Fla. CFO Patronis: $5.5 Million to Support Florida Policyholders in 2024
Today, during the Florida Chamber Insurance Summit in
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Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Good morning.
Thank you all for having me here today.
Special thank you to Mark, Katie, Frank, Kyle, Alan, Carolyn, and the entire team at the Florida Chamber for all your hard work making this event happen.
It's no secret that our state, and many others throughout the country, have faced the recent challenges of a hardening insurance market.
From catastrophic storms, wildfires, rising interest rates, and historic inflation, insurance consumers have really taken it on the chin over the last few years.
But we know a stable and effective insurance market is critical to the continued financial success of Floridians, so to help our policyholders, the
Last year, with the Chamber's help, the state of
We have already seen the impacts of these reforms as more capital is coming into the state, and new carriers are looking to do business in
The reforms are working, but there is still much more work to be done.
Every year as your CFO, I have worked to pass vital reforms to keep policyholders first, and this year will be no different.
Today, I'm happy to announce that in the upcoming legislative session, my office will continue our efforts to protect and empower
First, let me tell you a little bit about the
We recently expanded the helpline hours to weekdays from
In the past year, we received more than 70,000 calls on the insurance helpline, opened nearly 17,000 service requests, and processed over 27,000 mediation requests.
Following hurricanes, we dispatch Consumer Services insurance specialists from
These villages included decision-makers from every homeowner's insurance company that can cut checks and start your claim process immediately without hiring outside assistance.
During Hurricanes Ian and Idalia, we hosted 18 insurance villages, helping recover more than
This is a fantastic team that has done a lot with shrinking resources.
That brings me to the heart of this issue, and let me start by giving you a short history lesson...
In the 1980s, under State Treasurer
During the first term of State Treasurer
During the term of CFO
During her term of office, 9 of the 10 regional offices were shuttered, 21 insurance assistance positions were eliminated, and the remaining positions were consolidated into the
As you can imagine, this massive reduction in offices and staff has led to a void in insurance assistance in the state of
I'm happy to announce that, thanks to support from the
After more than 30 years in the restaurant business, I know how important it is to provide good customer service to the people you serve.
With the passage of recent insurance reforms, fewer consumers will need to rush to the courts to iron out common insurance issues.
And with 1,200 people moving to
Over the past few years, my team has worked to reallocate existing resources to re-establish a Consumer Services presence in
This session, I will push for
These positions allow for a designated DFS liaison at every insurance company in
I'm proud to work with the legislature this upcoming session to better support Floridians when disaster strikes and insurance issues arise.
With your support, we'll provide the best insurance customer service in the country, further protecting our policyholders and detouring them from costly litigation and even fraud.
Thank you all for your hard work, and thanks again to the Florida Chamber for all you do to support our great state.
My door is always open, and I'd love to hear more about what's important to you.
Thank you, and God Bless!
Watch and download B-Roll video here (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/keux47vdl8itss6fdt1w7/Florida-Chamber-Annual-Summit-B-roll.mov?rlkey=3e5tsv8cyg28yffo92sh5ipzq&dl=0).
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Original text here: https://myfloridacfo.com/news/pressreleases/press-release-details/2023/12/14/broll--photo-release-cfo-jimmy-patronis-5.5-million-to-support-florida-policyholders-in-2024
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