The Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters joined the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters on March 11 in filing a lawsuit for a declaratory judgment against the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The complaint, filed in the Circuit Court of Leon County, alleges that the OIR does not have the authority to permit insurance companies to include a policy provision that prevents an insured from using a Florida licensed public insurance adjuster. 

According to the associations' lawsuit, the OIR has taken the position that insurers can legally prohibit policyholders from hiring licensed public insurance adjusters as a condition of insurance coverage. The OIR, the associations allege, has "concluded" that such prohibitions do not violate the Florida Insurance Code, inasmuch as the code does not expressly "require" policyholders to retain a public adjuster. 

Specifically, the associations allege that the OIR's conclusion is in violation of Section 624.11, Florida Statutes because it removes an integral component of the Code with which insurance companies must comply.