This week, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis named businessman Carlos Beruff as chairman of the board of governors of Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort.
“As Florida’s insurer of last resort, Citizens has a responsibility to do right by its policyholders and that’s why we’ve put people in place to ensure Citizens fully maximizes its value to Florida,” Patronis said on Monday. “I had the opportunity of serving with Carlos on the Constitution Revision Commission, and without a doubt Carlos has the right stuff to effectively manage a board that oversees billions of dollars of coverage. His success in the private sector combined with his experience and leadership in government will truly benefit policyholders while holding Citizens accountable.”
A real estate developer based in Southwest Florida, Beruff has been active in state politics in recent years. In 2016, he offered a conservative challenge to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the primary but was routed, taking less than 20 percent. In 2017, then Gov. Rick Scott named Beruff to chair the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Beruff has been serving on the board of Citizens.
Patronis also named First Coast attorney M. Scott Thomas to the board of Citizens and tapped Tallahassee attorney Marc Dunbar to be Citizen’s representative to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA). Currently with Burr & Forman, Thomas served as chairman of the Florida Elections Commission. Dunbar, who serves on the Citizens board, is with Dean Mead.
“Scott’s legal background and government experience makes him well qualified to oversee the functions of Citizens. Scott knows what it takes to ensure Citizens is crafting and executing policies to protect policyholders,” Patronis said. “Marc is an insurance expert and he’s got an incredible grasp of the law which will benefit the functions of FIGA well.”
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