Hartford submitted a Florida filing updating rates and rating factors for its small group long term disability product covering employer groups with 50 or fewer lives. The filing replaces a previously withdrawn submission and reflects changes tied to claim experience, macroeconomic data, market trends, and underwriting assumptions.

According to the filing, the proposed changes are expected to reduce manual rates by an average of 20.7% nationwide, while the Florida specific filing shows an average requested rate decrease of 12.5%. The filing impacts around 3,463 Florida certificateholders and about $1 million in annualized premium.

The Hartford said the most common LTD plan pays 60% of covered salary after offsets such as Social Security and workers compensation, typically following a 90 or 180 day elimination period. The filing includes updates to factors tied to collar color classifications, disability definitions, elimination periods, case size, industry adjustments, participation factors, and maximum benefit levels.

The filing also revises underwriting adjustments related to wellness programs, persistency, employee turnover, financial stability, and morbidity outlook. For example, groups offering wellness programs may qualify for a 3% discount, while unfavorable morbidity trends could result in surcharges of up to 10%.

Florida policy impacts vary widely, ranging from decreases of 52.9% to increases of 58.2%, although most groups are expected to see reductions. The filing notes that 64% of policies are projected to receive decreases of at least 10%.