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State appeals court upholds 14.5 percent workers’ comp premium increase

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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 Appeal in Tallahassee ruled Tuesday. “Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s final order, and remand for reinstatement of OIR’s final order issued on Oct. 5,…

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Personnel note: New deputies appointed at Office of Insurance Regulation

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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, and especially over the past eight months, I have developed a deep respect for Susanne’s understanding of the Florida property market, her ability…

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Legislation introduced in Senate would tighten protections against AOBs

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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 fees may not be awarded … in favor of any person or entity seeking relief against the insurer pursuant to an assignment agreement,” the bill…

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

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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 in their own briefs that the National Council on Compensation Insurance, or NCCI, was obliged to open its internal deliberations to public scrutiny, but failed to do…

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Press organizations file brief in workers’ compensation rate hike appeal

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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 its legal obligation to calculate premiums in the sunshine. They pointed to a section of the insurance code requiring organizations like NCCI, which proposes rates…

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Council sees breakdown of trust with Office of Insurance Regulation

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Proposed reforms to Florida’s continuing care retirement community regulations ran into heavy flak Wednesday during an advisory council meeting, with the body’s president lamenting a breakdown of trust in the Office of Insurance Regulation. Joel Anderson, chairman of the Governor’s Continuing Care Advisory Council, complained that office staff unexpectedly unloaded a 61-page rewrite of the statute governing the facilities, also known as CCRCs. Anderson said he hoped the staff would not view his comments as overly “inflammatory,” saying the council has worked…

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Sunshine Law invoked in arguments over workers’ comp rate increase

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The public will suffer irreparable harm unless a state appeal court stays Florida’s 14.5 percent increase in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, attorneys challenging the increase said in court papers this week. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, or NCCI, “cannot possibly demonstrate a likelihood of prevailing on appeal with respect to the trial court’s detailed, well-reasoned 73-page final judgment, which is founded upon fundamental open-government principles of Florida law,” plaintiffs attorney John Shubin argued. Furthermore, NCCI, which proposes workers’ compensation insurance…

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