Patronis Names GEICO Claims Director to FIGA Board

The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association now has an auto insurance representative on its board.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced last week that he has appointed D. Ryan West, the senior director of physical damage claims at GEICO, to the FIGA board. The move came after some in the industry pointed out that recent changes had left the board with no auto insurers to help guide claims settlements after potential insurer insolvencies.

Patronis appointed two new members in May, and reappointed the chair. But a week later, one of those appointees, a State Farm agent, stepped down and a top official with American Integrity, a property insurer, was named instead.

The FIGA board now has six members, but can have as many as nine, according to state law.

West, not to be confused with Ryan West, Patronis’ former chief of staff, has overseen PD claims for GEICO’s eastern United States operations, Patronis said in a news release. West has worked for GEICO since 1992 in a number of roles, including chief claims officer, vice president of claims, and assistant VP of claims for Florida, New Jersey and New England.

Topics Claims