Lightning and Power Surge Damage Claims
A strike does not have to hit the roof to cost you the contents of the house. If the claim has been denied, underpaid, or you have not filed yet, you can have someone on your side of it.
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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The damage is rarely where you are looking
A direct strike is the obvious case and the rare one. Far more often the current arrives through the wiring, the cable line or the ground, and what it kills is spread through the house: the air handler, the well pump, the garage door opener, the alarm panel, things nobody thinks of until weeks later.
That is what makes these claims awkward. The loss is real and it is large, but it is scattered, and a scattered loss is easy to under-scope.
Where it goes wrong
Two things decide most lightning and surge claims. Whether the failure gets attributed to the storm or to age and wear. And whether everything that actually stopped working ends up on the list at all.
Both are usually settled early, on the strength of how the loss was first described, and by the time anyone notices what was left out it is already on the record and hard to reopen. That is the gap. It is not that the homeowner argued badly — it is that nobody on the file was working for them.
The practical version: talk to us before the scope is set, not after. You do not need to know how to make the case — knowing that is the job you are hiring for. And if the claim has already come back denied or short, that is not the end of it either.
We work for you, not the insurance company
A public adjuster works for the policyholder. We re-document the loss, build an independent scope, read your policy against the carrier's position, 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.
Lightning and surge questions
My lightning claim was denied. Is that final?
No. A denial is the insurance company's position, not a ruling. On these claims it very often rests on the cause being attributed to age or wear rather than to the storm, and that is exactly the kind of finding that can be re-documented and re-presented. Call 352-353-4556 and we will tell you straight.
The payment did not cover everything that stopped working. Can it be reopened?
Often, yes. Florida allows supplemental claims, and on surge losses an underpayment is usually a scope problem rather than a coverage one - things simply never made it onto the list. There are deadlines, so it is worth finding out early. Call 352-353-4556.
Nothing was visibly burnt. Is there still a claim?
Possibly. Surge damage frequently leaves nothing to see; equipment just stops working, sometimes days later. Whether that is payable depends on your policy and on what can be established about the cause, which is what the free review is for. Call 352-353-4556.
I have not filed yet. Should I call first?
Yes, and this is the call people most often wish they had made. Once the loss has been described and recorded a certain way it is difficult to unwind. Call 352-353-4556 before you call your insurer.
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: does insurance cover lightning damage? · what to do when a claim is denied or underpaid · loss of use if you are put out of the house · public adjusters in Central Florida
If what died was the air conditioner, that is its own situation and it is usually treated as a repair bill rather than a claim: AC not working after lightning or an outage.
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.