First-party vs. third-party
A first-party claim is a claim you make under your own insurance policy for your own loss. A hurricane tears off your roof, a pipe bursts in your kitchen, or a fire damages your home, and you turn to your own homeowner or commercial property policy. A third-party claim, by contrast, is a claim you bring against someone else's insurer because that person caused your injury or damage. Property insurance claims handled by a public adjuster are almost always first-party claims.
Why the distinction matters in Florida
The label controls which statutes apply. Florida's first-party claim rules, such as the claim-response deadlines in Fla. Stat. 627.70131 and the reporting windows in 627.70132, govern the relationship between you and your own carrier. Bad-faith exposure also runs differently: a first-party bad-faith claim requires filing a Civil Remedy Notice under Fla. Stat. 624.155 and letting the 60-day cure window pass before suit. Recent reforms, including SB 2-A (2022) and HB 837 (2023), reshaped first-party litigation by removing the one-way attorney fee, so how you build and document a first-party claim on the front end matters more than ever.
What it means for your claim
Because it is your own policy, you owe your carrier the policy's duties: prompt notice, a sworn proof of loss if requested, cooperation, and reasonable mitigation. In return, the carrier owes you the statutory deadlines and good-faith handling. A public adjuster represents you on the first-party side, valuing the loss and negotiating with your carrier; the carrier's adjuster works for the insurer, not for you.