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CONSUMER
SERVICES HELPLINE
800-342-2762 |
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CFO ALEX SINK ANNOUNCES GENERAL MILLIGAN
AS INSURANCE CONSUMER ADVOCATE
Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced General and former
Comptroller Bob Milligan as Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate. General
Milligan will formally assume his new role in time for the Legislative
Session, starting March 6, 2007.
“I’m so honored that General Milligan has agreed to return to public service
as Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate,” said CFO Sink. “He will be a
strong advocate for the people and is a role model of integrity, honesty and
accountability in government.”
“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.”
General Bob Milligan, Insurance Consumer Advocate—General Milligan
was elected Florida's Comptroller from 1994 until 2002. General Milligan
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, General
Milligan helped create the current position of Chief Financial Officer.
Throughout his service, he was known for doing what was right and putting
people ahead of politics.
CFO Sink has a three-pronged vision for a stronger Insurance Consumer
Advocate: proactive, investigative, and challenger of unfair rate increases.
She will work with Legislative leadership to enhance the current powers of
the Insurance Consumer Advocate.
•Proactive- The Insurance Consumer Advocate will be proactive in finding
insurance solutions in other areas. An example of a potential area needing
attention is the access and affordability of health insurance. While
property insurance has understandably been forefront on Floridians’ minds,
Florida has a real health insurance crisis as well. More than 3 million
Floridians lack health insurance and our state ranks among the bottom when
it comes to insuring our children. A stronger insurance consumer advocate
will be empowered to bring solutions and ideas from other states or work
with Congress to create federal solutions.
•Investigates Bad Practices- The Department of Financial Services runs a
statewide consumer helpline that receives approximately 500,000 financial
and insurance-related inquiries annually. A stronger Insurance Consumer
Advocate will examine the real-time concerns and complaints we receive from
Floridians everyday. We can identify negative trends and bad business
practices, and a stronger insurance consumer advocate will have the
authority to call attention to insurance companies operating in bad faith,
using unfair trade practices, or deceptive or misleading sales tactics.
•Challenging Unfair Rates- Floridians deserve a strong consumer advocate who
will go head-to-head with the insurance companies seeking unfair and
unjustified rate increases. In order to be effective in challenging unsound
rate hikes, the Insurance Consumer Advocate needs to have clear legal
authority, including subpoena powers and discovery rights. The Insurance
Consumer Advocate also should have access to all the same information as the
Office of Insurance Regulation.
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