Statutory fee caps
- A reduced statutory cap applies to declared-emergency claims during the first year after the declaration
- The standard statutory cap applies to all other claims
- Cannot be increased because of litigation
- Cannot charge up-front fees (some limited exceptions)
- The specific fee for your claim is disclosed in the written contract before signing
What the fee covers
Typical inclusions
- Policy review and analysis
- Property inspection and documentation
- Xactimate estimate preparation
- Claim submission and management
- Negotiation with carrier
- Supplemental claim filing
- Representation through DFS mediation
- Basic appraisal support
Often billed separately
- Expert reports (engineer, IH, forensic)
- Specialty attorney consultation
- Litigation support (attorney-led)
- Umpire fees in appraisal
Written contract required
Florida law requires:
- Written agreement
- Fee percentage disclosed
- Services defined
- 10-day cancellation right
The right of cancellation
- 10 days from signing
- No penalty
- Must be in writing
- Preserves policyholder flexibility
Fee calculation
- Percentage of recovery
- Not percentage of claim amount
- Includes ACV and RCV holdback
- Applied to actual payments received
Example math
- Claim settles at $85,000
- Contingency fee (within the statutory cap) is disclosed and applied to the recovery
- Policyholder still nets substantially more than the carrier's $30,000 initial offer
- The exact fee is explained in writing before signing