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.
| Who the filing is against | STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY (NAIC #10739) |
|---|---|
| Who filed it | The policyholder |
| Attorney of record | Grant Krapf |
| Where the property is | Tampa, Florida |
| When it was accepted by the state | March 24, 2025 |
| When the 60-day cure window closed | May 23, 2025 |
| Why, in the state’s own categories | Claim Delay, Unfair Trade Practice |
| Type of insurance | Residential Property & Casualty |
| Policy language at issue | 627.70131 (1)(a) - Upon an insurer's receiving a communication with respect to a claim, the insurer shall, within 7 calendar days, review and acknowledge receipt of such communication unless payment is made within that period of time or unless the failure to acknowledge is caused by factors beyond the control of the insurer. If the acknowledgment is not in writing, a notification indicating acknowledgment shall be made in the insurer's claim file and dated. A communication made to or by a representative of an insurer with respect to a claim shall constitute communication to or by the insurer. 627.4137(1)(e) Each insurer which does or may provide liability insurance coverage to pay all or a portion of any claim which might be made shall provide, within 30 days of the written request of the claimant, a statement, under oath, of a corporate officer or the insurer's claims manager or superintendent setting forth the following information with regard to each known policy of insurance, including excess or umbrella insurance: A copy of the policy. Reference to specific policy language: The violations alleged are statutorily based and do not rely on any specific policy language. "It is an accepted principle of law that when parties contract upon a matter which is the subject of statutory regulation, the parties are presumed to have entered into their agreement with reference to such statute, which becomes a part of the contract, unless the contract discloses a contrary intention." Westside EKG Assocs. v. Found. Health, 932 So. 2d 214, 216 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), aff'd, 944 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 2006). |
| Did the insurer respond | Yes, on February 10, 2026 |
State Farm Florida Insurance Company (the "Insurer") has committed the following in handling the Insured's claim: 1) failure to act in due diligence and good faith to resolve claims; 2) placing the financial interest of Insurer before that of the policyholder and the Insured; 3) looking for ways to deny benefit payments and otherwise "low ball" or "stone wall" claims; 4) not adjusting the claims promptly and fairly; 5) not attempting in good faith to settle claims; 6) conducting inadequate investigations; 7) failing to employ policies and procedures to conduct adequate investigations; 8) failing to provide an estimate that complies with the Florida Building Codes; 9) failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications with respect to claims; 10) failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation in writing to the insured of the basis in the insurance policy, in relation to the facts or applicable law, for denial of a claim; and 11) failing to provide a copy of the insurance policy within 30 days. On or about October 9, 2024, while the subject policy was in full force and effect, the Insured's property was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton. The areas impacted include but are not limited to the shingle roofing system, the modified bitumen roofing system, panel roof, exterior, two guest bedrooms, garage, laundry room, living room, and family room. The Insured timely submitted a claim to the Insurer for hurricane damage and the ensuing damage therefrom. Thereafter, the Insurer assigned claim no. [redacted] to the loss and sent a field adjuster to inspect the property. Then in a letter dated November 6, 2024, the Insurer notified the Insured that it was extending coverage for the loss. However, the Insurer wrongfully determined that the damages did not exceed the policy deductible. The Insurer's lowball estimate is that of a classic under scope and under value of the claim. Given the vastly underestimated cost of repairs the Insured's disagreement with the coverage decision, and the scope and nature of the damage resulting from Hurricane Milton, the Insured retained a public adjuster. After assessing the damage and the true scope of repairs, the public adjuster produced an estimate identifying $78,946.87 in covered damage to the dwelling. The foregoing estimate, photographs, and a letter of representation from the public adjuster were sent to the Insurer. Upon receiving notice of the loss, the Insurer had the duty to provide the full benefits under the policy. This includes providing the Insured with a proper investigation and the funds necessary to return the home to its pre-loss condition. However, when the Insurer conducted its inspection of the insured property, the Insurer's adjuster failed to conduct a thorough and adequate investigation, or the adjuster intentionally ignored the damage observed and failed to make truthful and unbiased reports of the facts after investigating. As a result, the Insurer breached the policy by failing to fully indemnify the Insured for the covered loss. Rather than the Insurer pay for a roof replacement consistent with all laws and ordinances, the Insurer contends the roof is repairable which is not true. All repairs to the roofing system must be done in accordance with applicable Florida Building Codes which require all repairs be done consistent with the manufacturer's specifications and warranties which this Insurer clearly did not account for. Additionally, although there was interior water damage the adjuster did not