Florida CFO Answers Insurance Concerns

[Guest Dwight C]

There is no shortage of complaints against insurance companies over Hurricane Michael claims, reaching numbers the state has never seen before.

"Right now, we have more complaints per capita regarding Hurricane Michael than we did all of Hurricane Irma," says Partonis. 

To put that into perspective, Hurricane Irma impacted 40 counties in Florida in 2017. Hurricane Michael only impacted 12.

Patronis says some of those issues can be resolved quickly with one phone call.  

Patronis said, "Just by calling our office and saying, I've got a problem with my claim, can you help me with it? Or this is how much the carriers offered me, we put almost 10 million dollars more in the policy holder's pocket."

As CFO Patronis oversees insurance coverage in Florida and on Tuesday, he held a conference call with more than 200 insurance carriers, telling them they need to do a better job.

"I'm going to be vigilant on this, I'm going to thump the insurance companies when they don't respond. They don't need to have an enemy in me, they need to have a working ally in me so I'm pushing them," Patronis said.

Patronis also warns residents about fraud, especially a document titled, "Assignment of Benefits." Signing this document means you're assigning your claim, your benefit, over to another party that may not even be in the state.

If you have questions about your claim, call the CFO Insurance Free Helpline at 

1-877- MY F-L-C-F-O.