The right choice depends on the posture of your claim, because the two professionals hold different licenses and different powers. A public adjuster is a claims professional licensed by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) to document damage, prepare estimates, and negotiate with your insurer on your behalf. Their fee is capped by Fla. Stat. 626.854 at 20 percent of what the insurer pays, 10 percent for claims arising from a declared state of emergency, during the first year after the declaration. An attorney is the only professional who can advise you on what your policy means as a matter of law, serve the pre-suit notice of intent to litigate required by Fla. Stat. 627.70152, and file suit within the five-year deadline set by Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e).
Here is the working rule. If your claim is open, the insurer is engaging, and the disagreement is about scope and price, a public adjuster can be a sensible hire. If your claim has been denied, underpaid after negotiation has run its course, or stalled past the statutory response deadlines in Fla. Stat. 627.70131, the dispute has become a legal one, and only a lawyer can move it into the pre-suit notice and litigation channels where legal disputes get resolved. The roles are complementary, not competing. Public adjusters refer claims to lawyers when a claim has gone as far as their license allows, and we welcome those handoffs.
Findings Summary
- Public adjuster fees are capped at 20 percent of claim payments, or 10 percent for declared-emergency claims during the first year after the declaration. Fla. Stat. 626.854(11)(b).
- A public adjuster may not charge a fee on payments the insurer made before the adjuster’s contract was signed. Fla. Stat. 626.854.
- You may cancel a public adjuster contract without penalty within 10 days of signing; declared-emergency claims carry a longer window. Fla. Stat. 626.854.
- Only a licensed attorney can give legal advice, serve the notice of intent to litigate under Fla. Stat. 627.70152, or file and litigate a lawsuit.
- Some property-insurance matters may be handled on contingency, with the terms stated in a written agreement before work begins.
- Deadlines run regardless of who you hire: 1 year to give notice of a new claim and 18 months for supplemental claims (Fla. Stat. 627.70132); 5 years from the date of loss to file suit (Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e)).
- Contractors may not adjust or negotiate insurance claims for homeowners unless separately licensed as public adjusters. Fla. Stat. 626.854(16).
What a Public Adjuster Does
A public adjuster works the claim itself. They inspect the property, measure and photograph the damage, prepare a line-item estimate (usually in the same estimating software the insurer’s adjuster uses), file the claim documents, and negotiate scope and price with the carrier’s adjuster. For an owner who does not want to manage a claim file, that is real work taken off their plate, and good public adjusters are genuinely skilled at damage documentation and estimating.
Florida regulates the trade closely. Public adjusters are licensed through DFS, their contracts must follow statutory requirements, and Fla. Stat. 626.854 caps what they can charge: no more than 20 percent of the amounts the insurer pays on the claim, and no more than 10 percent when the claim arises from an event under a governor-declared state of emergency, for the first year after the declaration. Two consumer protections are worth knowing. First, a public adjuster cannot take a percentage of money the insurer already paid or committed before the contract was signed. Second, you can cancel the contract without penalty within 10 days of signing, and for declared-emergency claims, within 30 days of the date of loss or 10 days of signing, whichever is longer.
The limits matter as much as the powers. A public adjuster cannot tell you whether your denial letter misreads the policy, whether the exclusion the carrier cited actually applies, or whether the insurer’s conduct supports a statutory bad faith claim. Those are legal questions, and answering them for a fee is the practice of law. A public adjuster also cannot serve the pre-suit notice Florida requires before a lawsuit, and cannot file or litigate the suit itself. When negotiation fails, the public adjuster’s toolbox is empty by design, not because they lack skill, but because the license stops there. We explain how we handle those handoffs on our page for public adjusters.
What Only an Attorney Can Do
An attorney’s job begins where the claim becomes a dispute about rights rather than measurements. Only a lawyer can do the following:
- Interpret the policy as law. Whether an exclusion defeats coverage, whether the matching statute (Fla. Stat. 626.9744, which requires insurers to make repaired items such as tile or siding reasonably match the undamaged portions) applies to your floor, whether your loss falls on the replacement-cost or actual-cash-value side of Fla. Stat. 627.7011. These are legal questions with legal answers.
- Serve the notice of intent to litigate. Fla. Stat. 627.70152 requires a claimant to file a written notice of intent with DFS at least 10 business days before suing a property insurer. Courts dismiss suits filed without it. Preparing that notice (including the demand figure and the itemized dispute) is litigation work.
- File and prosecute the lawsuit. Discovery, depositions of the carrier’s adjusters and engineers, motions, trial. A suit on the policy must be filed within 5 years of the date of loss under Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e).
- Represent you at an examination under oath. An examination under oath (EUO) is sworn, transcribed questioning the policy allows the insurer to demand. What you say there is evidence. You are entitled to counsel; a public adjuster cannot act as your advocate in that room.
