Homeowners Choice: a $41,800 estimate, then a denial anyway

A Civil Remedy Notice is a formal complaint filed against an insurance company with Florida's Department of Financial Services. Filing one is the step Florida law requires before a policyholder can sue an insurer for bad faith. It is a public record, and the insurer gets 60 days to fix the problem before that right opens up.

So this is the policyholder's side of a dispute, written by their side, and it is an allegation rather than a finding. The insurer answered it, and its answer is published below alongside the complaint. Read both. Names, addresses, and policy and claim numbers have been removed here; everything else is quoted from the filing.

On or about September 26, 2024, the [name redacted] located [address redacted], [name redacted] Florida ("the Insured [name redacted] ") belonging to [name redacted] (Doug) [name redacted] ("the Insured" or "Mr. [name redacted] ") sustained damage resulting from Hurricane Helene. Mr. [name redacted] promptly reported the loss to his [name redacted] insurer, [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. ("[name redacted] ") upon discovering the loss. [name redacted] ' administrative, home, and mailing address is registered as [address redacted]ive, Tampa, Florida. [name redacted] assigned claim examiner, [name redacted] to Mr. [name redacted] 's loss. Ms. Lobel sent out field adjuster, [name redacted] to inspect the Insured [name redacted] to prepare an estimate of damages on behalf of the insurer. On or about October 3, 2024, Mr. Rowen inspected the Insured [name redacted] on behalf of [name redacted] . He subsequently prepared an estimate of damages dated October 5, 2024, with an RCV of $46,027.39 and an ACV of $41,800.28 as to his assessment of losses caused directly by Hurricane Helene. On or about October 16, 2024, Ms. Lobel sent correspondence to Mr. [name redacted] enclosing a copy of Mr. Rowen's estimate pursuant to section 627.70131(3)(e), Florida Statutes. However, she made it clear that production of [name redacted] ' estimate should not "be construed as an approval or denial of coverage or acceptance of the scope of damages" by the insurer. Following public backlash of Heritage [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company in response to the 60 Minutes report on its apparent manipulation of adjuster estimates during Hurricane Ian claims, the Florida Legislature promulgated section 627.70131(3)(e), Florida Statutes, requiring carriers to provide an Insured a copy of the insurer's estimate if one is prepared regardless of the carrier's ultimate coverage decision. It is evident that this is why [name redacted] produced Mr. [name redacted] a copy of its estimate but did not provide a coverage decision as to his claim. In any event, due to the severity of damage sustained by Hurricane Helene, Mr. [name redacted] was skeptical of [name redacted] ' adjustment and estimate of damages as to the full amount of losses incurred to the Insured [name redacted] . Mr. [name redacted] retained Silverhall LLC ("Silverhall") to conduct emergency (temporary) repairs to the deck of the Insured [name redacted] in compliance with the Duties After Loss provision of his insurance policy. Silverhall has been retained to make permanent repairs to the deck but they're awaiting a permit. Silverhall has completed some repairs on the ground floor, as well as some framing of walls, and electric in part. However, the staircase has not yet been repaired. In addition, he retained Griston Claim Management ("Griston") and [name redacted] Contractors, LLC ("GBC") to conduct separate and independent inspections of the Insured [name redacted] to review and incorporate the incurred repairs by Silverhall. Griston also evaluated the personal [name redacted] at the Insured [name redacted] which was damaged as a result of Hurricane Helene and prepared a loss inventory for the Insured. GBC ascertained that the full scope of covered losses to the Dwelling amounts to $185,894.13 as the costs required to fully and adequately restore the Insured [name redacted] to a pre-loss condition. Ultimately, despite agreeing that the Insured [name redacted] sustained damage by Hurricane Helene at least in the amount of $41,800.28 (ACV) via its own estimate, [name redacted] chose to wrongfully deny the claim. In sum, the Insured timely reported his claim for the damage and loss to [name redacted] complied with [name redacted] ' requests including allowing [name redacted] to inspect his Insured [name redacted] . Based on its failure to adequately pay this claim or instruct it preferred vendor to complete repairs, it is readily apparent that [name redacted] has failed to create and implement adequate guidelines for proper claims investigation, claims evaluation, claims handling, and for training and supervision of employees and independent contractors handlings its claims resulting in statutory violations as set forth above. [name redacted] has failed and/or refused to thoroughly, accurately, and completely investigate and evaluate the Insured's' claim for damages. The concept of insurance is that it is the insurer's granting of timely and prompt indemnity or security against a contingent loss. Fla. Stat. §624.02 defines insurance as a contract whereby one undertakes to indemnify another or pay or allow specified amount or a determinable benefit upon determinable contingencies. Inherent is the fact that payment must be made timely and promptly so that Insured may mitigate his damages and be put back into the position they were in prior to the loss as quickly as possible. [name redacted] has failed to comply with its duty to indemnify the Insured. [name redacted] has failed and/or refused to timely adjust, repair, and pay the Insured's insurance claim for damages. [name redacted] has refused and/or failed to pay any insurance proceeds to date owed to the Insured as required by the policy and law. Refusal and/or failure to pay or/and settle the Insured's claim when under all the circumstances it could have and should have done so had it acted fairly and honestly towards the Insured is wrong. The actions taken by [name redacted] /or its representatives in the handling and adjustment of the Insured's claim were willful, wanton, and in disregard for the rights of its Insured and occur with such a frequency as to indicate a general business practice, and further, are in violation of Florida Statutes §624.155 and §626.9541. Based on the foregoing actions and omissions, [name redacted] has engaged in wrongful claims handling conduct, including but not limited to, the following:

