Short answer: According to Fla. Stat. 627.7011, your insurer must offer replacement cost coverage and pay a dwelling loss by first releasing at least the actual cash value less your deductible, then paying the rest as repairs are performed. On a total loss it must pay full replacement cost with no depreciation held back, and it cannot refuse to renew solely because your roof is under 15 years old.
What does Fla. Stat. 627.7011 require?
Fla. Stat. 627.7011 governs how Florida homeowners' policies handle replacement cost. Before issuing a policy, the insurer must offer replacement cost coverage on the dwelling and a version of that coverage that also pays law and ordinance costs. The statute then sets the rules for how a replacement cost loss actually gets paid, protects a total loss from any depreciation holdback, and limits an insurer's ability to refuse a policy based on roof age. The current text reflects amendments through the 2024 session (ch. 2024-182), with the roof-age rules added effective July 1, 2022.
What is replacement cost coverage versus actual cash value?
Actual cash value (ACV) pays the depreciated value of what was damaged: replacement cost minus wear and age. Replacement cost value (RCV) pays what it actually costs to repair or replace, up to your policy limits. Under 627.7011, the insurer must offer RCV on the dwelling, and it may cap its liability at the lesser of the amount on your declarations page or the reasonable and necessary cost to repair or replace. If you carry only ACV, the carrier keeps the depreciation; if you carry RCV, that depreciation is money you are entitled to recover, subject to the payment mechanic below.
How does the insurer pay a replacement cost dwelling claim?
RCV is not paid in one lump sum up front. For a dwelling loss, the insurer must initially pay at least the actual cash value of the loss, less your deductible, and then pay the remaining amounts needed for repairs as the work is performed and the expenses are incurred. The held-back depreciation, often called recoverable depreciation, is released as you complete the repairs. A separate rule applies to roofs: if a roof deductible under s. 627.701(10) applies, the carrier may limit the roof payment to the actual cash value of the roof loss until it receives reasonable proof you paid that deductible (a canceled check, money order receipt, credit card statement, or an executed installment or financing contract).
| Situation | What the insurer must pay | When |
|---|---|---|
| Dwelling repair (RCV) | At least the actual cash value of the loss, less your deductible | Initial payment |
| Remaining repair cost | The amounts necessary to perform the repairs | As work is performed and expenses are incurred |
| Roof claim with a roof deductible (s. 627.701(10)) | Limited to the actual cash value of the roof loss | Until you show reasonable proof you paid the roof deductible |
| Total loss of the dwelling | Full replacement cost, with no depreciation held back (s. 627.702) | On the total loss |
Key takeaway: on a partial loss the depreciation is recoverable but tied to completed work, so documenting the repairs is how you get the holdback released.
What happens to depreciation on a total loss?
A total loss is different. If a total loss of the dwelling occurs, the insurer must pay the replacement cost coverage without any reservation or holdback of depreciation, pursuant to Florida's valued policy law, s. 627.702. There is no ACV-first, repair-as-you-go mechanic on a total loss: the carrier cannot hold back depreciation and wait for repairs. This is one of the most valuable protections in the statute, and it is exactly where carriers most often try to underpay.
How does law and ordinance coverage work?
When a covered loss forces you to rebuild to current building codes, law and ordinance coverage pays those upgrade costs. Under 627.7011, the insurer must offer this coverage limited to either 25 percent or 50 percent of the dwelling limit, as you select, and it must offer at least the 50 percent option. Unless you sign a written refusal on an office-approved form, your policy is deemed to include law and ordinance coverage limited to 25 percent of the dwelling limit; a signature by any named insured is conclusively presumed to be an informed, knowing rejection for everyone on the policy. The coverage applies only to repairs of the damaged portion of the structure unless total damage exceeds 50 percent of the structure's replacement cost. The insurer must also give notice that the coverage is available, on an office-approved form, at least once every 3 years; failing to give that notice violates the insurance code but does not change your coverage.
Can an insurer refuse to renew because of my roof's age?
For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, the statute limits roof-age underwriting. An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowner's policy solely because of roof age when the roof is less than 15 years old. If the roof is at least 15 years old, the insurer must let you pay for an inspection by an authorized inspector before it can require roof replacement as a condition of coverage, and it may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age if that inspection shows the roof has 5 years or more of useful life remaining. These rules do not override lawful underwriting for other reasons.
What about replacement cost on personal property?
The statute treats contents separately. The insurer must offer coverage that pays the replacement cost of personal property without any reservation or holdback for depreciation, whether or not you actually replace the property. It may also offer a receipt-based option that pays actual cash value first and then pays additional amounts, up to your policy limits, as you submit receipts for what you replace; that option requires clear notice before you buy, an actuarially reasonable premium credit, and it may not force you to advance the money. The law-and-ordinance and flood disclosure statements must appear with your policy at issuance and every renewal in bold type no smaller than 18 points.
How does Ocean Point handle replacement cost and depreciation holdback?
We are a licensed Florida public adjusting firm (DFS license W829547) working only for policyholders, with 21 years in the field and more than 500 mediations. On a replacement cost claim, our job is to make sure the carrier's ACV payment is right at the start and that every dollar of held-back depreciation is recovered as the work is completed. On a total loss, we hold the carrier to the valued policy rule so no depreciation is withheld. Our estimating team documents the full replacement cost so the holdback release is not left to the adjuster's discretion, and our primary public adjuster, Eli Goins (license P159790), leads the file. We are members of FAPIA.
Who this is for, and how to protect your replacement cost recovery
This statute matters most if your carrier paid only actual cash value and stopped there, if depreciation is being held back on a loss that should be paid in full, or if you were told your policy would not renew because of your roof's age. If you have RCV coverage, the depreciation is your money; the question is whether it gets released.
Keep proof of every repair and every payment, watch for the roof-deductible proof requirement, and do not let a total loss get paid as if it were a partial one. If the numbers do not add up, a public adjuster can rebuild the estimate and press for the full replacement cost. Public adjuster fees in Florida are capped by law (Fla. Stat. 626.854).
Bottom line: replacement cost coverage is only worth what actually gets paid, so document the work, hold the carrier to the total-loss rule, and make the depreciation holdback come back to you.