use a moisture meter. A moisture meter can be purchased online from Amazon for around $40 before tax. The Insurer could purchase a moisture meter and assess thousands of properties with one meter. Instead, the Insurer would rather place its financial interests over those of the Insured by failing to provide the adjuster with the necessary tools to correctly inspect the loss. As a result of the inadequate investigation and surrounding circumstances it is apparent that Insurer significantly underestimated the scope of the loss to the Insured's property. Insurer and its adjuster have colluded to misrepresent the true scope of damages to the insured property and the true replacement costs of the damages. This is an underhanded attempt to place the financial interest of Insurer over those of the Insured, to delay the Insured's claim, and to delay the Insured in restoring his property to its pre-loss condition. The Insurer continued to delay and frustrated the Insured's ability to have her claim adjusted promptly to begin restoring her property by failing to timely provide the Insured with the policy after requested by the Insured through her representatives. The Insured, through her representatives, requested the policy several times with no response. The policy was not received within 30 days of the first written request of the Insured. Each Insurer which does or may provide liability insurance coverage to pay all or a portion of any claim which might be made shall provide, within 30 days of the written request of the Insured, a statement, under oath, of a corporate officer or the insurer's claims manager or superintendent, a copy of the policy. Fla. Stat. 627.4137(1)(e). There may be further wrongful conduct which has not been made known to the Insured at this moment. Certain conduct or actions may be discovered throughout discovery or cannot be verified without a review of the Insurer's claim file and standards and procedures for the adjustment and investigation of claims. In short, the Insurer is not acting with due regard for the Insured's interests or safety. In Florida the work of adjusting insurance claims engages the public trust. The Insurer has breached this trust and its duty to the Insured. The Insurer and its agents conducted cursory and inadequate investigations and wrongfully determined that the cost of repairs did not exceed the policy deductible. Moreover, the Insurer has engaged in bad faith practices designed to delay claims and prevent the Insured from recovering what is rightfully owed under the subject policy of insurance. The Insurer's actions and inactions have continued to frustrate and delay the resolution of the Insured claim. The Insurer's actions amount to but are not limited to the following:
1. Claim delay
2. Not treating the Insured with good faith claims conduct
3. Looking for way to reduce recovery to the Insured
4. Looking for ways to deny recovery to the Insured
5. Not adjusting claims and evaluating loss properly, promptly and fairly to provide full and prompt indemnity to the Insured
6. Not training, supervising or managing adjusters properly so that prompt and full payments are made, but rather placing the company's interests before the Insured's interests
7. Placing the financial interest of the Insurer over that of the health and safety of the Insured
8. Failing to provide an estimate that complies with the Florida Building Codes
9. Shifting the burden of investigating onto the Insured 10. Conducting inadequate investigations 11. Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation in writing to the insured of the basis in the insurance policy, in relation to the facts or applicable law, for denial of a claim. 12. Failing to provide a copy of the insurance policy within 30 days Therefore, to cure the defects outlined in this civil remedy notice, the Insurer must: (1). Admit full coverage for the Insured's loss. (2). Tender full benefits owed to the Insured under the insurance contract. A copy of this form submitted to the FDFS has been sent via e-mail to the following parties providing them notice of the filing of the civil remedy notice. Please e-mail any response to this civil remedy notice to [email redacted]. Via E-mail: State Farm Florida Insurance Company [address redacted] Winter Haven, FL 33888-0007 [email redacted]
(1). Admit full coverage for the Insured's loss. (2). Tender full benefits owed to the Insured under the insurance contract.
These are the statutes named on the form. The wording under each is the statute's own, as the state prints it on the notice.
| 624.155(1)(b)(1) | Not attempting in good faith to settle claims when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for her or his interests. |
|---|---|
| 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(c) | Failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications with respect to claims. |
| 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(f) | Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation in writing to the insured of the basis in the insurance policy, in relation to the facts or applicable law, for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement. |
Filed with the state on February 10, 2026. This is the insurer's own written response to the complaint above, quoted from the same public record.
Florida DFS Civil Remedy Notice, filing number 812672. 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.
Selected from the Civil Remedy Notices read for the archive as a documented example of a claim priced under the deductible. The pattern page shows how often that argument appears and which carriers the filings name.
Fla. DFS Civil Remedy Notice, Filing No. 812672 (Tampa), accepted 3/24/2025 · 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.
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