See What Your Florida Claim Is Worth.
Answer a few quick questions about your property damage. We'll calculate an estimated claim value using current Florida market rates — and a licensed public adjuster will reach out to review your estimate, free of charge.
Which Types Of Damage Did You Have?
Select every damage type that applies. We'll only ask you questions about what you select — skip anything you don't have.
Select at least one damage type to continue.
Already Filed? See How We Fight Back
How Florida Insurance Claims Are Actually Calculated
Every Florida property insurance claim boils down to one number: replacement cost value (RCV). That's the dollar amount it would take to put your property back the way it was before the loss — using like-kind-and-quality materials at today's prices, with today's labor rates. Carriers calculate RCV using estimating software (Xactimate, Symbility, or proprietary platforms) that prices every line item: shingles per square, drywall per sheet, baseboards per linear foot, refrigerators by model.
From RCV, two deductions are made before you see a check: depreciation (calculated by age and condition of the damaged components) and your policy deductible (usually a flat dollar amount for non-hurricane losses, and a percentage of dwelling coverage for hurricane losses — often 2–10% of Coverage A). What remains is your actual cash value (ACV) payment. Once you complete repairs and submit receipts, the carrier owes the recoverable depreciation back to you — turning ACV into the full RCV recovery the policy actually promises.
Our calculator estimates the RCV side of that equation using current Tampa Bay and Florida-wide market rates. Carriers are notorious for underpricing line items (using 2019 labor rates in 2026, omitting code-upgrade requirements, missing entire damage categories like ceiling joists or attic insulation). That gap between what the policy owes and what the carrier offers is what a public adjuster gets paid to close.
What Factors Affect Your Claim's Value
Two homes with identical damage on the same street can settle for wildly different amounts. Here's why:
- Policy type (HO-3 vs HO-5 vs DP-3)HO-5 open-peril policies cover virtually everything not specifically excluded. HO-3 and DP-3 (landlord) only cover named perils on contents. Your policy form alone can swing a claim 20–40%.
- Replacement cost vs. actual cash value endorsementIf your roof is on ACV-only coverage (common for roofs over 10 years old after 2022 reforms), you’ll see depreciation eat 30–60% of the line item.
- Hurricane deductible vs. AOP deductibleA $300,000 home with a 5% hurricane deductible eats $15,000 off the top before the carrier pays a dollar. Knowing which deductible applies (named-storm vs. general) is the single biggest swing factor on storm claims.
- Age of components and depreciation scheduleCarriers depreciate roofs, HVAC, water heaters, and flooring on aggressive schedules. A 12-year-old roof might be depreciated 60–80% on the carrier’s estimate. We push back with manufacturer life-expectancy data.
- Code-upgrade coverage (Ordinance & Law)Florida Building Code requires specific upgrades during repair (hurricane straps, secondary water barrier, impact-rated openings). Without O&L coverage, you eat those costs. With it, the carrier owes them.
- Matching statute (§626.9744)Florida law requires carriers to replace undamaged surrounding materials when an exact match isn’t available — meaning a partial roof slope replacement often legally requires the whole roof, and a damaged kitchen cabinet often means replacing the entire run.
- Documentation qualityPre-loss photos, contractor estimates, moisture readings, drone roof scans, and licensed engineer reports can double or triple a carrier’s initial offer. Lack of documentation is the #1 reason claims get underpaid.
7 Signs Your Florida Claim Was Underpaid
If any of these match your situation, your payout is almost certainly less than what your policy actually owes:
- 01The carrier's estimate is dramatically lower than the contractor bid you got — and the line items don't match (missing rooms, missing trades, smaller measurements).
- 02Your settlement check arrived within 7 days of reporting — fast checks are usually low-ball checks designed to close the file before you notice what's missing.
- 03The carrier denied entire categories of damage ("wear and tear," "maintenance," or "pre-existing") without sending a qualified engineer to inspect.
- 04The estimate uses outdated unit prices (e.g. 2019–2021 Xactimate pricing in a 2026 claim) — Florida labor and material costs are up 35–60% since then.
- 05Code-upgrade items are missing — no secondary water barrier, no hurricane straps, no upgraded electrical to current code, even though Florida law requires them during repair.
- 06Matching statute is being violated — they paid for one slope of roofing, one wall of siding, or three cabinets when the materials are discontinued or visibly different from surrounding undamaged areas.
- 07Recoverable depreciation is buried in fine print — you got an ACV check and don't realize you're owed thousands more once repairs are complete.
See two or more on that list? Run your damage through the calculator above, then request a free review. Florida law gives you 3 years to dispute most carrier decisions — but the clock is already running.