- Pursue statutory bad faith. If the insurer’s handling was unfair, Fla. Stat. 624.155 provides a civil remedy that begins with a formal civil remedy notice, and under Fla. Stat. 624.1551, a property insurance bad faith action requires an adverse adjudication against the insurer first. Sequencing that correctly is legal work from start to finish.
- Use fee-shifting tools. A properly served proposal for settlement under Fla. Stat. 768.79 can expose a carrier that rejects a reasonable number to paying attorney fees. Only counsel can serve one.
If your claim was rejected outright, our denied claim practice page walks through how a denial gets challenged step by step.
How the Fees Compare
Public adjuster fees are set by statute: at most 20 percent of what the insurer pays, or 10 percent on declared-emergency claims in the first year. The fee applies only to actual claim payments, not to the adjuster’s own estimate of the damage.
Some property-insurance matters may be handled on contingency. Under a contingency agreement, no recovery means no attorney’s fee, case costs, or expenses are owed. Florida’s recent reforms eliminated the one-way fee-shifting that once let policyholders recover their attorney fees from the insurer in most property suits. Tools such as a proposal for settlement under Fla. Stat. 768.79 may still create fee consequences in litigation. The written engagement agreement controls in every matter. We explain the broader cost picture in our answer to how much a property insurance lawyer costs.
The useful comparison is what each professional can lawfully do at the current stage of the claim. On an open, undisputed claim, a public adjuster can document and negotiate the claim. On a denied claim, the dispute may require legal work that falls outside an adjuster’s license.
Which Should You Hire? A Framework by Claim Posture
Match the professional to where your claim actually stands.
| Claim posture | Likely fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Not yet filed, or just filed; damage needs documenting | Public adjuster (or handle it yourself) | The work is measurement, photographs, and an estimate, squarely within a public adjuster’s license. |
| Insurer is engaging but the numbers are apart | Public adjuster first; attorney if talks stall | Scope-and-price negotiation is the public adjuster’s core skill. If the carrier will not move, the dispute is hardening into a legal one. |
| Paid, but far below the real cost of repair | Attorney | An underpaid claim usually turns on policy language (replacement cost versus actual cash value under Fla. Stat. 627.7011, matching under Fla. Stat. 626.9744) and on pressure only litigation supplies. |
| Denied | Attorney | Reversing a denial means attacking the carrier’s coverage position, which is legal work by definition. |
| Silent or stalled past statutory deadlines | Attorney | Fla. Stat. 627.70131 requires insurers to acknowledge a claim within 7 days, inspect within 30, and pay or deny within 60. A delayed claim past those marks is a compliance problem the carrier answers for in litigation. |
| Insurer demanded appraisal, or you are weighing it | Attorney | Appraisal (the policy’s private valuation process) sets amounts but cannot decide coverage. Our appraisal practice page explains what belongs in appraisal and what does not. |
| Carrier conduct seems unfair, not just wrong | Attorney | Statutory bad faith under Fla. Stat. 624.155 has strict prerequisites, including an adverse adjudication first under Fla. Stat. 624.1551. It has to be built deliberately. |
You can check where your claim stands against the statutory clock with our insurer response timeline checker.
How Public Adjusters and Attorneys Work Together
On many claims the right answer is both, in sequence or in parallel. A public adjuster’s estimate and photo file often become the factual backbone of the legal case: the exhibit that shows what the loss actually costs. Public adjusters also commonly serve as the policyholder’s appraiser when a claim goes to appraisal, valuation work their license fits well; we compare that path with the state’s mediation program in appraisal versus mediation in Florida. When we take over a claim a public adjuster developed, their documentation shortens our ramp-up, and the fee arrangements are coordinated in writing so you see how the professionals’ shares come out of any recovery before anyone proceeds.
The traffic runs both directions. Public adjusters refer claims to counsel when negotiation dead-ends; attorneys involve estimating professionals when a damage figure needs independent support. Where a dispute turns on causation (did wind open the roof, or did the deck fail from age), we retain independent licensed engineers to answer it, and we test the carrier’s repair figures against what licensed local contractors actually bid for the same scope of work.
The Deadlines Run While You Decide
Whoever you hire, the statutory clocks do not pause. Fla. Stat. 627.70132 gives you 1 year from the date of loss to give the insurer initial notice of a claim, and 18 months for a supplemental claim (a request for additional payment after the initial claim, such as damage found during repairs). Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e) gives you 5 years from the date of loss to file suit on the policy. The notice of intent required by Fla. Stat. 627.70152 must be served at least 10 business days before suit, so counsel needs the file before the fifth anniversary, not on it.
