What a Civil Remedy Notice is
A Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) is the formal filing a Florida policyholder uses to put a carrier on notice of bad-faith conduct under Fla. Stat. 624.155. It is a precondition, not a lawsuit: a first-party bad-faith claim cannot proceed until a CRN has been filed and the cure window has closed.
How a CRN is filed in Florida
The CRN is filed with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and served on the carrier. From that point, the insurer has 60 days to cure the alleged violation: pay the claim correctly, correct the conduct, and make the policyholder whole. If the carrier cures inside the window, the underlying claim usually gets paid and the bad-faith exposure resolves. If it does not, the policyholder may pursue a bad-faith action for the damages the conduct caused, which can exceed the policy limits.
What the notice must contain
A CRN is only as strong as its specificity. It must state the specific statutory violation alleged, the specific facts supporting it, the specific policy language at issue, and the specific amount demanded. Vague or boilerplate notices give the carrier an easy cure and weaken any later action.
Common carrier patterns
Carriers frequently treat the 60-day window as a settlement deadline and pay a previously "disputed" amount only after a CRN lands. Others issue a partial payment framed as a cure. Documenting every missed deadline and lowball before filing makes the notice harder to sidestep and preserves leverage if the violation is not cured.