Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis Gets Third Degree On Insurance Claims

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who oversees insurance regulation in the state, faced tough questioning Tuesday over the thousands of unpaid claims still lingering after Hurricane Michael and other storms.

The Panhandle Republican spoke before reporters at the Associated Press’ Legislative Planning Session, held before each year’s Legislative Session.

After choking up over the damage in his native Bay County, Patronis got into testy exchanges over how much he was actually doing to help push insurers to more speedily get money to policyholders in need, including those whose homes still need repair.

That spilled over into an impromptu question-and-answer gaggle with a handful of reporters outside the meeting room, when he was asked what legislative proposals he would put forth to help thousands of Floridians needing help.

“At the end of the day, there is no reason why a policyholder should have to deal with seven different adjusters,” he said. “And when you still have 16,000 claims open, nobody’s doing OK.”