Insurance Company Delaying My Claim: What Can I Do in Florida?

Insurance Company Delaying My Claim: What Can I Do in Florida?

If your insurance company is delaying your claim in Florida, you do not have to wait quietly. Florida law gives your insurer firm deadlines: it must acknowledge your claim within 7 calendar days and pay or deny it within 60 days of receiving notice. If those deadlines pass, send a written demand, document every contact, and file a Civil Remedy Notice with the Florida Department of Financial Services to start the clock on a bad-faith claim.

Know the Deadlines Florida Law Puts on Your Insurer

Delay is one of the most common tactics policyholders face, but Florida statutes do not leave the timeline to the insurer's discretion. Under Florida Statute 627.70131, a property insurer must:

• Acknowledge your claim within 7 calendar days of receiving any communication about it (unless it pays you within that window).
• Begin investigating within 14 days after you file a proof-of-loss statement, where required.
• Pay or deny the claim — in whole or in part — within 60 days of receiving notice of the claim, unless factors genuinely beyond the insurer's control prevent a decision. This 60-day deadline was tightened from the older 90-day rule in Florida's 2022–2023 property insurance reforms.

If the insurer pays late, the overdue amount automatically accrues interest from the date the claim was filed, at the rate the Florida Chief Financial Officer sets each quarter under Florida Statute 55.03. In other words, the law builds in a financial penalty for stalling.

Two things to understand about these rules. First, "deny in part" counts — an insurer cannot run out the clock by paying a token amount and sitting on the rest. Second, the 60-day window starts when the insurer has the information it reasonably needs, so insurers sometimes manufacture delay by repeatedly requesting "just one more document." Keep that tactic in mind as you build your record.

Document Everything and Push Back in Writing

The single most valuable thing you can do during a delay is create a paper trail. Adjusters change, files get "lost," and verbal promises evaporate. Written records do not.

Build a claim log. For every interaction, record the date, the name of the person you spoke with, their title, and exactly what was said or promised. Note every document the insurer requests and the date you sent it.

Move communication to email or letter. When an adjuster calls, follow up with a short email summarizing the call: "Confirming our conversation today — you stated the inspection report is complete and a decision will issue by [date]." This converts a vague phone promise into a dated written commitment.

Gather and keep copies of:

• Your full insurance policy, including the declarations page and all endorsements.
• Your original claim submission and any proof-of-loss form.
• All photos and video of the damage, dated.
• Repair estimates, invoices, and contractor reports.
• Every letter, email, and reservation-of-rights notice from the insurer.
• Receipts for additional living expenses or emergency repairs.

Send a written demand. If the insurer blows past a statutory deadline, send a dated letter (email plus certified mail) stating the claim number, the date of loss, the date you filed, and the specific deadline the insurer has missed. Ask for a written status and a decision by a date certain. A clear, professional demand frequently breaks a stalled claim loose on its own — and if it does not, it becomes evidence later.

File a Civil Remedy Notice to Trigger Bad-Faith Exposure

When delay crosses the line from slow to unreasonable, Florida gives policyholders a powerful tool: the Civil Remedy Notice (CRN).

Under Florida Statute 624.155 and the unfair claim settlement practices listed in Florida Statute 626.9541, an insurer can be liable for "bad faith" when it fails to settle a claim it could and should have paid, or otherwise handles the claim unfairly — including through unjustified delay. To pursue that remedy, you (or your attorney) file a CRN with the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) on the state's official form, available through the DFS Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com.

The CRN must state with specificity what the insurer did wrong and what it must do to fix it. Filing it does two important things:

1. It starts a 60-day cure period. The insurer has 60 days to pay the claim or correct the violation. If it does, no bad-faith lawsuit follows on that notice. If it does not, you have preserved your right to sue for bad faith — which can expose the insurer to damages beyond the policy limits, plus interest.
2. It signals you are serious. Many delayed claims resolve during the cure window precisely because the insurer now faces real financial risk.

A separate presuit step applies specifically to lawsuits on residential and commercial property policies. Under Florida Statute 627.70152, before you can sue your property insurer you must serve a written Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation on a DFS form, at least 10 business days before filing suit — and you cannot serve it until the insurer has made a coverage determination under 627.70131. This notice must itemize your damages and the disputed amount. It is a strict condition precedent, so getting the form, timing, and content right matters. This is one of the clearest points where having a Florida attorney prevents a fatal procedural mistake.

