“Ask us anything. Here is what people ask first.

A share of what the insurer pays you, and Florida law caps the share. 20 percent on a normal claim. 10 percent on a claim from an event that was the subject of a Governor declared state of emergency, for claims made in the year after the declaration. Nothing up front, and nothing if the claim does not pay.

“A public adjuster may not charge, agree to, or accept from any source compensation, payment, commission, fee, or any other thing of value in excess of: 1. Ten percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor. This provision applies to claims made during the year after the declaration of emergency. After that year, the limitations in subparagraph 2. apply. 2. Twenty percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims that are not based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor.”

Florida Statute 626.854(11)(b)

The statute also says any trick to get around those caps is a violation: “Any maneuver, shift, or device through which the limits on compensation set forth in this subsection are exceeded is a violation of this chapter.” (626.854(11)(f)).

No. The inspection, the estimate, the filing and the negotiation cost you nothing while the claim is open. Our fee is taken from the insurer's payment when it arrives. If there is no payment, there is no fee.

Then you owe nothing on the money the insurer had already agreed to pay before you signed with us. The statute sets that fee at zero.

“Zero percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, paid to the insured by the insurer for any coverage part of the policy where the claim payment or written agreement by the insurer to pay occurs before the date on which the public adjusting contract is executed.”

Florida Statute 626.854(11)(b)4

There is one more cap worth knowing. If the insurer pays the full policy limit for a coverage part within 14 days of the loss or 10 days of our contract, whichever is later, our fee on that part is capped at 1 percent (626.854(11)(b)3). We tell you on the first call if either rule applies to you.

The Florida Legislature's own research office looked at this. Its report found an average payout of $2,029 for policyholders without a public adjuster and $17,187 with one. Source: Florida OPPAGA Report. Those are averages across many claims, not a promise about yours. What we can promise: the claim is documented by someone who works for you, and you pay nothing unless it pays.

Yes. 10 days after signing, no penalty. After a declared state of emergency the window is longer.

“An insured or claimant may cancel a public adjuster's contract to adjust a claim without penalty or obligation within 10 days after the date on which the contract is executed. If the contract was entered into based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, an insured or claimant may cancel the public adjuster's contract to adjust a claim without penalty or obligation within 30 days after the date of loss or 10 days after the date on which the contract is executed, whichever is longer.”

Florida Statute 626.854(7)

Not for one storm claim, and not for one water claim. Florida law names both.

“Claims on property insurance policies that are the result of an act of God may not be used as a cause for cancellation or nonrenewal, unless the insurer can demonstrate, by claims frequency or otherwise, that the insured has failed to take action reasonably necessary as requested by the insurer to prevent recurrence of damage to the insured property.”

Florida Statute 627.4133(3)

“A single claim on a property insurance policy which is the result of water damage may not be used as the sole cause for cancellation or nonrenewal unless the insurer can demonstrate that the insured has failed to take action reasonably requested by the insurer to prevent a future similar occurrence of damage to the insured property.”

Florida Statute 627.4133(6)

The honest part. Those protections stop an insurer from pointing at one claim as the reason. At the end of a policy term an insurer can still nonrenew for “a substantial change in the risk covered by the policy,” and it must give you 120 days written notice with the reason stated (627.4133(2)(b)). Mid-term cancellation after the first 60 days is limited to a short list: a material misstatement, nonpayment, a failure to meet underwriting requirements, a substantial change in the risk, or cancelling a whole class of policies (627.4133(2)(b)3). If the insurer asks you to fix the cause of a loss, do it and keep the receipt. That request is the one thing that can undo the protection.

We cannot promise what any insurer charges at renewal, and nobody honest can. What the law controls is whether one storm or water claim can be the reason you are cancelled or nonrenewed, and that answer is above. If your premium jumps, the Florida CFO's homeowners insurance consumer page at myfloridacfo.com covers premium increases and who to ask.

Hiring a public adjuster is your right under Florida law; the whole profession is defined and licensed in Florida Statute 626.854. Your agent is not part of the claim. The insurer's adjuster will deal with us instead of you, which is the point. One practical rule: once we are on the claim, the insurer's side must give at least 48 hours notice before an inspection or meeting.

“A company employee adjuster, independent adjuster, attorney, investigator, or other persons acting on behalf of an insurer that needs access to an insured or claimant or to the insured property that is the subject of a claim must provide at least 48 hours' notice to the insured or claimant, public adjuster, or legal representative before scheduling a meeting with the claimant or an onsite inspection of the insured property.”

Florida Statute 626.854(14)

Citizens is the state backed insurer. Its depopulation program moves policies to private insurers, and a letter means a private insurer has made an offer on yours.

“The Depopulation Program works with private-market insurance companies interested in offering coverage to Citizens policyholders.”

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, citizensfla.com

“Senate Bill 2-A, passed in December 2022, states policies that receive an offer of coverage that is not more than 20% greater than Citizens' estimated renewal premium are no longer eligible to remain with Citizens.”

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, citizensfla.com

So if the offer is within 20 percent of what Citizens would charge you at renewal, you cannot stay with Citizens. Citizens also says: “Rejecting an offer of assumption will not exempt you from this requirement.” Whether your claim history affects whether you get an offer is not something Citizens publishes, so we do not claim to know it.

It depends on your date of loss and what your policy says, and the answer has changed with recent Florida law. We do not quote a deadline from memory. Call with the date you found the damage and we check the current rule and your policy while you are on the phone. Sooner is always safer: the deadline runs from the loss, not from the day you decide to file.

