For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Contact: Office of Communications, Communications@MyFloridaCFO.com, 850.413.2842

CFO Jimmy Patronis Issues Policyholder Protection Emergency Order Following Hurricane Debby  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis issued an Emergency Order to protect insurance policyholders following the impacts of Hurricane Debby. Among other provisions, the order extends the recission period of a public adjusters contract from 10 days to 30 days, requires anyone working in the claims process on behalf of the carrier to respond to policyholders within seven days, and requires that all adjusters verbally identify themselves and who they work for before signing a contract with a policyholder.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Following any disaster, fly by night contractors and so called claims representatives will swoop into a storm-impacted area and try to come between you and your insurance policy. Most of the time, these bad actors give legitimate adjusters and contractors a bad name and are only in it to make a quick buck off vulnerable Floridians. It’s truly despicable. This emergency order will allow consumers more time to get out of bad contracts, will require claims representatives to be more responsive to policyholders, and requires claims reps to identify themselves and who they work for. This order will help keep you in the driver’s seat when handling your claim and stop the door-to-door scam artists from using your claim as their meal ticket. If you need insurance assistance following Hurricane Debby, please call my office at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (693-5236) or visit us online at MyFloridaCFO.com.”

FULL EMERGENCY ORDER BELOW AND HERE.

WHEREAS, on August 1, 2024, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-156 declaring a state of emergency in certain counties within the state of Florida in response to Invest 97L, which later became Tropical Storm Debby and subsequently, Hurricane Debby.

WHEREAS, on August 2, 2024, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-157, amending Executive Order 24-156 (Collectively referred to as Governor's Executive Orders for Hurricane Debby).

WHEREAS, Executive Order 24-156 authorizes state agencies to suspend the provisions of any regulatory statute or rule of the agency by Emergency Order if strict compliance with the provisions of such statute, order, or rule would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the emergency.

WHEREAS, Subsection (11), paragraph (b), subparagraph (1) of Section 626.854, Florida Statutes, fixes Public Adjuster compensation at 10% of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of fees and costs, paid to the insured based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor.

WHEREAS, property insurance policies are indemnity products that are designed to compensate the insured for the value of covered losses

WHEREAS, funds paid to Public Adjusters are deducted from claims payments issued to an insured by an insurance company and are therefore not available to help the insured pay for covered damages.

WHEREAS, consumers who retain a public adjuster will have to pay out of pocket to make up the difference between the value of their covered claim and the amount of indemnity payment remaining after compensating the public adjuster.

WHEREAS, Subsection (7) of Section 626.854, Florida Statutes, provides that Public Adjuster contracts entered into based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor may be cancelled for any reason, without penalty or obligation, within 30 days of the date of loss or 10 days after the date the contract is issued, whichever is longer.

WHEREAS, SB 2-A (2022) amended Paragraph (a), Subsection (3) of Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes, by reducing the generally applicable timeline for insurance companies to begin investigating a claim from 14 calendar days after receiving a proof-of-loss statement to 7 calendar days after receiving a proof-of­ loss statement.

WHEREAS, when such investigation involves a physical inspection of the property, SB 2-A (2022) reduced the timeline for such physical inspection from 45 days after receipt of the proof-of-loss statement to 30 days after receipt of the proof-of-loss statement.

WHEREAS, Florida's insurance consumers should be afforded the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether or not a public adjuster's compensation represents fair value in light of the coverage decisions made by their insurance company.

WHEREAS, Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes, requires insurers receiving a communication with respect to a claim to review and acknowledge receipt of such communication within 7 calendar days, unless payment is made within that period of time or unless the failure to acknowledge is caused by factors beyond the control of the insurer.

WHEREAS, insurance companies often contract their claims handling operations to non-employee contractors, who must be licensed as Independent Adjusters by the Florida Department of Financial Services.

WHEREAS, the Department of Financial Services has an interest in ensuring that its licensees take initiative to adhere to the communication timelines provided in Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes, and has further interest in clarifying the corresponding responsibilities of licensees working on behalf of an insurer.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, JIMMY PATRONIS, as

Chief Financial Officer of Florida, and acting under my powers as the agency head for the Department of Financial Services, and in accordance with the Governor's

Executive Orders for Hurricane Debby, hereby issue the following Emergency Order:

Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (7) of Section 626.854, Florida Statutes, a public adjuster contract entered into based on events that are the subject of a Governor's Executive Order for Hurricane Debby may be cancelled without penalty or obligation within 30 days after the date of loss or 30 days after the date on which the contract is executed, whichever is longer.

Section 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (b), Subsection  (1), of Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes, an independent adjuster working with insureds on behalf of one or more insurers on a claim arising out of Hurricane Debby is hereby determined to be a "representative" as that term is used in Section 627.70131, Florida Statutes, and he or she is therefore required to review and acknowledge receipt of communications from an insured regarding a claim arising out of Tropical Storm  Debby or Hurricane Debby within  7 calendar days of receipt.

Section 3. Notwithstanding the provision of Subsection (2) of Section 626.878,  Florida Statutes, requiring persons licensed as adjusters to identify himself or herself in any advertisement, solicitation, or written document based on the adjuster appointment type held, all adjusters verbally interacting  with an insured regarding a claim arising from Tropical Storm Debby or Hurricane Debby shall  be  duly   required  to  verbally identify themselves to the insured by their adjuster appointment type, be it Company Adjuster, Independent Adjuster, Public Adjuster, or Public Adjuster Apprentice, verbally explain their role in the claims process, and verbally identify who they represent in the claims process.

Section 4. This Emergency Order is only effective with respect to insurance claims that occurred in the following counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Pasco, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Wakulla counties and shall expire upon the expiration of Executive Order 24-156.

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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 X (@FLDFS).