Loss of Use Coverage in Florida
If a covered loss has put you out of your home — or the insurer has stopped paying for somewhere to stay while you are still out — that is a coverage you are entitled to, and it is one of the easiest to lose without noticing.
Florida property insurance claims: the deadlines and the fee cap
- Notice of a claim
- Under Fla. Stat. §627.70132, a property insurance claim or reopened claim is barred unless notice was given to the insurer within 1 year after the date of loss. A supplemental claim is barred unless notice was given within 18 months after the date of loss. — Fla. Stat. §627.70132(2)
- Time to bring a court action
- An action for breach of a property insurance contract must be brought within 5 years, running from the date of loss. This is a separate clock from the notice deadline, and §627.70132(5) states that the notice statute does not affect it. — Fla. Stat. §95.11(2)(e)
- What a public adjuster may charge
- A public adjuster’s compensation is capped at 20 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 the cap is 10 percent, and that limit applies to claims made during the year after the declaration of emergency. — Fla. Stat. §626.854(11)(b)
- Which deadline applies to you
- Which of these applies to your claim depends on your policy and your date of loss.
Public Loss Adjusters, LLC — Robert Mack, Florida public adjuster, Lic. #A161638. The review is free and carries no obligation. Call 352-353-4556.
Robert Mack — Public Loss Adjusters, LLC
Florida Public Adjuster License #A161638 · SPPA · AIC · AIC-M · CCC
How much time is left on your claim?
Florida law puts clocks on property insurance claims. Enter when the damage happened and where your claim stands.
For a hurricane, tornado, windstorm or other weather event, Florida sets the date of loss by statute — the date the hurricane made landfall, or the date the event is verified by NOAA (Fla. Stat. §627.70132(3)).
Answer the questions above to see your deadline.
Free review. No recovery, no fee.
Florida law sets a separate five-year period for lawsuits on a property insurance policy (Fla. Stat. §95.11(2)(e)). A Florida attorney can confirm how it applies to you.
Condominium and HOA loss assessment claims run on a different clock — the later of 1 year from the loss or 90 days after the association votes the assessment, and never more than 3 years (Fla. Stat. §627.70132(4)). This calculator does not cover those. Call and we will work it out with you.
Robert Mack, Licensed Public Adjuster, Lic. #A161638. Deadlines depend on your policy and date of loss. This is general information, not legal advice. Notice deadlines: Fla. Stat. §627.70132 — 1 year from the date of loss for a new or reopened claim, 18 months for a supplemental claim.
What happens next
- You call. One conversation, and you will know whether there is anything here worth looking at further.
- A free policy and loss review. We read the policy you actually hold and look at what was actually lost. No cost, no obligation.
- We deal with the insurer. If there is a claim, we take it from there. No recovery, no fee.
What clients say
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5 across 11 Google reviews
“I came here especially to thank Robert and write a review for him (he didn’t ask me to)”
“It will seem like they are helping you out with a claim, but PLA pointed out how they were cutting corners and not paying what is really due.”
“This company was on top of my issue from the moment I called to the very end.”
“As it turned out, I didn’t use Robert. But he put in the time and effort to visit me and provide me with solid information and guidance should the insurance company not be responsive.”
Licensed Florida public adjuster — we work for you, not the insurer. Serving Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties.
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What loss of use is meant to do
Most property policies contain it. In a homeowners policy it usually sits under Coverage D; renters and condo-unit policies carry their own version. Its job is simple: when a covered loss makes your home unfit to live in, the policy is supposed to pay for you to live somewhere else and for the extra cost of doing so.
It is not a favour and it is not discretionary. It is coverage you already paid for.
Where it quietly goes wrong
Loss of use is the coverage people are least likely to know they have, and the one most likely to stop before the house is ready. It rarely fails with a letter that says no. It fails by running out, or by being set at a level that was never questioned, or by ending on a date that had more to do with the file than with your home.
Most people find out only when the payments stop, and by then the decision is already on the record and hard to unwind. That is the gap. It is not that anybody argued badly — it is that nobody on the file was working for them.
The practical version: if you are displaced, or about to be, talk to us before you agree to an amount or an end date. You do not need to know what your policy should pay — knowing that is the job you are hiring for.
Renters and condo owners
A renters policy covers none of the building, and tenants often assume that means it does nothing for them when the building is damaged. It usually includes loss of use. Condo-unit owners sit in a similar position, with the added question of where the association's master policy stops and theirs starts. Both groups are routinely displaced by a loss that was nothing to do with them.
We work for you, not the insurance company
A public adjuster works for the policyholder. We read your policy against what is actually being paid, re-document what the loss has cost you, and handle the negotiation. The insurer's adjuster is competent and is doing a job — it is just not your job.
The clock, on both sides
Florida sets deadlines on the insurer as well as on you. Under Fla. Stat. 627.70131 it must acknowledge your communication within 7 days, begin investigating within 7 business days of receiving proof of loss, carry out any physical inspection within 30 days, and pay or deny within 60 days. Your own deadline is separate: under Fla. Stat. 627.70132, notice of a new or reopened claim is generally due within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months.
- Florida-licensed public adjuster, License #A161638
- Robert Mack — SPPA, AIC, AIC-M
- In the insurance industry since 1991. Public Loss Adjusters, LLC established 2019.
- PO Box 560404, Montverde, FL 34756 — on site across Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties
- The review is free and carries no obligation
What we will never do: promise you an outcome, tell you what your claim is worth before anyone has looked at it, or ask you to overstate a loss. Any adjuster who does is a risk to you, not an asset.
Loss of use questions
What is loss of use coverage?
It is the part of a property policy that pays for somewhere to live, and for the extra costs of living there, when a covered loss makes your home unfit to stay in. In most homeowners policies it sits under Coverage D; renters and condo policies carry their own version. What it actually covers in your case depends on your policy wording, which is worth having read properly. Call 352-353-4556 for a free review.
Is loss of use the same as additional living expenses?
Close, and people use the terms interchangeably. Loss of use is the coverage; additional living expenses, or ALE, is the main thing it pays. The distinction matters less than what your policy actually says about limits and how long it runs. Call 352-353-4556 and we will read it with you.
The insurer stopped paying while I am still out of my home. Is that allowed?
It depends entirely on your policy's limit and time period, and on what has been documented about why you are still displaced. This is one of the most common places a claim quietly goes wrong, and it is usually not obvious to the policyholder that anything is wrong at all. Call 352-353-4556 before you accept that it is over.
Do renters get loss of use too?
Usually, yes. A renters policy typically includes loss of use even though it covers none of the building. Tenants are the group least likely to know it is there, and least likely to be told. Call 352-353-4556 for a free review.
What does this cost me?
The review is free. If we take the claim, the fee is a percentage of the claim payment, capped by Fla. Stat. 626.854 at 20% ordinarily and 10% for a claim arising from a declared state of emergency within the first year. No recovery, no fee. Call 352-353-4556.
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More: what to do when a claim is denied or underpaid · water damage insurance claim help · public adjusters in Central Florida · renters insurance claim help
Public Loss Adjusters, LLC — Florida-licensed public adjuster, License #A161638. PO Box 560404, Montverde, FL 34756. On-site representation in Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties; remote claim work statewide. No recovery, no fee; fees are capped under Florida law. This page is educational and is not legal advice, not a guarantee of coverage, and not a promise of payment. Every claim turns on its own policy language and facts.