percent rate hike in insurance premiums paid by businesses to cover injured employees.
The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that the state's Sunshine Law was not violated during the process where an insurance industry organization and state regulators came up with a rate hike.The decision overturned a lower court ruling from last year. Businesses started paying the higher rates late last year.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance asked regulators for a rate hike based on state Supreme Court decisions. One ruling struck down a law that limited attorney fees in workers' compensation cases.
Legislators tried this spring to change the law to bring down the rate hike, but they couldn't agree on what to do.