1. Improper claim denial;

2. Improper claim delays;

3. Not conducting a full and fair investigation of the Insured's claim;

4. Looking for ways to deny recovery to the Insured;

5. Looking for ways to delay recovery to the Insured;

6. Overlooking covered damages to the Insured [name redacted] upon an initial review of the loss and damages;

7. Failing to pay the necessary amounts due and owing to restore the Insured [name redacted] to its pre-loss condition;

8. Not adjusting the claim and not evaluating the loss properly, promptly, and fairly so as to provide full and prompt indemnity to its Insured.

9. Failing to implement proper standards for the adjustment and investigation of insurance claims; 10. Failing to pay the requisite monies owed for the Insured's loss. 11. Not training, supervising or managing adjusters and independent contractors properly so that prompt and full payments are made, but rather placing the company's interests before the policyholders' interests by attempting to deny or minimize payments owed; 12. Establishing severity control initiatives and otherwise establishing a culture of not fully and promptly paying claims following losses. Therefore, to cure the defects outlined in this Civil Remedy Notice, [name redacted] must: Tender the full amount of insurance monies owed to the Insured for the Hurricane Helene loss and resulting damage to the Insured [name redacted] . A copy of this form has been submitted to the FDFS and has been printed out and mailed to the following parties providing them notice of the filing of the Civil Remedy Notice: cc: [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. via Certified Mail, R.R.R. [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. via U.S. Mail Claims Dept, [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. via Certified Mail, R.R.R. Supervisors, [name redacted] & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. via U.S. [name redacted] Lobel, Claims Examiner via Certified Mail, R.R.R. [name redacted] (Doug) [name redacted] via electronic mail

Tender the full amount of insurance monies owed to the Insured for the Hurricane Helene loss and resulting damage to the Insured [name redacted] .

Florida DFS Civil Remedy Notice, filing number 794905. Read the filing on the state's site ↗

A Civil Remedy Notice records an allegation, not a finding. Nothing here has been decided by a court or by the Department. Not legal advice; consult an attorney about your specific claim.

Fla. DFS Civil Remedy Notice, Filing No. 794905 (Little v. Homeowners Choice), Cedar Key, FL · public record ↗

Quotes are verbatim from the cited public record. Case status and statute summaries drafted August 2026; verify against the current docket and statute. Not legal advice; consult an attorney about your specific claim.