For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Contact: Office of Communications, Communications@MyFloridaCFO.com, 850.413.2842

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
WESH: 'Insurance village' helps Floridians get claims checks following hurricanes

'Insurance village' helps Floridians get claims checks following hurricanes
WESH
Greg Fox
April 18, 2023
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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Home and business owners in Southwest Florida are still struggling to get claims checks from their insurance carriers following Hurricane Ian. That's why the Department of Financial Services is again providing an "insurance village " to try and speed up claims.

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They're primarily among at least 150,000 people who have had only partial or no claims payments in the eight months since the storm swept through the southwest coast and across central Florida. Just in Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota and Collier counties, more than 450,000 claims have been filed.

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Hurricane Ian Chief Recovery Officer Tasha Carter is personally overseeing the three-day insurance village that was arranged by Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Michael Yaworsky, the new Florida Insurance Commissioner.

A similar six-day event in January resulted in $5.4 million worth of checks being written for home and business owners.

"The opportunity to be able to speak to someone eye to eye is invaluable. It allows them to be able to present their documentation and show pictures of their damage. It allows them to be able to ask questions, and also they can sit there and ask question after question until they get an understanding of where they are in the claims process, " Carter said.

Depending on the outcome of this week's insurance village, the state may or may not provide more assistance of this kind going forward.

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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).