What a Florida fire claim covers
A covered fire loss typically triggers more than the headline structural damage:
- Structural damage: burned framing, decking, roofing, and exterior envelope
- Smoke and soot contamination: walls, ceilings, HVAC systems, insulation, fabrics, and contents throughout the property (often well beyond the visibly burned area)
- Heat damage: warped flooring, cracked tile, compromised wiring, damaged plumbing
- Water damage: from firefighting efforts (covered under most Florida HO-3 policies)
- Contents and personal property: destroyed, smoke-affected, or removed during mitigation
- Additional living expense (ALE): hotel, food, transportation while the home is uninhabitable
- Code upgrades: law-and-ordinance coverage triggered by the rebuild
Why fire claims are commonly underpaid
- Smoke and soot scope reduction. Carriers scope only the visibly-burned rooms. Smoke and soot routinely travel through HVAC and wall cavities throughout the home; proper industrial-hygiene and thermal documentation captures the true scope.
- Contents lowballed. Carrier contents depreciation schedules often undervalue household goods. An itemized contents claim with replacement-cost documentation usually produces 30–100% more recovery.
- Code upgrades omitted. Rebuilding a 1990s home to 2026 Florida Building Code adds cost. Law-and-ordinance coverage pays the delta: when claimed.
- Water-damage-from-firefighting excluded. Some carriers mistakenly exclude this as a separate peril; Florida policy language typically covers it as an incident of the fire.
- ALE underpaid. Carriers frequently cut ALE short of the actual period of restoration.
How Ocean Point handles fire claims
- Emergency response: we coordinate with the mitigation contractor, the fire marshal, and the carrier from day one.
- Full scope documentation: photography, thermal imaging, air-quality sampling, and a room-by-room contents inventory.
- Xactimate estimate reflecting structural, contents, smoke/soot cleaning, and code-upgrade scope.
- ALE tracking with receipts and a running day-count against the period-of-restoration.
- Escalation: appraisal, DFS mediation, or Civil Remedy Notice when the carrier won't pay fairly.
Who leads fire claims at Ocean Point
Eli Goins (FL DFS #P159790) leads fire and smoke claims. Contents and ALE documentation are supported by our administrative team.