EDITORIAL: One (last?) chance for settlement

OUR POSITION: Anyone who is fighting with their insurer over hurricane repairs has one more chance to get things right thanks to a two-day insurance village open house in Punta Gorda.

Someone heard your plea.

The state Division of Consumer Services is doing what its job description implies. It is giving consumers another shot at an in-person meeting with their insurance provider to settle any dispute over hurricane repairs and payouts.

For two days, Wednesday, June 28, and Thursday, June 29, at least 12 companies will send a team to the Charlotte Harbor Events Center, 75 Taylor St. in Punta Gorda, to meet with customers. While it would have been great to have more companies show up, those represented will surely be able to help a good number of people who are struggling to get repairs done, nine months after Hurricane Ian.

No one can guarantee you'll have your problem taken care of, or walk away with a check. But the opportunity to settle with your insurer is real.

According to Florida's Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis more than $11 million in insurance checks have been cut and more than 2,000 hurricane victims helped at insurance village events in Southwest Florida.

As suggested in an earlier story in The Daily Sun, be sure to get there early, bring plenty of identification, pictures of your damage and copies of any correspondence with your insurance company, along with estimates to repair the damage, if you have them.

To get answers to questions before you go, try calling the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate at 1-877-693-5236.

Good luck!