Insurance Village coming to Punta Gorda Wednesday

PUNTA GORDA — The state's Division of Consumer Services will bring an Insurance Village to Punta Gorda on Wednesday, the day before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian making landfall in Southwest Florida.

The event, scheduled for 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center, 75 Taylor St., "will allow policyholders to meet with their property insurer in person and work together to resolve outstanding claims," a news release from the Department of Financial Services stated.

The village will include representatives from the National Flood Insurance Program, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters and more than a dozen insurers.

Policyholders are advised to "bring as much documentation as they can," including:

a driver's license or other form of identification (passport/state-issued ID)

insurance cards and insurance policy information/documentation

pictures or documentation of the property being claimed as a loss resulting from Hurricane Ian

repair estimates

any additional insurance-related information that is readily accessible.

Since January, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has deployed 10 insurance villages to storm-affected areas, the news release noted.

More than 3,000 residents have received $16.6 million in claims checks from insurance companies at these events, a news release stated.

Another village will be held Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Florida SouthWestern State College, 8099 College Parkway, AA-177 in Fort Myers.