Florida Insurance Claim Deadlines (2026)
Florida statutes set hard deadlines on every property claim. Miss them and you lose the right to recover — period, no exceptions, even if the damage is catastrophic and obviously covered.
1 year from date of loss (Fla. Stat. §627.70132). Reduced from 2 years by 2022/2023 legislative reforms — this is the most-missed deadline in Florida.
18 months from date of loss. If you discover additional damage after settling (common with roof and water claims), you must file the supplemental within this window.
2 years from date of loss to file a new claim. Supplemental and reopened claims must also fall within this window.
10 business days' pre-suit notice required before filing a lawsuit against your carrier (Fla. Stat. §627.70152) — separate from the underlying claim deadline.
60 days from receipt of a complete proof-of-loss (Fla. Stat. §627.70131(5)(a)). Past 60 days, statutory interest begins accruing on the unpaid amount.
No statutory deadline, but most policies require demand within a reasonable time after the dispute arises — usually within the underlying claim deadline window.
Citations: Fla. Stat. §§627.70131, 627.70132, 627.70152 (as amended through 2024). This is general guidance, not legal advice — your policy may contain stricter timelines.
The Most Common Florida Claim Types
The calculator above covers the ten damage categories we see most often in Tampa Bay. Here's what each one typically looks like and where carriers most often underpay:
Roof uplift, missing shingles, ridge cap loss, soffit blow-out, fascia separation, interior water from breached envelope. Almost always undervalued on first carrier estimate.
Hail, wind, fallen tree, lifted shingles. Florida's 2022 reforms made roof claims harder — but matching statute and code upgrades still drive significant recoveries.
Sudden discharge from supply lines, dishwasher hoses, water heaters, A/C condensate. Carriers love to deny these as "wear and tear" — fight back with plumber reports.
Capped at $10,000 on most Florida policies unless you have a mold endorsement. Often discovered weeks after the underlying water event.
Structural, contents, smoke odor, soot, and additional living expenses (ALE). Contents valuation is where most fire claims get underpaid by tens of thousands.
Reopening a denied claim, disputing a low ball offer, invoking appraisal, filing a Civil Remedy Notice. This is bread and butter for a public adjuster.
Bruised shingles, dented gutters, cracked skylights. Carriers often deny "cosmetic" hail — but hits to roof granules shorten useful life by years.
Rising water from storm surge or sustained rainfall. Covered under NFIP / private flood — not standard homeowners — and notoriously complex to document.
Claim Calculator FAQ
Is this Florida claim calculator accurate?+
The calculator uses current Florida market replacement-cost ranges for roof, water, wind, interior, and contents losses. It gives you a credible low–high range that's defensible against carrier estimates — but it's not a substitute for a licensed adjuster physically inspecting your property. Use it to sanity-check what the insurance company is offering you, then let us verify it with a free, no-obligation inspection.
Do I have to enter my contact info to see an estimate?+
Yes — we ask for your name, email, phone, and property address before revealing the dollar range. Why? Because the estimate is most useful when paired with a real adjuster review. Your info goes straight to Joe and Victoria (the licensed PAs on staff) — we never sell or share it.
Will Claim Beast file my claim or talk to my insurance company?+
Only if you hire us. The calculator and review are free. If you decide to retain Claim Beast as your public adjuster, we work on contingency — meaning we don't get paid unless you do. Florida law caps PA fees at 20% (10% on hurricane claims for the first year), and that's the only fee involved.
What if my claim was already denied or underpaid?+
That's exactly when this calculator is most valuable. If your carrier denied the claim or paid less than the calculator's low estimate, you almost certainly have grounds to dispute. Florida allows reopening claims, supplemental claims, and appraisal under most policies — we handle all three.
How long do I have to file a claim in Florida?+
For hurricane and windstorm claims, Florida law (§627.70132) gives you 1 year from the date of loss to file a new claim and 18 months to file a supplemental claim. For all other property claims, the deadline is generally 2 years. Miss those windows and your claim is barred forever — even if the damage is obvious.
Does the calculator work for commercial property claims?+
The current version is calibrated for residential homes and condos. Commercial claims (apartment buildings, retail, warehouses, HOAs) involve business interruption, code upgrades, and larger structural losses that need a custom estimate. Call us at (386) 747-9440 for a commercial review.
Why is the "Likely Recovery" number lower than the high estimate?+
The low–high range represents the full statistical band of what a claim like yours could settle for. The Likely Recovery (mid-55% of the range) is a realistic settlement target after typical carrier negotiation — what most Florida policyholders actually walk away with when they have a public adjuster fighting for them.
Free, no-obligation review by a Florida-licensed public adjuster. We'll tell you straight whether your carrier is fair — or leaving thousands on the table.