ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis held a news conference to discuss fraud prevention efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
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The CFO announced during the news conference that he will propose legislation to focus on fraud reform, requesting a $3 million anti-fraud public education campaign.
Patronis said that the goal is to hunt down bad public adjusters by curbing their ability to take advantage of those under financial duress and eliminating the use of assignment of benefits, to avoid abuse.
His plan also includes creating a statewide prosecutor focused solely on property insurance fraud to hold fraudsters accountable to the full extent of the law, Patronis said.
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“We’re doing everything we can to fight against the fraud and the unethical behavior of public adjusters and contractors that come into this market that take advantage of people,” Patronis said. “Part of this is our legislative agenda that we’re going to do to help people, but I need to make sure people understand their rights of what they’re faced with.”
The financial officer said he is going to work with the legislature to push out this message so that Floridians are not being taken advantage of.
He urges that if you have any needs or questions to call the Florida Department of Financial Services at 1-877-693-5236.
You can view the full news conference on YouTube.
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