Fla. CFO Appoints Burgess as Consumer Advocate

August 3, 2004

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced that he has re-appointed Steve Burgess as the state’s insurance consumer advocate.

Burgess, who served as the state’s first insurance consumer advocate in the early 1990s, replaces Elsie Crowell who recently retired. In his new role, Burgess will represent Florida citizens on insurance matters before state lawmakers, regulators and other stakeholders.

“I am honored to work again with CFO Gallagher to assist and protect Florida’s insurance consumers and help address some of the emerging issues in Florida’s insurance market, including the cost and availability of homeowners and health insurance,” Burgess said.

The Florida Legislature created the insurance consumer advocate’s post in 1990 to represent the interests of the public, with the authority to appear before the Division of Administrative Hearings, the Department of Financial Services, and the Office of Insurance Regulation, including any forum in matters that arise under the Department’s jurisdiction.

In addition to participating in the legislative process and selected rate issues, Burgess will serve on various boards, including Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) Workers’ Compensation Appeals, and the Statewide Subscriber Assistance Panel.

For the past seven years, Burgess has been the Deputy Public Counsel with the Office of Public Counsel on consumer issues before the Florida Public Service Commission.

Topics Florida

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