Is It Covered? The Answer Is Not Where You Think It Is.

You’re Standing in It Right Now

Something happened. Or something’s been happening and you finally noticed.

The ceiling is stained. The floor is soft. There’s mold in the corner of the bathroom you keep meaning to deal with. A pipe let go and you shut the water off and now you’re standing there with a wet floor and a phone in your hand, wondering whether this is worth calling anybody about.

And the question you’re really asking is: am I about to be told no?

Because you’ve heard the stories. Everybody has. You call the insurance company, and they find a reason, and now you’ve got a claim on your record and nothing to show for it.

So you’re doing exactly what you should be doing. You’re finding out first.

Here Is What Your Policy Actually Says

Almost every Florida homeowners and renters policy covers sudden and accidental damage. It does not cover gradual deterioration — wear and tear, age, maintenance you didn’t do.

That is the entire line. Everything turns on which side of it your loss falls on.

And here is the part that matters:

Most losses do not arrive with a label. A pipe that failed inside a wall was sudden — but the water may have been running for weeks before anyone saw it. A mold problem is gradual — but the water event that caused it happened on a specific day, and that day is covered. A roof that leaks during a storm is a storm claim — unless the carrier can call it an old roof.

The same damage can be a covered loss or an excluded one, depending entirely on how it is documented and described.

The insurance company understands this perfectly. They employ people whose full-time job is to describe your loss in the way that costs them the least.

You get one shot at describing it, and you’ll do it in a phone call, with no preparation, to a stranger who is writing down what you say.

What You Say First Can Decide What It’s Worth

There is a right way and a costly way to put a loss on the record.

Most people never learn which one they used until it’s already done — until the file is built, the words are written down, and the carrier’s position is set around them.

We are not going to tell you what to say. We are going to say it for you.

That is the job. Before you call your insurance company — call us. It costs nothing to find out where you actually stand.

The Losses People Ask About Most

It Costs You Nothing to Find Out

A public adjuster is paid a percentage of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, nothing is owed. There is no out-of-pocket cost, no consultation fee, no retainer.

Five minutes on the phone tells you whether there’s a claim in it. There usually is.

Florida’s Deadlines Are Shorter Than People Think

There are hard statutory windows for filing, reopening, and supplementing a property claim. They start running from the date of loss — not from the day you noticed.

If the water event was months ago and you’re only now seeing mold, the clock has been running the whole time.

Robert Mack · Licensed Florida Public Adjuster

In the insurance industry since 1991. Lic. #A161638. SPPA · AIC · AIC-M.
Public Loss Adjusters, LLC — serving Florida policyholders since 2019. Based in Montverde, Central Florida.

We work only for policyholders. Never for an insurance company.

★ 4.8 Google reviews · No recovery, no fee

Coverage Questions People Ask

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage?

Sudden and accidental water damage is generally covered. Gradual damage — a slow leak, deterioration, poor maintenance — generally is not. The same event can be characterized either way, depending on how it’s documented. That is the whole fight, and it is decided in the first few days.

Does homeowners insurance cover a burst pipe?

Yes — a pipe that fails suddenly is a classic covered loss. But the pipe is the small part. The claim is the water: the drywall, the flooring, the framing, the insulation. And the cost of getting to the pipe — cutting the slab, opening the floor — is frequently covered too, and frequently never claimed.

Does homeowners insurance cover broken pipes under a slab?

Often, yes — including the access. Breaking the slab to reach the pipe is expensive, and access coverage exists precisely for that. Whether the pipe itself is paid depends on why it failed; the damage the water caused is a separate question, and it is usually the bigger one.

Does homeowners insurance cover a roof leak?

It depends on why the roof leaked. Storm damage is covered. “Age” and “wear and tear” are the carrier’s favorite words — and whether they apply is a matter of evidence, not opinion. This is the most contested claim in Florida.

Is mold covered by homeowners insurance?

Mold is almost never the claim itself. Something leaked — a pipe, a roof, an AC line — and mold is what grew out of it. That water event is the covered loss. Most people look at mold, think maintenance, buy the bleach, and clean up a claim with a sponge.

Does homeowners insurance cover black mold damage?

The color doesn’t change the analysis. What matters is the water event behind it and whether it was sudden and accidental. The mold is the consequence. The leak is the claim.

Does renters insurance cover mold?

Yes. Renters are collecting up to $10,000 for mold. Most renters never file, because they assume the apartment is the landlord’s problem — but the mold is damaging their belongings and their habitability, and their policy responds to that.

Does renters insurance cover water damage?

Yes — a renters policy covers your contents. If the unit upstairs flooded and it came through your ceiling, that is your claim, not just the building’s.

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage from a washing machine?

A supply hose that lets go is sudden and accidental — a covered loss. And it is one of the most common water claims there is. The water goes under the flooring and into the wall, and the visible damage is a fraction of the real damage.

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage from a dishwasher?

If it failed suddenly, generally yes. If it leaked slowly for a year and nobody noticed, the carrier will argue gradual damage — and whether that argument holds depends entirely on how the loss is documented.

Does homeowners insurance cover a toilet overflow or bathtub overflow?

Sudden overflow is typically covered. The claim isn’t the water on the floor — it’s what went under it: the subfloor, the joists, the ceiling of the room below, and the mold that comes six months later.

Does homeowners insurance cover a water heater leak?

A water heater that gives out suddenly is a covered event. The tank itself may or may not be paid — but the water damage to the garage, the drywall, and the flooring is the real claim.

Does homeowners insurance cover AC water damage?

Frequently, yes — and almost nobody claims it. A condensate drain line backs up, the pan overflows, and the homeowner calls the AC company, who clears the line for $150 and leaves. The AC problem got fixed. The water damage was never claimed by anyone. Insurance paid $8,000 on one of these.

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage from a sewer backup?

It depends on your endorsements — sewer backup is often a separate coverage. But the resulting damage, the contamination cleanup, and the tear-out are frequently covered, and the amounts are large.

Does homeowners insurance cover plumbing issues?

Not the plumbing itself — a policy is not a maintenance contract. But the damage a plumbing failure causes is a different question entirely, and that’s where the money is. People conflate the two and never file.

Does homeowners insurance cover cast iron pipes?

The pipe itself is usually disputed as wear and tear. The resulting damage often is not — the water, the tear-out, the access, the flooring, the mold. Any Florida house built before 1975 likely has cast iron, and it is failing statewide right now.

Does homeowners insurance cover smoke damage?

Yes — and the fire is not the claim. The smoke is. It gets into the ductwork, the walls, the fabric, and the clothes in a closet three rooms away. Insurance paid $11,000 on a kitchen fire.

Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage?

Standard homeowners policies exclude flood — that’s a separate flood policy. But a great deal of what people call “flooding” isn’t flood at all: a burst pipe, an overflow, a roof leak, an AC backup. Those are water damage, and water damage is covered.

Should I call my insurance company first?

How you describe the loss in that first call goes on the record permanently, and it can decide what the claim is worth. There is a right way and a costly way, and most people find out which they used after it’s already written down. Call us first. It costs nothing.

What does a public adjuster cost?

Nothing out of pocket. A percentage of what is recovered. No recovery, no fee.