Florida CFO shares heartwarming story of Milton retiree insurance disaster: ‘Heartbroken’
Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the state’s local insurance crisis as residents flee Hurricane Milton.
Floridians just started picking up the pieces after Hurricane Milton tore through the state. But some residents are more concerned about the lack of insurance protection.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis joined “Fox & Friends” on Friday in an interview to discuss the story of a 70-year-old man – who had no insurance – whose home was destroyed.
“[He] he had a broken heart,” Patronis told Fox News’ Steve Doocy. “He was probably in his 70s. He lived next door to a woman in her 80s. And they became neighbors and he became his guardian. He is currently living with her. His house was not touched, his was destroyed.”
“He didn’t have insurance, the main money was Social Security. This was an open retirement community … But unfortunately, you know, he told me … he started crying, he said, ‘Jimmy, this is not your fault … these are my bad decisions I should have prepared better this could have happened in my lifetime,’” explained the CFO.
HURRICANE MILTON RELIEF EFFORTS: THESE COMPANIES ARE HELPING AFFECTED COMMUNITIES.
FOX Weather has confirmed 17 deaths in Milton as of Friday morning, after the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane.
Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis encouraged Milton victims to reach out to Hope Florida and FEMA for recovery and relief assistance. (Getty Images)
Power and other services continue to be slowly restored across Florida after Hurricane Milton’s less than 12-hour journey across the state, leaving more than 4 million without power at its peak and flooded neighborhoods.
Florida’s CFO said Friday that the person he spoke with qualifies for the Hope Florida trailer program. Hope Florida is a non-profit organization that connects public and private sector services to support, locate and provide services to single parents, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans and others.
In addition to being given a temporary travel trailer, that person will also be eligible for FEMA assistance, according to Patronis. FEMA said in a press release Thursday that it has deployed 24-hour, volunteer agencies and equipment to respond to Milton, and that more than $344 million has already been distributed to victims of former Hurricane Helene.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey discusses Hurricane Milton search and rescue operations on ‘Varney & Co.’
Patronis also pointed out the importance of having homeowners insurance, even if your mortgage is paid off.
“We had a human problem that we had to fix in Florida, and I told people that you should give us 12 to 18 months to fix it,” he explained. “I [insurance] Florida rates are going down, but they’re going down [by a] one digit, not two digits. They don’t go down fast enough for me. But when you lose as much as you had with Hurricane Ian, unfortunately, that has a big impact on the finances of these services. “
The CFO also told Stuart Varney of FOX Business earlier this week that if your home is damaged and its appraised value drops, you’ll see a “relief” in property taxes and insurance rates shouldn’t be raised.
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Jack Brewer Foundation CEO and former NFL player Jack Brewer discusses the impact of Hurricane Milton and his foundation’s efforts to provide relief to communities affected by the storm.
“We did this after Hurricane Ianthere will be a discount program, but one must apply before March 1 to get that discount. If your home is not as [valuable] since it was the storm before the storm, you should be paying taxes on the house that was not damaged. So if your home is damaged, you will have a discount,” he said earlier.
“We have made Florida an attractive place to invest and when it comes to the insurance market,” Patronis added Friday. “But it doesn’t happen overnight. I’m still very strong in Florida.”
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The FOX Weather staff contributed to this report.
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