We cannot promise a number of weeks; it depends on the insurer, the damage and whether the claim was already denied. What we do promise is that you know where it stands at every step, and that we do not let the insurer's file go quiet.

No. A complete claim moves faster than one the insurer keeps sending back for more information. We file it complete: photos, readings, estimate, policy references. Where a claim slows down is when the number is wrong and has to be argued, and that is the part we are there for.

We set the inspection on the first call. Anywhere in Florida. Bring nothing; we bring the drone, the thermal camera and the moisture meter.

Florida law limits when a public adjuster may reach out to you, and we follow it.

“A public adjuster may not directly or indirectly through any other person or entity solicit an insured or claimant by any means except on Monday through Saturday of each week and only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on those days.”

Florida Statute 626.854(5)

You can call us any time. That rule is about us calling you.

The adjuster your insurer sends is paid by the insurer. A public adjuster is licensed by the State of Florida, hired by you, and paid only from what your claim recovers. Same title, opposite side of the table. We inspect, document, write the estimate, file the claim and negotiate the settlement on your behalf. The long version.

Make the emergency repairs: tarp the roof, shut the water off, dry the floor. Your policy requires you to stop the damage from spreading, and those costs are part of the claim, so keep every receipt. Photograph everything before it is cleaned up or thrown away. Permanent repairs can wait until the damage has been documented and the claim is filed; a repaired roof cannot be inspected.

Not before someone on your side has read it. An assignment of benefits can hand the contractor control of your claim and the right to be paid by your insurer directly. Call us first. We read it with you, in plain words, and you decide.

We walk the whole property, not just the room you called about. The roof gets walked and flown: test squares, chalk marks, every crease and impact photographed. Walls and ceilings get scanned with a thermal camera; anything that shows cold gets a moisture reading and a photo. We open what needs opening to show what is behind it. Then we go through your policy with you and tell you what applies.

Yes, and many people do. The Florida OPPAGA report found an average payout of $2,029 for policyholders who did, against $17,187 with a public adjuster. Averages, not a promise. If you have already filed and the number looks low, we can step in at any point.

Yes. We can step in on an open claim, a low offer, or a denial. The earlier the better, but there is no wrong stage to call.

Within 10 days of signing any public adjuster's contract you can cancel without penalty (626.854(7), quoted under Cost). After that it depends on the contract you signed. Call us and we read it with you before you do anything.

File a supplemental claim. The first check is the insurer's opinion of the damage, not the end of the claim. We inspect, document what the first estimate left out, and submit the difference. The fee on a supplemental claim is capped at 20 percent of what the supplement pays, never of what you were already paid.

“Compensation for the reopened or supplemental claim may not exceed 20 percent of the reopened or supplemental claim payment.”

Florida Statute 626.854(11)(a)

Often, yes. A denial is a letter, not a verdict. Most say the damage is wear and tear, or gradual, or pre-existing, or reported late. Each of those is an evidence question, and a denial written from a short visit can be answered with a full inspection. Send us the denial letter and we tell you what we see.

Not always. If the repairs uncovered more damage, or the first estimate missed something, a supplemental claim may still be open to you. The deadline depends on your date of loss and your policy. Call with the dates and we check.

The four we see most: wear and tear (an old roof, so the storm damage on it is ignored), gradual damage (a sudden leak called a long term one), pre-existing damage, and late notice. All four are arguments about evidence. Photos at the damage point, instrument readings, the plumber's report and the storm record are what answer them.

10 percent, for claims made in the year after the Governor's state of emergency declaration for that storm. After that year, 20 percent.

“Ten percent of the amount of insurance claim payments or settlements, exclusive of attorney fees and costs, paid to the insured by the insurer for claims based on events that are the subject of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor. This provision applies to claims made during the year after the declaration of emergency. After that year, the limitations in subparagraph 2. apply.”

Florida Statute 626.854(11)(b)1

Stay safe first. Then: tarp the roof and board what is open, so the damage stops spreading. Photograph everything, inside and out, before anything is cleaned up. Keep every receipt, including the tarp and the hotel. Do not sign a contractor's paperwork on the driveway. Then call us, and we can be there when the insurer's adjuster comes.

After a declared hurricane you also have extra protection from cancellation while you repair: the insurer may not cancel or nonrenew “for a period of 90 days after the dwelling or residential property has been repaired, if such property has been damaged as a result of a hurricane or wind loss that is the subject of the declaration of emergency” (627.4133(2)(e)1).

Yes. Wind damage is usually on your homeowner policy. Flood, water rising from outside, is usually a separate policy. Water from a broken pipe or a roof leak is a water claim under the homeowner policy. One storm can produce all three, and they get filed to the right policy. Hurricane claims, water and flood claims.

It depends on the policy and on what caused the mold. Many Florida policies cover mold that results from a covered water loss, up to a stated limit, and exclude mold from long term neglect. The limit and the wording are in your policy. We read it and tell you what applies before anything is filed. Mold and roof leak claims.

Sometimes. They fall under other structures on most policies, and some Florida policies limit or exclude screened enclosures for wind. It is one of the first things we look for in the policy, because the answer changes the claim by a lot.

Many Florida homeowner policies include loss of use or additional living expense coverage for the time the home cannot be lived in. Whether yours does, and up to what limit, is in your policy. Keep every receipt from the first night; the claim starts then.

Florida only, statewide. Office: 2719 Hollywood Blvd Suite 5686, Hollywood, FL 33020. Phone: (904) 822-9122.