Expanded Focus, Same Dream – How NCCI Stays True to Original Mission

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) will reach its 100-year anniversary in 2023 and through the years, NCCI has stayed true to its focus on its core values.  According to William “Bill” Donnell, President and CEO of NCCI, the company adheres to five core values–Integrity, respect, quality and excellence, responsibility and commitment.

“We’ve been around since 1923. Our mission is to foster a healthy workers compensation system. I say that because our mission in 2017 is the same as it was in 1923,” Donnell said.

NCCI gathers data and analyzes trends to provide objective workers compensation insurance rate recommendations in Florida as well as in 35 other states and the District of Columbia. The data typically comes from over 900 nationwide insurers. These activities—combined with providing a comprehensive set of tools and services—make NCCI the trusted source for workers comp information.

Donnell said the process requires a lot of manpower to keep organized, including nearly 850 employees at NCCI’s headquarters in Boca Raton and close to 100 more located throughout the US.

“There are approximately 75,000 individuals in our industry involved in the data that is incoming. We’re a big ‘data warehouse,’” Donnell said. “Workers comp is a state-based system. So, while Florida is our home state and the center of our operations, we still maintain our industry stakeholder relationships at both the state and national level.”

NCCI relocated from Manhattan to Florida in 1985. Donnell said Florida is somewhat unique in that it has been impacted recently by several high-profile court cases. Because of those cases, last year, NCCI had to make a “law-only” as opposed to the usual experience filing. Typically, this only occurs in 3 or 4 states each year. NCCI makes a law-only filing when there is a change in a statute in a state or a significant court ruling that has an impact on the workers compensation system. An experience filing is used to describe an annual rate filing based on data reported to NCCI for a specific period.

On May 16-18, NCCI will host for the workers compensation industry its 30th Annual Issues Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando. This year’s symposium theme is “The Future@Work.” Donnell said the annual event informs industry leaders and is a boost to our Florida economy.

“It is widely considered the premier event in the workers compensation industry. It attracts around 900 leaders from across the country. They come to network and to listen to thought leaders in terms of the latest topics, data and trends that are facing the industry,” Donnell said. “The impact in Florida is that we invest more than a million dollars into the local economy by hosting the event in our home state. It is our intention to continue to do that. We plan three-to-four years out and we have dates that go into 2021 in Orlando.”

This is in addition to donations of money and employee volunteer time to more than 180 Florida-based charities, including being the third largest private sector donor to the United Way in Palm Beach County, NCCI’s home county. Donnell said one of the things that has helped NCCI integrate itself in Florida’s solutions has been its membership with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

“Florida is our home and we want to be a good corporate citizen in our home state. We take it seriously. Being a major employer in the state of Florida, it’s important for us to be involved with the Chamber,” Donnell said. “I like the way there is input on a multiple number of topics. The Chamber is not only looking at the issues of today, but also the issues of tomorrow. We are happy to be members.”