Florida Public Adjuster for Hurricane, Water, and Short Pays

Florida public adjuster

Your claim, not the carrier’s first number.

A Florida property claim starts moving as soon as the carrier opens a file, and the first estimate is not always the last word. American Financial Claims is a public adjusting firm. We represent the policyholder — the homeowner, condominium owner, association, or business — not the insurance company. Call (239) 444-8101 for a free claim review before you accept an offer or sit for a recorded statement. Still send notice on the schedule your policy requires. Talking with us does not replace that notice, and the review itself does not create a fee.

Florida losses are not one claim type.

Hurricane season is the loss people picture, but the files we see also start with a supply-line leak, a failed water heater, wind-lifted tile, smoke, or a roof that was already tired when the squall hit. Wind-driven rain through an opening the storm created is a different coverage question from rising floodwater. Many homeowners policies exclude flood. When both happened, the inspection has to separate them instead of dumping every stain into one excluded cause. The claim types we document most often are hurricane damage, wind, roof, water, plumbing, and fire and smoke.

A denial letter or a small actual-cash-value check is a position, not automatically the end of the policy. We compare the carrier estimate with photos, contractor scopes, and the forms on the declarations page. Matching of tile or siding, replacement cost versus depreciation, and ordinance or law items the building department will actually require are frequent gaps on underpaid claims and denied claims. We do not promise a dollar amount or a closing date. The outcome depends on the policy, the facts, and the documentation.

The coast, the interior, and the condo file.

The work is not the same from Pensacola to Key West. In Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach, high-rise and condominium claims often split between an association master policy and a unit-owner form. Interior finishes, betterments, and some loss assessments can sit on the HO-6 while the roof and common elements sit on the association file. Sorting those two scopes is half the claim.

Southwest Florida still carries hurricane and water files after the headline storm, including short pays in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Naples. Tampa Bay — Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Bradenton — mixes coastal wind with older roofs. Orlando and Lakeland see inland bands, hail, and rentals. Jacksonville and the Panhandle have their own wind patterns. Open the city page for the property.

Florida also changed how some repair assignments work. Do not sign away claim rights to a contractor before you understand the form in front of you. If you already signed something, bring it to the free review so we can read what it actually says. Commercial building damage and business-interruption documentation are a separate conversation from a house claim. We can look at both when the policy supports it. See commercial claims for how that file is built.

Licensing, stated plainly.

American Financial Claims works in 15 states where individual public-adjuster credentials are published. Florida is the home state. The firm license is G288962. Armando Ferrer’s Florida individual public adjuster license is W915694. A number on a website is not a live status check. Before we accept representation we confirm the license that applies, firm authorization, and whether we can take the file. The city links below are service areas. They are not a claim that we keep a storefront in every city. The firm’s published address is in Miami’s Brickell district. The full directory is on the licensing page.

What to have ready

Bring the declarations page, early photos, mitigation invoices, and the carrier estimate or denial. A phone full of pictures is enough to start. Any fee is in a written contract before you sign. For many Florida property claims, the contingency fee is capped — commonly 20 percent of what the insurer pays, and often 10 percent for a year after a declared emergency. For legal deadlines, speak with a Florida-licensed attorney. As orientation only, many policies use about one year for a new or reopened claim and 18 months for many supplements. Your form can be stricter.

Client-authorized examples are linked below: Jessica and Bryan in Bradenton at $175,000, a Tampa church windstorm at $345,000, and Arturo in Miami at $85,000. Past results are not a promise for your roof or unit.

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