Florida Consumer Advocate to tackle property and health insurance

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Feb. 15, 2007 – Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink yesterday announced the name of Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate – former Comptroller Bob Milligan. Milligan will formally assume his new role in time for the legislative session, starting March 6, 2007.

“I’m looking forward to working on behalf of Floridians as their Insurance Consumer Advocate,” said General Milligan. “Together, the CFO and I want Floridians to have a stronger voice when it comes to insurance matters in this state.”

Milligan was elected Florida’s Comptroller from 1994 until 2002. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 35 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant general (3 stars). While a member of the Florida Cabinet, Milligan helped create the current position of Chief Financial Officer.

In announcing Milligan for the office, Sink said she has a three-pronged vision for a stronger Insurance Consumer Advocate:

• Proactive. Finding insurance solutions in other areas. An example: the access and affordability of health insurance. While property insurance has dominated the news lately, Sink says that Florida has a real health insurance crisis as well. More than 3 million Floridians lack health insurance and the state ranks among the bottom for insuring children. A stronger insurance consumer advocate will bring solutions and ideas from other states or work with Congress to create federal solutions.

• Investigate bad practices. The Department of Financial Services runs a statewide consumer helpline that receives about 500,000 financial and insurance-related inquiries annually. A stronger Insurance Consumer Advocate will examine real-time concerns and complaints; identify negative trends and bad business practices; and call attention to insurance companies operating in bad faith, using unfair trade practices, or deceptive or misleading sales tactics.

• Challenge unfair rates. A strong consumer advocate will go head-to-head with insurance companies seeking unfair and unjustified rate increases with clear legal authority, including subpoena powers and discovery rights, says Sink.

© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

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