The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in connection with litigation with a life settlement firm.
The court affirmed OIR's right to review non-Florida related records for viatical providers, says Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.
At issue was whether McCarty's office is allowed to make a full review of all of the records of Coventry First L.L.C., Fort Washington, Pa. – not just files identified by Coventry — to determine which files are subject to Florida laws.
The ruling overturns a Florida state appeals court decision in favor of Coventry, handed down earlier this year, saying OIR could not do that. Specifically, the earlier decision had said the OIR cannot use a 2007 law–Section 626.9922 of the Florida Statutes–to get the authority to publish information submitted in confidence by a life settlement firm before the law was adopted.
Coventry had won that earlier case on appeal from a decision by the circuit court in Leon County, Fla., which had denied Coventry's request for an injunction barring the Florida OIR from disclosing the information.
McCarty terms the new Eleventh Circuit ruling "a win for consumers" and contends that the findings "have ramifications for all viatical providers operating in Florida."
Representatives from Coventry were not immediately available to comment. Coventry has been receiving favorable rulings in the Florida state courts.
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