Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Michael MolineMay 9, 2017

A state appeals court has upheld a 14.5 percent increase in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, rejecting legal arguments that it was approved in violation of Florida’s open-government laws. “This argument ignores the plain language of the statute and the ordinary meaning of the terms within it,” a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of […]

Michael MolineMarch 14, 2017

The Legislature has been arguing over assignment of benefits reform for years, to no avail. Tuesday, Tampa Republican James Grant found out why — the hard way. The lesson was delivered by the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, which defeated by a single vote Grant’s bid to resolve the issue by boosting consumer protections and […]

Staff ReportsMarch 7, 2017

The new deputy commissioner for property and casualty insurance in the Office of Insurance regulation is Susanne Murphy, Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier announced Tuesday. Eric Johnson becomes deputy for life and health insurance, Altmaier said. “Susanne has been an invaluable resource to the office since joining in 2013,” Altmaier said in a written statement. “Over those years, […]

Michael MolineFebruary 17, 2017

Legislation sought by regulators, insurance, and business interests to reform assignment of benefits agreements finally dropped Friday — and the first thing it would do is bar attorney fee awards to contractors who use those contracts to sue insurers. “Nothwithstanding any other law, as to suits based on claims arising under property insurance policies, attorney […]

Michael MolineFebruary 7, 2017

Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier laid out his office’s solution to the insurance assignment-of-benefits problem to Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet Tuesday, and it includes limiting contractors’ ability to recover attorney fees in litigation against insurance companies. Florida’s one-way attorney fee statute is intended to shield policyholders against legal bills if they want to sue their insurers for failure […]

Michael MolineFebruary 7, 2017

The Office of Insurance Regulation and an organization that proposes workers’ compensation premium rates have filed legal briefs refuting arguments that they calculated Florida’s recent 14.5 percent rate hike in violation of the Sunshine Law. James Fee, a Miami workers’ compensation attorney fighting the increase, and a group of press and press-freedom organizations, had argued […]

Staff ReportsFebruary 1, 2017

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has cleared Southern Oak Insurance Co. to take over as many as 15,000 home policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Southern Oak is eligible to assume the policies effective April 18 under the “take-out” process — a way for Citizens to shift policies to private insurers. The process is […]

Michael MolineJanuary 31, 2017

The Associated Press, Florida Press Association, and Florida First Amendment Foundation have entered the legal battle over whether the state’s Sunshine Law covered the organization behind the state’s workers’ compensation premium increase. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the three accused the National Council on Compensation Insurance, or NCCI, of employing “an evasive device” to get around […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 30, 2017

Florida will receive $111,000 in a multistate settlement over alleged one-sided use of the Social Security Administration’s death master file. Ameriprise Group, and its RiverSource Life Insurance Co. and RiverSource Life Insurance Co. of New York affiliates, will pay $1.5 million in all to California, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, as well as to Florida. The […]

Michael MolineJanuary 19, 2017

A state appeal court panel appeared skeptical Thursday of the Office of Insurance Regulation’s arguments that trade-secrets protections don’t exempt State Farm Florida from having to turn over business information for public scrutiny. The judges wondered whether the plain language of the trade-secret exemption in Florida’s public records law doesn’t protect the information at issue […]

Tag: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

State appeals court upholds 14.5 percent workers’ comp premium increase

AOB reform passes House subcommittee, but it wasn’t pretty

Personnel note: New deputies appointed at Office of Insurance Regulation

Legislation introduced in Senate would tighten protections against AOBs

Insurance Office going after one-way attorney fees in AOB fight

Insurance office, NCCI refute Sunshine Law claims in workers’ comp appeal

Private insurer cleared to assume 15,000 Citizens Insurance policies

Press organizations file brief in workers’ compensation rate hike appeal

Insurers settle multistate litigation alleging misuse of death master file

Court question’s insurance office’s claim to State Farm sales information