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START (System for Tracking Assessments, Reconciliations and Transactions)

The Division has developed a web based system which provides insurers with an electronic means to report premiums and generate assessment invoices for both the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund (WCATF) and Special Disability Trust Fund (SDTF). The system also allows insurers to track their quarterly premiums reported and their assessment payments made to the Division while improving transparency, internal controls and accuracy. The system is divided into three primary modules:

Carrier Profile Module

This module is the cornerstone of the START system. START creates a unique profile for each carrier that is authorized to write workers’ compensation in Florida. The profile requires identification of a primary contact and the determination of whether a carrier will be reporting premiums and making payments as a single carrier or as a group of carriers. The primary contact will ensure the timeliness of reporting of the Quarterly Premium Reports, as well as the responsibility for creating, activating, and maintaining the profile of secondary or additional contacts within a group. We encourage all companies to provide a secondary contact(s) for receipt of notifications, correspondences, and to serve as a backup for the primary contact. It is vital that each insurer regularly updates its primary and secondary contact information. The module allows carriers to update and maintain company’s information, as well as the individual contact information for those persons associated with the company’s premium assessment reporting. The two types of user profiles are:

  • Single Carrier Profile - If reporting premiums and/or making assessment payments for one carrier, this profile structure will be used in START. This module type allows for a primary and secondary contact to be created and associated with a carrier. Once created, the primary contact has the permissions within START to update his or her contact information (email address, mailing address and phone number) as well as add, delete or edit the information for the secondary contact.
  • Group of Carriers Profile - This group profile structure will be used for a group of carriers with common ownership and assessments contacts. This profile allows for the designation of a primary contact person for the group. The group primary contact has the authority to administer all of the carrier profiles within the group. This includes creating, updating and deleting primary or secondary contacts for each of the carriers within the group, as well as editing their own individual contact information.

Reporting, Invoicing and Payment Module

Reporting premium online in START - The Division requires the reporting of assessments for carriers even if they are reporting zero premiums. The reporting is done electronically through the START system for both the WCATF and SDTF as required by Florida Administrative Code. Carriers will receive a notification of their reporting deadline via email to the contact(s) associated with the carrier. There are two types of reporting:

  • Single Carrier Reporting - START allows a single carrier to report WCATF and SDTF premium data separately. Data can be entered, edited and saved as work in progress until ready for submission. The work is ready to be submitted when all fields are entered including zeroes for null data. Submission of the quarterly data is required in order to generate an invoice. Without any premium to report, enter zero into the appropriate fields and submit the quarterly report. This fulfills the quarterly reporting requirement for zero/null carriers.
  • Group Carrier Reporting - START was built to provide substantial flexibility for large insurer groups when it comes to reporting premiums and making assessment payments. The reporting of the carriers within the group can be completed in one or more sessions and for one or more carriers within the group. A contact can chose to report for all of the carriers within the group, some of the carriers within the group or one carrier within the group. The homepage will reflect the reporting status for the group of carriers to those which have not been submitted.

Generating Assessment Invoice(s) in START - When an assessment is due, choose a payment preference, print the system generated paper invoice, and mail with payment to the Division. START provides the functionality to generate an invoice for the WCATF and SDTF individually or combined. This choice is made at the payment preference screen in START. Payment preference options are available only to the carriers that have submitted their quarterly report.

  • Single Invoices - Carriers have the option to print WCATF and SDTF invoices individually or print a combined invoice.
  • Group Invoices - Here the invoices can be structured in a variety of ways to accommodate the groups’ business/accounting preferences. The invoice structure is based on the choice of which carriers and which funds are to be paid. It is important to note, the number of invoices must match the number of checks sent to the Division.

    The most common combinations available are:
    1. One combined invoice for both WCATF and SDTF for the entire group
    2. Two separate invoices for WCATF and SDTF for the entire group
    3. Multiple invoices for WCATF and SDTF for each carrier in the group

Paying an Assessment Using START - Carriers must send START system generated invoice(s) with check(s) by mail to the Division. The payment(s) must match the invoice structure one to one. In the future START will have the ability to make an electronic payment in conjunction with premium reporting. Carriers can track their assessment payments made to the Division, improving transparency, internal controls and accuracy.

  • Single or Group Payments - Print your invoice to be mailed to the Division with your check. The check(s) should include both the Invoice Number and the Doc ID number from each printed invoice. This information is needed for the proper allocation between the payee and the invoice.

Reports Module

Another vital feature the START system offers is Reports for the carrier(s). Carriers are able to view their premium and assessment payments reporting history for either one year or the last three completed years. For either the single carriers or the groups, there are three available reports:

  • Annual Reported Premium & Assessment Totals by Year - This report displays net premium, assessment due and amounts paid per quarter for a chosen year (within the last three years).
  • Carrier Reported Premiums & Assessments for Last Three Complete Years - This report displays net premium, assessments due and amounts paid for the last three completed years. Both the Annual Reported Premium & Assessment Totals by Year report and Carrier Reported Premiums & Assessments for Last Three Complete Years report include incoming balances for the year, yearend debits or credits, applied overpayments and refunded overpayments for the associated year.
  • Annual Totals of Reported Quarterly Details - This report displays quarterly details for each reported line item with the current annual sum for each line item.