Biggest Mistakes Florida Homeowners Make After a Hurricane Claim

Published by Adjusterman LLC, a licensed Florida public adjusting firm. We don’t sell or earn commissions on anything listed here.

Updated September 23, 2026

After a hurricane, the claim competes with everything else: a wet house, a roof under a tarp, work, family and a line of contractors at the door. That is exactly when the mistakes that shrink or sink a claim get made. Most of them are not about the policy language; they are about timing, evidence and paperwork.

Below are the twelve we see most often in Florida, with the statute or policy clause that makes each one matter. If you are still in the first days after a storm, start with our post on documenting storm damage before you clean up.

How we put this list together

We chose these mistakes from the claims we review after Florida storms and checked each against the governing rule: the 2026 Florida Statutes on flsenate.gov, the standard homeowners form, and guidance from the Florida Department of Financial Services and the National Flood Insurance Program. They are ordered roughly by when they happen, from the first days after the storm to the end of the claim.

This is general information, not legal advice. For litigation questions, talk to a Florida attorney.

The list

1. 1. Waiting to report the claim

   Best for: Deadlines

   New or reopened claim

   1 year after date of loss

   Supplemental claim

   18 months

   Hurricane date of loss

   Landfall date

   Florida bars a claim or reopened claim “unless notice of the claim was given to the insurer in accordance with the terms of the policy within 1 year after the date of loss,” and a supplemental claim unless notice was given within 18 months (s. 627.70132(2)). For hurricanes, the date of loss is “the date that the hurricane made landfall.”

   Owners often wait because the damage looks minor, or because a slow roof leak shows up months later. By then the clock has been running since landfall. The standard policy also asks for “prompt notice,” so report as soon as you can and document as you go.

   Consider writing down the landfall date for the storm the day you start the claim.

   flsenate.gov

2. 2. Throwing out damaged items before documenting them

   Best for: Evidence

   Policy duty

   Inventory of damaged personal property (HO 00 03 B.6)

   DFS advice

   Keep damaged property if feasible (s. 627.7142)

   The standard form requires an inventory of damaged personal property “showing the quantity, description, actual cash value and amount of loss,” with bills and receipts attached. Once a soaked sofa or a pile of drywall goes to the curb, proving what it was and what it was worth gets much harder.

   Florida’s Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights advises owners to keep the damaged property if feasible and to photograph or video damage before and after repairs. For flood claims, FloodSmart tells policyholders to photograph damaged belongings, record make, model and serial numbers of appliances and electronics, and keep samples of carpet, flooring and curtains, then discard items that pose a health risk after documenting them.

   Consider a room-by-room video walk-through, narrated, before any cleanup crew arrives.

   floodsmart.gov

3. 3. Not protecting the property from further damage

   Best for: Mitigation

   Policy duty

   HO 00 03 Duties After Loss B.4

   Exclusion

   Neglect (HO 00 03 A.5)

   Your policy requires you to “protect the property from further damage,” make “reasonable and necessary repairs to protect the property,” and “keep an accurate record of repair expenses.” It also excludes loss from neglect: failing “to use all reasonable means to save and preserve property at and after the time of a loss.”

   In practice this means tarping the roof, boarding openings, extracting water and drying the structure quickly. Mold that spreads for weeks after a storm is one of the easiest things for an insurer to deny. Keep every receipt: the standard form’s Reasonable Repairs coverage pays the reasonable cost of necessary measures taken solely to protect covered property from further damage.

   Consider photographing the damage first, then the emergency repair, then keeping the invoice with both.

   iii.org

4. 4. Not knowing how your hurricane deductible works

   Best for: Deductible

   Where to find it

   Dollar value on the declarations page (s. 627.701(4)(b))

   Applies

   Once per calendar year to all hurricane losses (s. 627.701(5)(a))

   Many Florida homeowners carry a hurricane deductible set as a percentage of the dwelling limit, which can be many thousands of dollars. Florida requires the insurer to “compute and prominently display the actual dollar value of the hurricane deductible on the declarations page.” The hurricane deductible applies “on an annual basis to all covered hurricane losses that occur during the calendar year,” so a second storm in the same year may face only the remainder, or the other-perils deductible if that is greater.

   Which deductible applies depends on timing. Under s. 627.4025(2)(c), a hurricane lasts from the time a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for any part of Florida ends. Details in hurricane vs all other perils deductibles.

