CFO Patronis Visits Insurance Village in Fort Myers Beach

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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis visited the Insurance Village in Fort Myers Beach to talk with policyholders and help consumers connect with their insurance carriers following Hurricane Ian last year. The Insurance Village serves as an opportunity for policyholders to meet with their property insurer in-person and work together to resolve outstanding claims. The Department of Financial Services is hosting a total of three insurance villages this week, with more than 20 insurance companies and representatives from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on hand to assist consumers. The CFO was joined by Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter. Additionally, tomorrow’s Insurance Village will be located at the Charlotte County Event Center, 75 Taylor St. Punta Gorda, Florida 33950 from 9:00 am – 5:00 p.m.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “I was in Southwest Florida today to meet with storm victims at the Insurance Village and help them get back on their feet following Hurricane Ian. We are committed to doing everything in our power to make these consumers whole and will continue working to ensure we do not lose sight of the policyholders who need our help. The people of southwest Florida are still assessing the damage from Hurricane Ian and we want to do everything we can to ensure they can resolve any outstanding claims and move on. We will continue hosting these Insurance Villages as long as there is demand. I want folks to know that we hear them, we are here for them, and we are ready to do whatever we need to so they can get back on their feet and start to rebuild.”

Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky said, “The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) remains committed to supporting consumers as they navigate one of the toughest times in their lives – recovery from a major catastrophic event. Especially after a disaster, policyholders have the right to expect prompt, efficient, and fair claims adjustment service; and OIR will continue to work with companies to ensure they have all available resources in place to appropriately and swiftly facilitate consumer claims.”    

Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter said, “It’s been more than six months since Hurricane Ian impacted Southwest Florida and there are still over 143,000 open insurance claims. Those claims represent consumers who haven’t been able to fully recover. Insurance Villages afford us the opportunity to provide in-person, one-on-one guidance and assistance to consumers and, most importantly, they receive direct claims payments to start or continue the recovery process. This effective approach is impactful and significant to each consumer. I’m grateful to CFO Patronis for his commitment to bringing help to consumers for as long it’s needed. We are and will continue to be here for Florida’s insurance consumers.”

Immediately following Hurricane Ian, the Division of Consumer Services deployed two Initial Payment Centers in Fort Myers and Port Charlotte. Between those two Initial Payment Centers in Lee and Charlotte counties, 34 insurance carriers participated and assisted more than 40,000 policyholders with initial storm claims. The Division also deployed Insurance Villages in January where over $5.4 million in insurance claims checks were cut by 13 participating insurance companies at Insurance Villages in Punta Gorda, Englewood, and Fort Myers for 1,086 residents impacted by Hurricane Ian. The Insurance Villages this week are a follow up to the insurance village in January and will allow policyholders to meet with their property insurer in-person and work together to solve any outstanding clams.

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).