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Florida's 2022–2023 property insurance reforms explained
What Florida's 2022-2023 property insurance laws changed for policyholders: attorney fees, assignment of benefits, claim deadlines, roof rules, grants.
Florida's reforms did two things at once: they made it harder and less profitable to sue a property insurer, and they gave policyholders firmer claim-handling deadlines and some limits on underwriting by roof age. The package came in four steps, a May 2022 special session (SB 2-D and SB 4-D), a December 2022 special session (SB 2-A), and 2023 follow-up laws (HB 837 and SB 7052). If you bought or renewed a policy after December 2022, most of the new rules apply to you.
The timeline in one table
| Law | Signed | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| HB 7065 (2019) | May 23, 2019 | First limits on assignments of benefits |
| SB 76 (2021) | June 11, 2021 | Presuit notice, shorter attorney-fee formula, Citizens rate glide path |
| SB 2-D (2022) | May 26, 2022 | Roof deductible option, roof-age underwriting rule, state reinsurance layer, mitigation funding |
| SB 4-D (2022) | May 26, 2022 | Roof repairs: only the repaired part of a roof built to the 2007 code or later must meet current code |
| SB 2-A (2022) | December 16, 2022 | Ended one-way attorney fees in property suits, banned AOBs, cut claim notice windows, set 7/30/60-day claim clocks |
| HB 837 (2023) | March 24, 2023 | Repealed the one-way fee statutes for all lines; changed negligence rules |
| SB 7052 (2023) | May 31, 2023 | Insurer accountability: higher fines, no cancellation during an open claim, rate filings must reflect reform savings |
The dates and section numbers come from the Florida Senate bill pages and the Florida Statutes (2026 edition on Online Sunshine).
Attorney fees and assignment of benefits
One-way attorney fees. Before the reform, a policyholder who sued and won any judgment against a property insurer could recover attorney fees from the insurer, while an insurer that won paid its own. Supporters said that evened a lopsided fight. Critics, including OIR and the insurance industry, said it rewarded lawsuits over small disputes and fueled solicitation by contractors and lawyers. SB 2-A ended fee awards under the old statutes for property suits on December 16, 2022, and HB 837 repealed those statutes generally in March 2023. Fees now come only through sanctions for frivolous claims or the offer-of-judgment statute, which SB 2-A reinstated for property suits. For policies issued or renewed after the effective date, you pay your own lawyer unless a court sanctions the other side.
Assignment of benefits. An AOB let a roofer or water mitigation company take over your claim rights after the loss. SB 2-A voided any assignment of post-loss benefits under a residential or commercial property policy issued on or after January 1, 2023 (Fla. Stat. 627.7152(13)). Exceptions cover a subsequent purchaser of the property and powers of attorney. Contractors can still do the work and collect from you, but they cannot step into your shoes to sue the insurer.
The honest case on each side: Supporters point to the volume of AOB-driven suits before the change. But without a fee-shifting rule, a homeowner with a $9,000 dispute may find that no lawyer will take the case. The reform changed that math, and Guy Carpenter's June 2026 Florida renewal report says property litigation has fallen roughly 66% from its peak.
Claim handling and deadlines
SB 2-A shortened the clocks on both sides. These apply to residential claims under Fla. Stat. 627.70131 and 627.70132, as read in the 2026 statutes.
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Insurer acknowledges your claim communication | 7 calendar days (from March 1, 2023) |
| Insurer begins investigating after proof of loss | 7 days |
| Physical inspection, if needed | 30 days after proof of loss |
| Insurer sends you any detailed adjuster estimate | 7 days after it is generated |
| Insurer pays or denies | 60 days after notice (was 90), plus up to 30 more if OIR declares an emergency |
| You give notice of a new or reopened claim | 1 year from the date of loss (was 2) |
| You give notice of a supplemental claim | 18 months (was 3 years) |
| You sue | 5 years from the date of loss for a property policy (Fla. Stat. 95.11) |
For weather events, the date of loss is the hurricane's landfall or the NOAA-verified event date, which means a hurricane claim clock starts on landfall even if you discover the damage later. A supplemental claim is for damage you found, or costs that came to light, after the first payment. Late payments earn interest.
