**BROLL & PHOTO RELEASE** CFO Jimmy Patronis: $5.5 Million to Support Florida Policyholders in 2024
ORLANDO, Fla. – Today, during the Florida Chamber Insurance Summit in Orlando, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced plans to bolster the service provide by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Insurance Consumer Services in the 2024 Legislative Session. Included in the 2024 DFS agency budget request is approximately $5.5 million to strengthen the Division through increased staffing, field offices, and training to better serve Florida insurance consumers and short-circuit claims issues before they escalate, especially following disasters.
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 Florida
legislature has leaned forward more than ever to provide effective solutions.
Last
year, with the Chamber's help, the state of Florida passed historic insurance
reforms to shore up loopholes in Florida law and protect insurance consumers,
especially following a storm.
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 Florida.
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 Florida policyholders by bolstering
the insurance assistance services provided by the department.
First,
let me tell you a little bit about the Division of Consumer Services…
The
DFS Division of Insurance Consumer Services Division assists Floridians through
our statewide toll-free insurance helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO, our informative
website and online services, and our insurance mediation programs.
We
recently expanded the helpline hours to weekdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. eastern.
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 Tallahassee to set up insurance villages
near impacted areas to assist policyholders face-to-face.
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 $24 million on behalf of
policyholders.
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 Bill Gunter, the Division had 26 small offices
scattered around the state.
During
the first term of State Treasurer Tom Gallagher, the smaller offices were
consolidated into 11 locations, with Tallahassee being the main office, plus
ten regional offices.
During
the term of CFO Alex Sink, an effort was undertaken to reduce the size of the
division and its footprint.
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 Tallahassee or Largo Offices.
As
you can imagine, this massive reduction in offices and staff has led to a void
in insurance assistance in the state of Florida, and for years, we’ve had to do
more with less.
I’m happy to announce that, thanks to support
from the Florida Legislature, this session we will “Un-Sink” this agency and
ramp back up the ability to provide Floridians with the best insurance customer
services in the nation.
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 Florida daily,
DFS must be right-sized to assist consumers with their insurance issues quickly
and effectively.
Over
the past few years, my team has worked to reallocate existing resources to
re-establish a Consumer Services presence in Jacksonville, Orlando, Ft. Myers,
and Miami.
This
session, I will push for $5.5 million in funding to better serve policyholders
with the following:
$636,000
for across-the-board $5K pay raises in consumer services. This would be extra
competitive against the private sector.
$793,000
to add three more positions within the mediation program and six more positions
for consumer services, specific to residential and auto insurance.
These
positions allow for a designated DFS liaison at every insurance company in
Florida to help short-circuit and expedite issues for policyholders.
$461,000
to establish a robust regional program staffed with insurance experts to
provide real-time insurance village-type support.
$560,000
for more powerful technology to quickly resolve issues and answer questions on
behalf of the policyholder.
$3
million in advertising dollars to promote the Insurance Consumer Helpline and
Mediation Program.
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!