Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky announced the appointment of Sheryl Parker as the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s (FLOIR) first deputy commissioner of market regulation and Virginia Christy as FLOIR’s deputy commissioner of property and casualty.
The deputy commissioner of market regulation position was established with the purpose of overseeing all of FLOIR’s market regulation efforts to further protect insurance consumers from unlawful or harmful business practices. The deputy commissioner of property and casualty oversees the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight and Product Review units. Within FLOIR, deputy commissioners provide executive, regulatory and policy leadership, and administrative direction and support for their respective business units.
Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills that strengthen Florida’s property insurance market, expand the state’s home hardening and hazard mitigation programs, and further protect consumers against bad actors. The deputy commissioner of market regulation and the deputy commissioner of property and casualty will work to implement this legislation and ensure consumers are being protected from predatory insurer practices.
Parker is a lifelong public servant with more than 20 years of consumer-focused experience in insurance regulation. She was appointed to the new position in June 2023. In this role, she oversees FLOIR’s market regulation efforts to protect insurance consumers from unlawful or harmful business practices.
Prior to her appointment, Parker served as FLOIR’s director of property and casualty market regulation since 2019. Her primary responsibilities as director included the overall supervision and operation of the Property and Casualty Market Regulation business unit. This unit is responsible for conducting examinations and investigations of property and casualty insurers and related parties regarding business practices and patterns of alleged violations of the Florida Insurance Code.
Parker began her career at FLOIR in 2012 as an operations review specialist and was promoted to a financial administrator in direct support of the deputy commissioner of property and casualty in 2017. Prior to joining FLOIR, Parker worked in a variety of positions for the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Consumer Services guiding and training staff on how to assist Floridians with resolving a variety of insurance-related concerns. A Marine Corps veteran, Parker began her insurance career in 1990 and was a licensed insurance agent in North Carolina and Florida.
Parker received her bachelor of science degree in business administration from Kaplan University. She holds multiple professional certifications, including a market conduct management designation from the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society and an associate in risk management designation from the Insurance Institute of America.
Christy is a skilled regulator with more than a decade of experience in insurance regulation. Christy was appointed in June 2023. In this role, she oversees the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight and Product Review units.
Christy serves as FLOIR’s representative member on the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) Market Accountability Advisory Committee. The Citizens Market Accountability Advisory Committee assists the citizens board in developing awareness of its rates and its customer and agent service levels in relationship to the voluntary market insurers writing similar coverage.
Prior to her appointment, Christy served as FLOIR’s director of property and casualty financial oversight since 2017. Her primary responsibilities as director included the overall supervision and operation of the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight business unit. This unit is responsible for the licensure and regulation of all property and casualty insurers. Prior to becoming the director of the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight business unit, Christy served as FLOIR’s chief assistant general counsel. In this role, she managed the legal division’s regulatory actions section which provides legal counsel to the commissioner and staff of FLOIR, regarding all matters related to the regulation of insurers, including the review and analysis of the legal sufficiency of admissions applications and other company documents.
Before joining FLOIR, Christy served as an assistant public defender with the 2nd Judicial Circuit. Christy received her bachelor of science degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from Missouri Southern State College in Joplin, Mo., and her juris doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla. She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2007.