Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis issued a statement on the call for a special session on insurance reform and hurricane recovery.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “The announcement of a special session is welcomed news and demonstrates strong leadership by the Governor, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. It also highlights the warped financial incentives that have made Florida number one in the country for property insurance lawsuits and number one in the country for insurer instability and rate increases. This will be an opportunity to fundamentally restructure Florida law, benefiting policyholders. The sooner we do something to address litigation reform in the property and casualty market, the better. We also need to use this as an opportunity to crackdown on fraud. After Hurricane Ian, we got reports that unscrupulous public adjusters and unlicensed contractors were out-and-about trying to shakedown families when they were in a vulnerable state. That’s why we announced that for the upcoming session, we’ll pursue legislation to ban Assignment of Benefits (AOBs) and stop bad actors from profiting off disasters. Every year since I’ve been in office, we’ve worked with the Governor’s Office and Legislature on ways to improve Florida’s insurance market and this special session will be the most significant opportunity to make lasting reforms to benefit policyholders and drive down costs.”

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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).