Fire and Smoke Damage Claims
After a fire the visible damage is the part everyone agrees on. What gets argued is the smoke, the water used to put it out, and everything you could not take with you.
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.”
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A fire claim is three claims
There is the structure. There are your belongings, which on a fire loss is a very long list valued item by item. And there is the cost of living somewhere else while the house is unusable. Each is handled differently, each has its own limit, and it is entirely possible to settle one well and lose badly on the other two.
Smoke is where it gets difficult
Smoke and soot travel where the flames did not, and the damage is often contested precisely because it is not dramatic to look at. A room that was never alight can still be unusable. So can contents that look intact.
And the water used to put the fire out is part of the same loss, though it frequently gets treated as though it were separate or incidental.
The practical version: the scope of a fire claim is set early, while you are least able to give it attention. That is the moment it is worth having someone on your side of it — that is the job you are hiring for.
If you have been put out of the house
Loss of use should be paying for somewhere to live and for the extra cost of living there. It is the coverage most often allowed to run out early. Loss of use and ALE is a separate question worth asking about in its own right.
We work for you, not the insurance company
A public adjuster works for the policyholder. We re-document the loss across all three parts, build an independent scope, 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.
Fire and smoke questions
The fire was in one room. Why does the rest of the house matter?
Because smoke and soot do not stop at the room the fire was in, and neither does the water used to put it out. Damage that is not dramatic to look at is the part most often left out of a scope. Call 352-353-4556 for a free review.
My smoke damage claim was denied. Is that final?
No. Smoke claims are contested more often than fire claims precisely because the damage is harder to see, and a denial is a position rather than a ruling. Call 352-353-4556 and we will tell you straight.
What about everything inside the house?
That is a claim in its own right, valued item by item, and it is where a great deal of the money is quietly lost. Call 352-353-4556 before the contents list is settled.
I cannot live in the house. Does the policy pay for that?
Usually there is a loss of use coverage meant to do exactly that. It carries its own limit and its own time period, and it is the one most often allowed to lapse early. Call 352-353-4556.
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: contents and personal property claims · loss of use if you are put out of the house · what to do when a claim is denied or underpaid · public adjusters in Central Florida
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.