NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA -- Individual health-insurance policies sold through a federal exchange could see an average rate increase of 13.2 percent next year, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said Monday.

The potential increases would vary among insurers that provide coverage through the exchange, which is part of the federal Affordable Care Act. The Office of Insurance Regulation said 14 insurers filed individual-market plans that complied with the Affordable Care Act's requirements, including three newcomers.

Of the other 11 companies, eight would increase rates an average of 11 percent to 23 percent, while three would decrease rates an average of 5 percent to 12 percent, the office said.

But Florida CHAIN, an organization that has advocated for the federal health law, issued a statement blasting the regulators' analysis as misleading because many people receive subsidies that reduce the amounts they pay for coverage.

"The 'analysis' released today by OIR reveals nothing, except the extent to which the entity responsible for protecting Florida consumers is in a frenzied rush to mislead them as well as to assume their own conclusions,'' Florida CHAIN said.

"OIR’s hypothetical scenarios not only fail to shed meaningful light on what is happening with rates overall, they likely don’t apply to more than a handful of real-life consumers."

Florida Blue, the state's largest insurer, told Kaiser Health News last week it planned to increase rates by an average of 17.6 percent next year for customers who buy coverage through the exchange.

The insurer, formerly known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, pointed to a large number of older adults buying coverage through the exchange. Those adults often have higher medical costs than younger, healthier people.

But the Jacksonville-based insurer also noted that premiums in the individual-insurance market have seen a series of double-digit increases in recent years, regardless of the exchange.

The state Office of Insurance Regulation does not have authority to approve or disapprove the rates.

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