Before suing, you must file a notice of intent through the Department of Financial Services at least 10 business days ahead, and the insurer has 10 business days to respond. The state also runs free mediation for residential disputes of $500 or more after the deductible, where the insurer pays the $350 fee. See deadlines to sue over a home insurance claim and state mediation programs for homeowners claims.
SB 2-A also changed bad-faith claims on property policies. You cannot bring a statutory bad-faith action until a court has found that the insurer breached the contract and a final judgment is entered (Fla. Stat. 624.1551). Accepting an offer of judgment or being paid an appraisal award does not count. And OIR may sanction an insurer that, as a general business practice, forces appraisal without just cause, even barring it from invoking appraisal for up to two years.
Roofs
Roofs were the largest claim category in the litigation, so several provisions target them.
- Roof age. For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, an insurer may not refuse to write or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is under 15 years old. For a roof 15 or more years old, the insurer must allow an inspection by an authorized inspector at your expense, and it may not refuse solely for roof age if the inspection shows five or more years of remaining useful life (Fla. Stat. 627.7011(5)). See roof age limits: when insurers won't cover an old roof.
- Roof deductible. An insurer may add a separate roof deductible of up to the lesser of 2% of Coverage A or 50% of roof replacement cost, if it gives you a premium credit. It does not apply to hurricane roof losses, total losses under the valued-policy law, or tree falls that puncture the deck. You can opt out in writing. Until you pay the roof deductible, the insurer may limit roof payment to actual cash value.
- 25% rule. SB 4-D means that if you repair or replace 25% or more of a roof that was built or replaced to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, only the repaired portion needs to meet current code (Fla. Stat. 553.844(5)).
- Contractor solicitation. Roofers who encourage you to file a claim must disclose that you pay the deductible and that waiving it is insurance fraud.
Money for insurers and for mitigation
SB 2-D created Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders (RAP), a state reimbursement layer that insurers received at no premium for one year in exchange for reducing rates. HB 5013 (2025) cut the authorized transfers from $2 billion to $900 million. SB 2-A's Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance program for 2023 was repealed in 2025.
The mitigation side is My Safe Florida Home. As of 2026, free inspections are open to owner-occupied, homestead, site-built single-family homes. Grants require insured value of $700,000 or less, a home built before 2008 and an initial inspection within 24 months, and since June 26, 2026 are limited permanently to low- and moderate-income owners. The state pays $2 for every $1 from the homeowner up to $10,000, with no match for low-income applicants. Eligible work includes opening protection, roof-to-wall connections, roof-deck attachment, secondary water resistance and roof covering. The program's own site may lag the statute, so confirm current rules at mysafeflhome.com. Insurers must still offer discounts for wind-resistant features, which a wind mitigation inspection documents.
What the reforms did not do
- They did not cap rates. OIR still reviews filings, and your premium depends on your insurer's filing.
- They did not change what a policy covers. Hurricane deductibles, flood exclusions and sinkhole rules are the same. See hurricane and named-storm deductibles explained.
- They did not stop an insurer from nonrenewing a home. The roof-age rule is narrow, and a nonrenewal still needs 120 days' notice. After SB 7052, an insurer may not cancel a property policy during an open claim until the earlier of repairs being completed or one year after the final payment.
What to do with this
- Calendar your deadlines the day you discover damage: one year for notice, with a landfall date for hurricanes.
- Send claim communications in writing and keep copies. The 7-day, 30-day and 60-day clocks start from documented dates; how to file a homeowners insurance claim shows how.
- If you disagree with the payment, ask for the adjuster's estimate (due within 7 days of generation) and consider DFS mediation before litigation.
- Do not sign an assignment or authorization that purports to hand your claim to a contractor.
- For a dispute over a large amount, talk to a licensed Florida attorney early. The fee rules make the first consultation matter more than before.
Key takeaways
- One-way attorney fees ended for property suits on December 16, 2022 and were repealed generally in March 2023. Assignments of benefits are void for policies issued on or after January 1, 2023.
- The claim clocks are now 7 days to acknowledge, 30 to inspect and 60 to pay or deny, with one year to give notice of a new claim and 18 months for a supplemental claim.
- An insurer cannot refuse to write or renew solely for roof age if the roof is under 15 years old, or if an older roof has at least five years of life left.
- My Safe Florida Home grants of up to $10,000 now go only to low- and moderate-income homestead owners.
- Reforms changed lawsuits and deadlines, not coverage terms or rate approval.