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Guide

Florida rules that touch water damage jobs

A short tour of the Florida laws that tend to surface after water gets into a house. Each rule links to the statute on the Florida Senate website. Laws change, so read the linked text and ask a licensed professional about your own situation.

The notice clock for a claim

Section 627.70132 puts a time limit on telling an insurer about a loss. A new claim or a reopened claim is barred unless the insurer received notice, in the way the policy requires, within one year after the date of loss.

A supplemental claim gets a longer window. That means added loss from the same peril after the insurer already adjusted a claim. Notice must come within 18 months after the date of loss.

After a hurricane, tornado, windstorm, severe rain or similar weather event, the date of loss is the day the hurricane made landfall or the day the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration verified the event.

Reporting a loss to the insurer is its own step, apart from calling a contractor about the water. Your policy may spell out how notice must be given.

Limits on what a contractor may do

Section 489.147 is titled prohibited property insurance practices. It lists things a contractor may not do, directly or indirectly. These items are the ones most likely to matter after water damage.

  • Offering a rebate, gift, gift card, cash, coupon, deductible waiver or other thing of value in exchange for a roof inspection or a roof damage claim. This item is about roofs, and a leaking roof is a common start of water inside a house.
  • Interpreting policy provisions, advising an insured about coverages or duties, or adjusting a claim for the insured, unless the contractor holds a public adjuster license under part VI of chapter 626.
  • Giving an insured a repair agreement without a good faith, itemized and detailed estimate of cost for repairs made under a property insurance claim.
  • Offering, delivering, receiving or accepting any compensation, inducement or reward for referring services for which property insurance proceeds are payable. This is paragraph (2)(c).

Paragraph (2)(c) closes with a sentence about payments made to a contractor for roofing services rendered. Read the full paragraph at the source instead of relying on this summary.

The section also covers roof claim advertising and roof contract notices. Those parts are not summarized here.

Assigning your claim to a contractor

An assignment of benefits passes your right to be paid under the policy to the company that does the work. Section 627.7152 now closes that door for newer policies.

A policyholder may not assign post-loss benefits under a residential or commercial property policy issued on or after January 1, 2023. An attempt to do so is void, invalid and unenforceable. Subsection (11) lists exceptions, such as a power of attorney under chapter 709 and liability coverage.

For policies issued from July 1, 2019 up to that date, the section still sets written terms for an assignment agreement. They include a right to rescind and a copy to the insurer within three business days.

An assignment agreement does not hand the contractor authority to adjust, negotiate or settle a claim unless the contractor is authorized to do so under part VI of chapter 626. The issue date is printed on your policy.

Mold has its own license

Mold-related services are licensed under chapter 468, part XVI. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses mold assessors and mold remediators, per section 468.8414.

Section 468.8411 defines both jobs by mold growth of more than 10 square feet.

Under section 468.8419, a person may not perform or offer mold assessment or mold remediation without following the part. The titles licensed mold assessor and licensed mold remediator are restricted the same way. A company that assessed a structure may not remediate it within the next 12 months, with an exception for certified Division I contractors.

Check any license number on the DBPR license search.

Permits depend on your address

Whether work needs a permit depends on the job and the address. Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie have their own building departments. White City and Lakewood Park are unincorporated, so ask St. Lucie County which office handles your permit. Jensen Beach is in Martin County, so ask Martin County.

St. Lucie County's permitting pages and storm and disaster permitting page are the places to start. Ask the contractor who will pull the permit.

A short list before work begins

  1. Check the license

    Look up the firm on the DBPR license search. For mold work, look for the mold license.

  2. Read the paperwork

    Look for any form that assigns your insurance benefits, and read it before you sign.

  3. Ask about the permit

    Ask whether the job needs one and who pulls it.

  4. Keep your own records

    Photos, dates and copies of what you signed stay with you.

What this website does and does not do

This website does not help with insurance claims. It does not interpret policies or advise on coverage. For anything about a claim, contact your insurer or a licensed public adjuster.

The number connects callers with an independent restoration contractor about the water in the house, and a call does not depend on an insurance claim. This page summarizes public statutes and is not legal advice.

Keep reading

Sources

Sources were consulted on November 5, 2026. Agency pages change, so check the source before relying on a detail.

Water is still moving. Make the call.

Dial the number and describe what happened. You are connected with an independent restoration contractor who serves your ZIP code.

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