Escalate: Complaints, Appraisal, and Litigation

If documentation and a CRN do not move the insurer, several escalation paths remain.

File a complaint with the Florida Department of Financial Services. Any Florida policyholder can file a free consumer complaint with the DFS Division of Consumer Services (online at MyFloridaCFO.com or by calling the consumer helpline). DFS contacts the insurer for a response, and a regulator asking questions often accelerates a file that has been gathering dust. This is separate from a CRN and does not replace it.

Invoke the appraisal clause. Many Florida property policies contain an appraisal provision for disputes over the amount of loss (not whether coverage exists). Each side hires an independent appraiser, the two appraisers select a neutral umpire, and the panel sets the value. Appraisal can resolve a stalled dollar dispute faster and cheaper than a lawsuit — but read your policy's exact terms first, because some carriers have added conditions and deadlines to the clause.

Mind your lawsuit deadline. Do not let a long delay quietly run out your time to sue. In Florida, the statute of limitations on a breach of a written contract — which is what an insurance policy is — is 5 years. Separately, a claim or reopened claim is generally barred unless you gave the insurer notice within 1 year of the date of loss, with supplemental claims barred after 18 months (2022 reform timeframes). These windows are unforgiving; calendar them.

Consider hiring counsel. Insurers have teams of adjusters and lawyers. A policyholder attorney levels the field — handling the CRN, the 627.70152 presuit notice, appraisal demands, and, if needed, suit. Note that Florida's 2022–2023 reforms eliminated one-way attorney-fee awards for most property policies issued after the reform dates, so fee arrangements differ from the older rules; ask any attorney how they handle fees on your specific policy and loss date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long can an insurance company legally take to pay a claim in Florida? A: For property claims under Florida Statute 627.70131, the insurer must acknowledge your claim within 7 calendar days and pay or deny it within 60 days of receiving notice, absent circumstances genuinely beyond its control. Payment made after the 60-day deadline accrues interest automatically.

Q: What counts as "bad faith" delay by an insurer? A: Bad faith generally means the insurer failed to attempt a fair, prompt settlement of a claim it should have paid, or handled the claim unfairly — including through unreasonable or unexplained delay, lowball offers, or ignoring evidence. Florida Statutes 624.155 and 626.9541 govern these unfair claim settlement practices.

Q: Do I have to do anything before suing my property insurer in Florida? A: Yes. Florida Statute 627.70152 requires you to serve a written Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation on a Department of Financial Services form at least 10 business days before filing suit, and only after the insurer has made a coverage determination. Missing this step can get your lawsuit dismissed.

Q: Will filing a complaint with the state cost me anything? A: No. A consumer complaint with the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Consumer Services is free. It is separate from a Civil Remedy Notice, and many delayed claims start moving once a state regulator requests a response from the insurer.

Q: What is appraisal, and is it the same as a lawsuit? A: Appraisal is not a lawsuit. It is a process — built into many Florida property policies — for resolving disputes about the dollar amount of a covered loss. Each side picks an appraiser, a neutral umpire breaks ties, and the panel sets the value. It is usually faster and cheaper than litigation but only resolves amount disputes, not coverage denials.

Q: How long do I have to file a lawsuit against my insurer? A: An insurance policy is a written contract, so Florida's 5-year statute of limitations for breach of a written contract generally applies. But you must also have given timely notice of the claim — within 1 year of the date of loss under current Florida law — so do not delay on either deadline.

Talk to a Florida Attorney

If your insurer keeps stalling, you do not have to fight alone. The team at Louis Law Group handles delayed, denied, and underpaid insurance claims across Florida — including filing Civil Remedy Notices, serving the required presuit notice, demanding appraisal, and taking carriers to court when they refuse to pay what they owe.

See if you qualify for a free claim review, or call (833) 657-4812 to speak with a Florida insurance attorney today.

This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutory deadlines and reform provisions depend on your policy and your date of loss. For advice on your specific claim, consult a licensed Florida attorney.