   Consider checking the dollar amount on your declarations page before the next storm season, not after the next storm.

   flsenate.gov

5. 5. Assuming your homeowners policy covers flood

   Best for: Coverage

   Excluded

   Flood, surface water, waves, tidal water (HO 00 03 A.3)

   Flood claims

   Filed under a separate flood policy

   The standard homeowners form excludes “flood, surface water, waves, tidal water, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether or not driven by wind.” Storm surge damage is paid, if at all, under a separate flood policy, most often through the National Flood Insurance Program.

   If you have both policies, report to both. The two claims are adjusted separately, and the split between wind and water damage is often the main fight. FloodSmart also notes that NFIP policies do not cover mold, so drying out quickly matters on the flood side too.

   Consider documenting the water line in every room before drywall comes out.

   floodsmart.gov

6. 6. Signing an assignment of benefits with a contractor

   Best for: Contracts

   Statute

   s. 627.7152(13)

   Policies issued on or after

   January 1, 2023: post-loss assignments void

   An assignment of benefits (AOB) transfers your claim rights to someone else, typically a contractor or water mitigation company. DFS warns that an AOB can give the third party authority to file the claim, make repair decisions and collect payments without you, and that you may lose rights such as mediation.

   Florida has since closed the door on new ones. Under s. 627.7152(13), a policyholder “may not assign, in whole or in part, any post-loss insurance benefit under any residential property insurance policy or under any commercial property insurance policy” issued on or after January 1, 2023, and any attempt to do so “is void, invalid, and unenforceable.” The detailed AOB rules in the rest of the section apply to policies issued from July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2022. If a contractor hands you paperwork that says it assigns benefits or directs the insurer to pay the contractor, read it carefully before signing.

   Consider paying contractors under a normal repair contract with an itemized estimate, and keeping claim decisions in your own hands.

   flsenate.gov

7. 7. Letting a contractor run the claim

   Best for: Contractors

   Statute

   s. 489.147

   Fine

   Up to $10,000 per violation

   Under s. 489.147, a contractor may not offer you a rebate, gift, gift card, cash, coupon, “waiver of any insurance deductible,” or anything else of value for a roof inspection or a roof claim. A contractor also may not interpret your policy, advise you on coverage, or adjust the claim unless licensed as a public adjuster, and must give a good-faith itemized estimate before you sign an agreement authorizing repairs.

   For roof contracts signed within 180 days of a declared state of emergency, in the declared area, you may cancel without penalty within 10 days after signing or by the official start date, whichever comes first. Florida’s Bill of Rights also advises confirming the contractor’s license with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and requiring proof of insurance before work begins.

   Consider getting two or three written repair estimates, and treating any offer to “cover your deductible” as a reason to walk away.

   flsenate.gov

8. 8. Hiring claim help without checking the license

   Best for: Licensing

   Public adjusters

   DFS licensee search

   Contractors

   DBPR license lookup

   Only an attorney or a licensed and appointed public adjuster may, for pay, prepare or file your claim or negotiate its settlement (s. 626.854(20)). After a storm, unlicensed “claim consultants” appear quickly. Check any public adjuster on the DFS licensee search before signing, and check contractors on the DBPR license search.

   Florida caps public adjuster fees at 10% of claim payments during the year after a Governor’s emergency declaration for claims based on that event, and 20% otherwise, with no fee on the deductible or on money the insurer paid or agreed to pay before the contract (s. 626.854(11)). You can cancel a residential public adjuster contract within 10 days of signing, or within 30 days of the loss after a declared emergency, whichever is longer. Our guide 12 questions to ask before hiring a public adjuster covers the rest.

   Consider saving a screenshot of the license record with the date you checked it.

   licenseesearch.fldfs.com

9. 9. Accepting the insurer’s first estimate without reading it

   Best for: Estimates

   Estimate copy

   Within 7 days of generation (s. 627.70131(3)(e))

   Partial estimates

   Must say they “may be revised”

   Florida requires a residential insurer to send you any detailed estimate its adjuster generates within 7 days. Preliminary estimates must carry a bold notice that the estimate “may be revised as we continue to evaluate your claim,” and partial payments a notice that the insurer “may issue additional payments.” Those notices exist because first numbers are often incomplete.

   Read the estimate line by line against what you see in the house: every room, every surface, the roof, fences, screens, contents and code upgrades. Missing items are the most common reason a first check is low.