A public adjuster can keep a claim inside the notice deadlines, but only an attorney can protect the litigation deadline. If your loss is more than a year or two old, run the dates through our insurance claim deadline calculator before deciding anything else, and see our full breakdown of the hurricane claim filing deadline in Florida for worked examples.
If the Real Problem Is the Contractor, Not the Insurer
One boundary note. This page is about disputes with your insurer. If the damage traces to defective construction (a roof installed wrong, stucco that lets water in, a builder who will not honor a warranty), your claim may run against the contractor or builder rather than the carrier, under a different set of statutes and deadlines. Our construction defects practice covers that path. Note also that under Fla. Stat. 626.854(16), a repair contractor may not negotiate your insurance claim for you; a contractor may explain their own bid, but adjusting the claim requires a public adjuster license.
Where Cory Cannon Fits
Cory Cannon handles the legal side of property insurance disputes for owners across Tampa Bay, and some of those matters may be accepted on contingency. I am a Florida attorney with a family history in construction for generations, and my method reflects that upbringing: I read carrier estimates line by line, I understand what the scope items mean because I grew up around the work, and when a figure looks wrong I check it against real bids from licensed local contractors rather than against software defaults. When causation is disputed, we retain independent licensed engineers.
If your claim has been denied, underpaid, or stalled and you are weighing who to bring in, I will tell you plainly which professional your claim needs, including when the answer is a public adjuster rather than a law firm. Start with our property insurance claims overview, or request a free consultation through our Tampa property-damage page, our Bradenton property-damage page, or the consultation form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most a public adjuster can charge in Florida?
Fla. Stat. 626.854(11)(b) caps public adjuster fees at 20 percent of the payments the insurer makes on the claim. If the claim arises from an event under a governor-declared state of emergency, the cap drops to 10 percent for the first year after the declaration. The percentage applies only to money actually paid, and an adjuster may not charge any fee on amounts the insurer paid or committed before the public adjusting contract was signed.
Can a public adjuster file a lawsuit or send the pre-suit notice for me?
No. Filing suit is the practice of law, and the notice of intent to litigate required by Fla. Stat. 627.70152, which must be filed with the Department of Financial Services at least 10 business days before suit, is part of the litigation process. A public adjuster's authority ends at documenting, estimating, and negotiating the claim. When a claim needs the pre-suit notice, it needs a lawyer.
Can I use a public adjuster and an attorney at the same time?
Yes, and it is common. The public adjuster handles damage documentation and valuation while the attorney handles coverage questions, statutory notices, and litigation strategy. The two fee arrangements should be coordinated in writing so you know what total percentage of any recovery goes to professionals before either one proceeds. Many attorneys work alongside public adjusters on the same claim, and our firm is set up to do exactly that.
If I hire an attorney, do I still need a public adjuster?
Not necessarily. An attorney can retain estimating professionals and independent licensed engineers to establish the amount and cause of the loss, so a separate public adjuster contract is not required. If a public adjuster is already on the claim, their estimate and photographs usually remain useful, and they often continue in a valuation role: for example, serving as your appraiser if the claim goes to appraisal.
Can a public adjuster tell me whether my claim denial was wrong?
They can tell you what the damage is worth, but not whether the denial holds up legally. Interpreting policy language, exclusions, and statutes (for example, whether the matching requirement in Fla. Stat. 626.9744 applies, or whether an exclusion was misapplied) is legal advice that only a licensed attorney may give. If your dispute turns on what the policy means rather than what the repairs cost, that is an attorney question.
How do I cancel a public adjuster contract in Florida?
Fla. Stat. 626.854 gives you 10 days after signing to cancel without penalty or obligation, by written notice sent the way the contract specifies. For claims arising from a declared state of emergency, the window is longer: 30 days after the date of loss or 10 days after signing, whichever is later. After the window closes, cancellation is governed by the contract terms, so read them before signing.
Can my contractor negotiate my insurance claim instead?
No. Fla. Stat. 626.854(16) prohibits licensed contractors and subcontractors from adjusting or negotiating an insurance claim on a homeowner's behalf unless they hold a public adjuster license. A contractor may discuss or explain their own repair bid with you or your insurer at their usual and customary rates, but claim negotiation belongs to licensed public adjusters and, once the dispute is legal, to attorneys.
Is it ever too late to switch from a public adjuster to an attorney?
Rarely too late, but the clock matters. A lawsuit on the policy must be filed within 5 years of the date of loss under Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(e), and the pre-suit notice under Fla. Stat. 627.70152 must precede it by at least 10 business days. Claim-notice deadlines under Fla. Stat. 627.70132 (1 year for initial claims, 18 months for supplemental) also keep running. The earlier counsel gets the file, the more options survive.