Miami Property Insurance Claim Lawyer

When the Insurance Company Does Not Keep Its Promise

A property insurance policy is a promise: you pay premiums, and when a covered loss happens, the insurance company pays to make you whole. In practice, that promise often shrinks the moment you file. The adjuster works for the insurer, the estimate software is set by the insurer, and every gray area gets read against you.

This page covers any covered loss, whatever the cause: hurricane, water, pipe, fire, theft, or something else entirely. At Leyva Law, attorney Daniela Leyva handles your claim directly, builds the file the insurance company cannot ignore, and prepares every dispute as if it will be decided in court. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.

Denied, Underpaid, or Delayed: The Three Ways Claims Go Wrong

Denied Claims

Denial letters lean on familiar arguments: wear and tear, pre-existing damage, a policy exclusion, late notice, or "insufficient documentation." Those reasons are a starting position, not a final ruling. Many denials do not survive a careful reading of the policy and a properly documented loss.

Underpaid Claims

The check arrives, but no licensed contractor will do the work for that number. Underpayment hides in narrowed scope, aggressive depreciation, and estimates that skip whole categories of damage. If you did not sign a release, accepting a payment does not end your claim.

Delayed Claims

Weeks of silence, repeated requests for documents you already sent, a new adjuster every month. Delay is not just frustrating, it pressures you to settle cheap. Florida law puts specific time limits on the insurance company, and we hold insurers to them.

The Deadlines on Both Sides of Your Claim

Your deadlines. You must give the insurance company notice of the claim within 1 year of the date of loss, and notice of any supplemental claim within 18 months (section 627.70132, Florida Statutes). If the dispute has to go to court, a lawsuit for breach of a property insurance policy generally must be filed within 5 years of the date of loss (section 95.11(2)(e), Florida Statutes).

The insurance company's deadlines. It generally must acknowledge your claim within 7 days and must pay it, deny it, or pay it in part within 60 days of receiving notice, unless factors beyond its control prevent it (section 627.70131, Florida Statutes).

Deadlines are where good claims die. The safest move is to report the loss promptly, in writing, and to get the claim reviewed early.

How We Move a Stuck Claim

Build the record. From the first call, keep everything in writing: claim numbers, adjuster names, letters, emails, estimates, photos, and receipts. If a conversation happens by phone, follow it with an email summarizing what was said. That paper trail often becomes the backbone of the case.

Use the faster paths. Florida's Department of Financial Services runs a mediation program for residential property insurance disputes (section 627.7015, Florida Statutes), and many policies include an appraisal process where neutral appraisers resolve disagreements about the amount of the loss. Used at the right moment, both can resolve a claim months or years sooner than litigation.

Hold the insurer accountable. When claim handling crosses into unfair territory, Florida gives policyholders a statutory bad faith remedy. Before that kind of lawsuit, a Civil Remedy Notice is filed and the insurance company gets 60 days to cure the violation (section 624.155, Florida Statutes). Insurers treat a claim differently when they know that record is being built.

Property Claims We Handle in South Florida

• Hurricane and Windstorm Damage
• Roof Leaks and Roof Damage
• Water Damage and Flooding
• Pipe Leaks and Breaks
• Cast Iron Pipe Failures
• Fire and Smoke Damage
• Theft and Vandalism
• Mold From Covered Water Losses
• Business and Commercial Property Claims

Miami Property Insurance Claim FAQ

Related: all property insurance claims · personal injury cases · meet the attorney. This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.