The statutes that govern your claim

Defines who may act as a public adjuster in Florida, sets licensing and written-contract requirements, and caps contingency fees at 20% of the claim payment (10% for declared-emergency claims in the first year).

Under Fla. Stat. 627.70131 (2022 SB 2A), Florida insurers must acknowledge a claim within 7 days and pay or deny within 60 days, plus late-pay interest.

Property insurance claims must be reported within 1 year of the date of loss for new or reopened claims, and within 18 months for supplemental claims.

The one-page summary of policyholder rights that a Florida insurer must deliver within 14 days of a claim: response deadlines, interest on late payments, the right to a public adjuster, and free state-sponsored mediation.

Creates a statutory remedy for bad-faith conduct by insurers. A Civil Remedy Notice gives the carrier 60 days to cure specified violations before bad-faith damages can be pursued.

Requires insurers to replace damaged items with materials of like kind and quality. When a reasonable match is unavailable, the insurer must pay for replacement of a reasonably continuous area.

Florida Statute 627.7152 bars assignment of post-loss benefits for property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, and sets strict contents, rescission, and notice rules for assignment agreements under policies issued July 1, 2019 through before that date.

Fla. Stat. 627.70152 makes a written notice of intent to initiate litigation, filed with the Department of Financial Services at least 10 business days before suit, a condition precedent to any residential or commercial property insurance lawsuit. A court must dismiss without prejudice any suit filed without it.

Requires Florida homeowners' insurers to offer replacement cost and law and ordinance coverage, sets how a replacement cost loss is paid (actual cash value first, with held-back depreciation released as repairs are completed and no holdback on a total loss), and limits refusing to issue or renew a policy solely because of roof age.

Fla. Stat. 627.706 makes catastrophic ground cover collapse coverage mandatory in every Florida property policy while leaving broader sinkhole loss coverage optional, sold for an additional premium. It also supplies the sinkhole, sinkhole activity, and structural damage definitions that decide whether a sinkhole claim is covered.

Fla. Stat. 627.7015 is Florida's nonbinding property insurance mediation program, run by the Department of Financial Services. The insurer pays for the conference and must tell you about your right to mediate, and any settlement you sign can be rescinded within 3 business days.

Fla. Stat. 627.7074 sets up neutral evaluation, a nonbinding but mandatory state-run review of disputed sinkhole claims. Either party can request it once a sinkhole report is issued, the insurer pays the reasonable costs, and filing tolls the deadline to sue for 60 days after the process ends.

Fla. Stat. 627.4133 sets the advance-notice deadlines Florida insurers must meet before nonrenewal, cancellation, or a renewal-premium change: at least 120 days for residential property nonrenewal or cancellation, 45 days for a renewal premium, and 10 days for cancellation over nonpayment.

Requires any insurer that may owe liability coverage to give a claimant, within 30 days of a written request, a sworn statement disclosing the insurer, each insured, the liability limits, any coverage defense, and a copy of the policy. This is a liability-coverage disclosure statute; it was last amended in 2011 and is not part of the 2021-2023 property-insurance reforms.

Fla. Stat. 626.9541(1)(i) defines unfair claim settlement practices, from denying claims without a reasonable investigation to failing to explain a denial in writing, and sets a 30-day deadline to affirm or deny coverage after proof of loss and a 60-day deadline to pay undisputed residential-property benefits.

Fla. Stat. 718.111(11) splits condominium insurance between the association and the unit owner: the association's master policy covers the building as originally installed, while the owner's HO-6 policy covers the interior finishes, appliances, cabinets, and personal property the statute carves out.

Subsection (6) of Fla. Stat. 627.351 creates and governs Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida's state-backed insurer of last resort. It sets a 20 percent price-comparison eligibility test, an annual rate-increase cap of 12 percent for 2023 rising to 15 percent by 2026, and the depopulation and take-out rules that move policies back to private insurers.

SB 76 (2021), Chapter 2021-77, shortened Florida's property-claim reporting deadlines, created the s. 627.70152 presuit notice, tied attorney fees to a new tiered formula, and restricted contractor roof-claim solicitation. Effective July 1, 2021.

CS/SB 2-D, enacted in Florida's May 2022 special session as Chapter 2022-268, created the $2 billion RAP reinsurance program, authorized capped separate roof deductibles, restricted roof-age-based nonrenewals, and tied property-insurance attorney-fee awards to a presuit-offer sliding scale. It was the first of two 2022 property reforms, later followed by SB 2A in December 2022.

CS/CS/SB 2-A (Chapter 2022-271), effective December 16, 2022, shortened insurer claim deadlines and claim-reporting windows, eliminated the one-way attorney fee for property insurance suits, created opt-in binding arbitration, and stood up the FORA reinsurance program.

HB 837 (2023), Chapter 2023-15, is Florida's broad tort-reform act: it repealed the one-way insurance attorney-fee statutes (627.428 and 626.9373), cut the negligence statute of limitations from four years to two, adopted modified comparative negligence, and added a 90-day bad-faith tender safe harbor for liability insurance claims.

A plain-English guide to Florida's 2021-2023 property-insurance reforms (SB 76, SB 2D, SB 2A, and HB 837): a 1-year deadline to report a new or reopened claim, an 18-month supplemental window, restrictions on assignment of benefits, a presuit notice requirement, and the repeal of one-way attorney fees against insurers.

Fla. Stat. 627.701 governs how Florida hurricane deductibles work: a single hurricane deductible applies once per calendar year, insurers must offer set deductible options and disclose the dollar amount on your declarations page, and any deductible above 10% requires your own handwritten, signed acknowledgment.

Fla. Stat. 489.147 bars a contractor from soliciting roof-damage claims through prohibited advertising, from offering to waive or pay your insurance deductible, and from interpreting your policy or adjusting your claim unless the contractor is also a licensed public adjuster.

Fla. Stat. 627.712 requires insurers to provide windstorm coverage on residential property policies, and lets that coverage be excluded only through a specific statement the policyholder personally writes and signs, with every named insured signing and any mortgageholder approving.

Fla. Stat. 627.409 treats statements in an insurance application as representations, not warranties, and lets an insurer void coverage or defend a claim for a misstatement, omission, or concealment only when it was fraudulent or material to the risk the insurer accepted.

Fla. Stat. 817.234 makes it a crime to knowingly present a false, incomplete, or misleading insurance claim with intent to defraud, and grades the felony by the value involved, which is a core reason Florida claims must be documented honestly and accurately.

Fla. Stat. 627.714 requires a Florida condominium unit-owner policy to include at least $2,000 in loss assessment coverage (deductible capped at $250) for assessments from a single direct loss, and makes the unit-owner policy excess over other coverage on the same property.

SB 7052 (2023), Chapter 2023-172, is Florida's Insurer Accountability Act: it requires residential property insurers to adopt and annually certify claims-handling manuals, sharply increases the fines regulators can impose (more for hurricane-related violations), and strengthens oversight of how carriers handle claims. Effective July 1, 2023.