What Is Bad Faith Insurance? A Florida Property Owner's Guide

What Is Bad Faith Insurance? A Florida Property Owner's Guide

You paid your premiums for years. Then a hurricane, a roof leak, or a burst pipe damaged your home, and your insurer responded with delays, lowball offers, or a flat denial. If you are asking "what is bad faith insurance?", you are probably already sensing that something about your claim is not right.

This guide explains what bad faith means in Florida, how to recognize it, and what you can do about it.

What Is Bad Faith Insurance in Florida?

Bad faith insurance is when an insurance company fails to handle your claim honestly and fairly, as the law and your policy require. Your policy is a contract. Under that contract, and under Florida law, your insurer must investigate promptly, communicate honestly, and pay what it owes.

Florida's main bad faith statute, section 624.155 of the Florida Statutes, allows policyholders to pursue a civil remedy when an insurer does not attempt in good faith to settle a claim when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so. Florida's unfair claim practices law, section 626.9541, also lists conduct insurers are prohibited from engaging in.

Not every denial is bad faith. An insurer can disagree with you about coverage or the amount of damage without breaking the law. Bad faith involves unreasonable conduct: ignoring evidence, misrepresenting your policy, or stalling without a legitimate reason.

Common Examples of Bad Faith in Property Damage Claims

Property owners in Florida most often tell us about patterns like these:

• Lowball offers. The insurer's estimate covers a fraction of the repair cost and ignores a contractor's detailed bid.
• Unexplained delays. Weeks pass with no adjuster visit, no updates, and no answers to your calls or emails.
• Denial without a real investigation. The claim is denied without inspecting the property or without reviewing your photos, invoices, or engineer report.
• Misrepresenting your coverage. The adjuster tells you something is excluded when the policy language says otherwise.
• Blaming "wear and tear" by default. Sudden storm damage is labeled old damage without supporting evidence.
• Requesting the same documents repeatedly. This stalls the claim and wears you down.
• Pressuring you to accept a quick, low settlement. You are told the offer is final, or that you will lose coverage if you hire help.
• Failing to explain the denial. You receive no clear written reason tied to specific policy language.

If any of this sounds familiar, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone.

What Florida Law Requires Insurers to Do

Florida sets deadlines that insurers must follow on residential property claims. Under section 627.70131, an insurer generally must:

• Acknowledge your claim communication within 7 days.
• Begin its investigation promptly and, if it needs a physical inspection, conduct it within a set period after proof of loss.
• Pay or deny your claim, in whole or in part, within 60 days after receiving notice of the claim, unless factors outside its control prevent it.

Deadlines apply to you too. Notice of a new or reopened claim must be given within strict time limits after the date of loss, and the time to file a lawsuit on a property claim is short. Waiting can cost you your rights, so do not assume you have unlimited time.

How to Build a Bad Faith Case: Document Everything

Bad faith claims are won on records. Start building yours now:

1. Keep every communication. Save emails, letters, claim portal messages, and texts. After any phone call, send a short email summarizing what was said.
2. Log dates. Write down when you reported the loss, when the adjuster came, and when you received each response.
3. Photograph and video the damage before repairs, and keep receipts for emergency mitigation such as tarps and water extraction.
4. Get independent estimates. Written bids from licensed contractors, and an engineer or public adjuster report where appropriate, show the gap between your insurer's number and the real cost.
5. Request the claim file and a written explanation of any denial or reduction, citing the exact policy provisions.
6. Do not sign a release or cash a "final" payment without understanding what rights you are giving up.

Patterns matter. A single missed call is a mistake. Months of silence, shifting reasons for denial, and ignored evidence start to look like bad faith.

The Civil Remedy Notice and Your Legal Options

In Florida, a bad faith claim under section 624.155 generally requires a formal step first: filing a Civil Remedy Notice with the Florida Department of Financial Services. The notice must describe the violation and the policy language involved. Your insurer then has 60 days to fix the problem, which usually means paying what is owed.

Two points matter here. First, a bad faith claim usually cannot go forward until the underlying coverage dispute is resolved, meaning you must first establish that the insurer owed you benefits. Second, Florida's recent property insurance reforms changed the rules, including the removal of one-way attorney's fees for many policyholders and new limits on when bad faith claims can be brought. These changes make it more important to have the right strategy from day one.

Depending on your facts, your options may include a breach of contract suit for unpaid benefits, appraisal, mediation through the Department of Financial Services, and a bad faith action for additional damages. Which path fits depends on your policy, your documents, and your deadlines.

Why Talking to a Property Insurance Lawyer Early Matters

Insurance companies have teams of adjusters, engineers, and attorneys. Homeowners usually have a kitchen table and a stack of paperwork. That imbalance is why early legal help makes a difference.

At Louis Law Group, we review your policy, the denial or offer, and your evidence to determine whether your insurer is simply wrong or is acting in bad faith. We handle the communication with the insurer, help you meet deadlines, and push for the full amount of your loss, not a fraction of it.

Louis Law Group focuses on property damage insurance claims in Florida, including storm, water, and roof damage. If you have been told no, or offered far less than your repairs will cost, you do not have to accept that answer. Your next step is to understand where you stand, and the sooner you do, the more options you keep.

If your Florida property damage claim was denied or underpaid, Louis Law Group fights for your full compensation. Call us for a free case review.