Short answer: According to Fla. Stat. 627.7074, once a sinkhole report is issued either you or your insurer can request neutral evaluation, a nonbinding but mandatory review by a state-certified evaluator. The insurer pays the reasonable costs, filing tolls your suit deadline for 60 days after the process ends, and the evaluator's report is admissible if the dispute later goes to court.
What does Fla. Stat. 627.7074 do?
Fla. Stat. 627.7074 creates a state-run "neutral evaluation" process for resolving disputed sinkhole insurance claims. It is a nonbinding review, administered through the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), that puts a disputed sinkhole claim in front of a certified, independent evaluator before the fight ends up in court. It is built specifically for the causation and repair questions that make sinkhole claims different from ordinary property claims.
Who can request neutral evaluation, and when?
Either party can request it: you as the policyholder, or your insurer. The right opens once a sinkhole report has been issued under s. 627.7073, the report that says whether sinkhole activity was found. The request is filed with DFS on a department-approved form, and it must state the reason for the request and explain all of the issues in dispute. Because either side can invoke it, an insurer that disagrees with your position can pull the claim into neutral evaluation just as you can.
Is neutral evaluation binding?
No. Neutral evaluation is nonbinding, but it is mandatory once requested: if either party asks for it, the other cannot refuse. The evaluator's recommendation does not bind anyone, and both sides keep full access to the courts. What matters for later litigation is that the written recommendation, the evaluator's oral testimony, and the full report are all admissible in a later court case, so the outcome carries real weight even though it is not binding.
What does the neutral evaluation timeline look like?
| Step | What happens | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| File the request | Either party files with DFS on the approved form, stating the reason and all disputed issues | After a sinkhole report is issued under s. 627.7073 |
| Deadline to sue tolled | Filing the request pauses the clock to file suit | 60 days after the process concludes, or the s. 95.11 limitations period, whichever is later |
| Select the evaluator | The parties try to agree on an evaluator; if they cannot, DFS appoints one | Within 14 business days |
| Conference scheduled | The evaluator notifies both parties of the date, time, and place | Within 14 business days after referral |
| Conference held | The neutral evaluation conference takes place | Target window: within 90 days after DFS receives the request |
| Report issued | The evaluator sends the written report to both parties and DFS | Within 14 days after the conference |
| Court stay lifts | Any related court proceeding stays paused until the report is filed with the court | Stay continues for 5 days after the report is filed |
Who pays for neutral evaluation?
The insurer pays. Under the statute, the insurer shall pay the reasonable costs associated with the neutral evaluation. The one exception is a party that chooses to hire a court reporter or stenographer to record the conference: that party bears the cost of the transcript. For a policyholder, that means the core process is available without a cost barrier.
How is the neutral evaluator chosen and disqualified?
Evaluators are certified by DFS based on professional training and credentials, and DFS maintains the list you choose from. To protect fairness, each party may disqualify two evaluators without cause. Beyond that, DFS disqualifies an evaluator only on enumerated grounds, including a familial relationship within the third degree with a party or a party's representative, prior professional representation of a party, materially adverse interests, or having worked within the preceding 5 years as an employer or employee of a party (or for an entity that performed sinkhole testing on the property). An evaluator certified only for causation or method of repair may bring in other listed professionals, and may use professional engineers, professional geologists, and licensed building contractors to cover every disputed item.
What does the evaluator's report decide?
The report addresses the questions that actually decide a sinkhole claim: what caused the damage, whether the sinkhole loss is verified or eliminated, whether sinkhole activity caused structural damage, and the estimated cost to stabilize the property and repair it. It goes to both parties and DFS within 14 days after the conference. Because it is admissible later, a report that verifies your loss is powerful evidence if the carrier still refuses to pay.
How does neutral evaluation affect appraisal, mediation, and bad-faith damages?
Neutral evaluation supersedes the general s. 627.7015 mediation program for sinkhole disputes, so you use this process instead of standard claim mediation. It does not invalidate your policy's appraisal clause, so appraisal rights survive. One rule protects the insurer: if the insurer timely agrees in writing to comply with the recommendation and does comply, but you decline to resolve the claim on those terms, the insurer is not liable for extracontractual damages on the issues the process decided, and its participation is not a confession of judgment or an admission of liability. The evaluators themselves are treated as agents of the department and have immunity from suit under s. 44.107.
How does Ocean Point handle sinkhole neutral evaluation?
We are a Florida public-adjusting firm (DFS firm license W829547) with 21 years in first-party property claims and more than 500 mediations behind us, led by primary public adjuster Eli Goins (license P159790). We treat neutral evaluation the way we treat any high-stakes forum: build the causation and cost record before the conference, make sure the sinkhole report and testing are properly framed, and present the disputed items so the evaluator can address each one. We are members of FAPIA. Because the report is admissible later, our job is to make the strongest documented case in that room, not to treat the conference as a formality.
Who this is for, and should you request neutral evaluation?
Neutral evaluation is the right tool when a sinkhole report is in hand and the dispute is real: the carrier says there is no sinkhole loss, disputes whether sinkhole activity caused your structural damage, or lowballs the stabilization and repair cost. It costs you nothing for the core process, it pauses your deadline to sue, and it produces admissible findings, so there is little downside to a well-prepared request. It is less useful when the facts are not yet developed, because a rushed conference wastes your best evidentiary shot.
If your carrier requests it, you cannot opt out, so prepare rather than resist. Bring in a public adjuster or attorney to build the record when causation or repair cost is contested, because the report that comes out of this process can decide whether the claim gets paid or heads to court.
Bottom line: once a sinkhole report exists, neutral evaluation is a low-cost, insurer-funded forum with admissible results, so use it deliberately and walk in with your causation and cost evidence already built.