   Consider asking for the adjuster’s photos and measurements along with the estimate.

   flsenate.gov

10. 10. Ignoring proof of loss, records requests or an examination under oath

    Best for: Policy duties

    Proof of loss

    Within 60 days after the insurer’s request (HO 00 03 B.8)

    Also required

    Records, showing the property, EUO

    Under the standard form, you must send a signed, sworn proof of loss “within 60 days after our request,” show the damaged property, provide requested records and, if asked, submit to an examination under oath. The insurer has no duty to cover the loss if a failure to comply “is prejudicial to us.”

    Florida also pauses the insurer’s 60-day pay-or-deny clock if you do not provide requested material claim information within 10 days of the request (s. 627.70131(8)(b)). Answer every request in writing, keep copies, and ask for more time in writing if you need it.

    Consider keeping one folder, paper or digital, for every letter to and from the insurer, with dates.

    iii.org

11. 11. Not tracking the insurer’s deadlines

    Best for: Deadlines

    Acknowledge

    7 days

    Inspect

    Within 30 days of proof-of-loss statements

    Pay or deny

    60 days after notice

    Florida gives the insurer deadlines too. It must acknowledge your claim within 7 days, begin investigating within 7 days of receiving proof-of-loss statements, and conduct any physical inspection within 30 days of receiving them. Within 60 days after receiving notice of the claim, it must pay or deny the claim or a portion of it, with a written explanation, unless factors beyond its control apply (s. 627.70131).

    Payments made after that 60-day window bear interest from the date the insurer received notice. The Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights (s. 627.7142), which your insurer must send within 14 days of your first claim communication, summarizes these timelines.

    Consider putting each insurer deadline on your calendar the day you report the claim.

    flsenate.gov

12. 12. Closing the claim too early

    Best for: Final payment

    Replacement cost

    Insurer may pay ACV first, the rest as work is done (s. 627.7011(3)(a))

    Supplemental claim

    18 months after date of loss

    On a replacement cost policy, s. 627.7011(3)(a) lets the insurer initially pay at least the actual cash value of the dwelling loss, less the deductible, and pay the rest “as work is performed and expenses are incurred.” Owners who never finish repairs, or never send the invoices, can leave the difference unpaid.

    Hidden damage often surfaces during repairs. Notice of a supplemental claim for additional damage from the same peril must be given within 18 months of the date of loss.

    Consider sending the final invoices to the insurer as soon as each repair is complete.

    flsenate.gov

If the claim is already off track

Most of these mistakes can be at least partly repaired. Late photos are better than none, a missed records request can still be answered, and an incomplete estimate can be supplemented. For residential claims, Florida DFS offers mediation when the dispute is $500 or more after the deductible; its site says the insurer pays the mediation cost. The DFS consumer helpline is 1-877-693-5236.

If you have covered storm damage and the claim has stalled, a licensed public adjuster can document and present it for you. Adjusterman LLC handles hurricane claims and homeowners claims across Florida, and our ranked guide to the best hurricane claim public adjusters in Florida shows how to compare licensed firms.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Sources

1. Fla. Stat. s. 627.70132 (2026), Notice of property insurance claim
2. Fla. Stat. s. 627.70131 (2026), Insurer’s duty to acknowledge communications regarding claims; investigation
3. Fla. Stat. s. 627.701 (2026), Liability of insureds; coinsurance; deductibles
4. Fla. Stat. s. 627.4025 (2026), Residential coverage and hurricane coverage defined
5. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7152 (2026), Assignment agreements
6. Fla. Stat. s. 489.147 (2026), Prohibited property insurance practices; contract requirements
7. Fla. Stat. s. 626.854 (2026), “Public adjuster” defined; prohibitions
8. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7011 (2026), Homeowners’ policies; offer of replacement cost coverage and law and ordinance coverage
9. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7142 (2026), Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights
10. Homeowners 3 Special Form, ISO HO 00 03 10 00 (sample published by the Insurance Information Institute)
11. FloodSmart (NFIP), Start a Claim
12. Florida DFS, Mediation and Neutral Evaluation
13. Florida DFS licensee search
14. Florida DBPR license search

Adjusterman LLC, FL DFS Public Adjusting Firm License #W913130 · Michael Klavan, FL DFS Public Adjuster License #P151443. Public adjusters do not provide legal advice.