What does Florida require before suing a property insurer?
Fla. Stat. 627.70152 requires a written notice of intent to initiate litigation, filed with the Department of Financial Services at least 10 business days before suit and not before the insurer's coverage decision. The insurer must respond in writing within 10 business days. A suit filed without the notice is dismissed without prejudice.
| Applies to | Suits under a residential or commercial property insurance policy, 627.70152(1) |
|---|---|
| When to give notice | At least 10 business days before filing suit, 627.70152(3)(a) |
| Earliest notice | After the insurer's coverage determination under 627.70131, 627.70152(3)(a) |
| Insurer response | In writing within 10 business days after receiving the notice, 627.70152(4) |
| No notice | Suit dismissed without prejudice, 627.70152(5) |
What are the key provisions of Fla. Stat. 627.70152?
- • Written notice of intent to initiate litigation is a condition precedent to a suit under a residential or commercial property insurance policy, filed with the Department of Financial Services on its form, under 627.70152(3)(a).
- • The notice must be given at least 10 business days before filing suit, and may not be given before the insurer has made a determination of coverage under 627.70131, same paragraph.
- • The insurer must respond in writing within 10 business days after receiving the notice, under 627.70152(4).
- • After a denial of coverage the insurer accepts coverage, continues to deny, or asserts the right to reinspect, which gives it 14 business days to reinspect and decide, under 627.70152(4)(a).
- • A court must dismiss without prejudice a suit filed without the notice, or before the subsection (4) periods run, under 627.70152(5).
The section, subsection by subsection
627.70152 is titled Suits arising under a property insurance policy. In the Florida Insurance Code, “department” means the Department of Financial Services (DFS), under Fla. Stat. 624.05(1).
Application
The section applies exclusively to all suits arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy, including a policy issued by an eligible surplus lines insurer.
Definitions
A claimant is an insured filing suit under a residential or commercial property insurance policy. The disputed amount is the difference between the claimant's presuit settlement demand and the insurer's presuit settlement offer, each without attorney fees and costs. The presuit settlement demand is the demand in the notice, and it must include the reasonable and necessary attorney fees and costs incurred, calculated as hours actually worked on the claim times a reasonable hourly rate. The presuit settlement offer is the offer in the insurer's written response.
The notice
A condition precedent to filing suit. The claimant provides the department with written notice of intent to initiate litigation on a form the department provides. The notice “must be given at least 10 business days before filing suit under the policy, but may not be given before the insurer has made a determination of coverage under s. 627.70131.” The department sends it to the e-mail address the insurer designated under s. 624.422.
What the notice states
That it is provided under this section; the alleged acts or omissions of the insurer, which may include a denial of coverage; if an attorney or other representative provides it, that a copy went to the claimant; after a denial of coverage, an estimate of damages, if known; after any other act or omission, the presuit settlement demand itemizing damages, attorney fees, and costs, and the disputed amount. Supporting documentation may go with the notice.
Timing and the counterclaim exception
The notice must be served within the time limits in s. 95.11. It is not required if the suit is a counterclaim. Serving the notice tolls the s. 95.11 time limits “for 10 business days if such time limits will expire before the end of the 10-day notice period.”
Insurer duties
The insurer must have a procedure for the prompt investigation, review, and evaluation of the dispute stated in the notice, and must investigate each claim in it in accordance with the Florida Insurance Code. It “must respond in writing within 10 business days after receiving the notice,” by e-mail if the insured designated an e-mail address in the notice.
Response after a denial of coverage
The insurer responds by accepting coverage, continuing to deny coverage, or asserting the right to reinspect. A reinspection gives it “14 business days after the response asserting that right to reinspect the property and accept or continue to deny coverage,” and the s. 95.11 time limits are tolled during the reinspection period if they would expire before it ends. If the insurer continues to deny coverage, the claimant may file suit without additional notice.
Response after any other act or omission
The insurer responds by making a settlement offer or by requiring the claimant to participate in appraisal or another method of alternative dispute resolution. The s. 95.11 time limits are tolled while that process is ongoing if they would expire during it. If it “has not been concluded within 90 days after the expiration of the 10-day notice of intent to initiate litigation,” the claimant may immediately file suit without additional notice.
Dismissal
A court must dismiss without prejudice a suit on a claim for which the notice was not given as required, or a suit commenced before any time period under subsection (4) expired.
Admissibility
The notice and its supporting documentation are not admissible as evidence in any proceeding, and they do not relieve any obligation an insured or assignee has to give notice under any other provision of law.
Tolling after the presuit process
If the claim is not resolved during the presuit notice process and the s. 95.11 time limits expire “in the 30 days following the conclusion of the presuit notice process,” those limits are “tolled for 30 days.”
When the notice can be filed
627.70152(3)(a) sets two limits. The notice “may not be given before the insurer has made a determination of coverage under s. 627.70131,” the section that governs the carrier's pay-or-deny decision, and it “must be given at least 10 business days before filing suit under the policy.” Paragraph (3)(b) adds that it must be served within the time limits in s. 95.11.
The claimant files the notice with the department, on the department's form. The department then provides it to the insurer, at the e-mail address the insurer designated under s. 624.422. If the notice designates an e-mail address, the insurer's response goes to the claimant by e-mail.
What the notice states turns on what the insurer did. After a denial of coverage, it carries an estimate of damages, if known. After any other act or omission, it carries the presuit settlement demand, itemizing damages, attorney fees, and costs, and the disputed amount. Supporting documentation may go with it.
What the insurer must do within 10 business days
627.70152(4) requires the insurer to have a procedure for the prompt investigation, review, and evaluation of the dispute stated in the notice, to investigate each claim in it under the Florida Insurance Code, and to “respond in writing within 10 business days after receiving the notice.”
- After a denial of coverage, the response accepts coverage, continues to deny coverage, or asserts the right to reinspect. A reinspection gives the insurer “14 business days after the response asserting that right to reinspect the property and accept or continue to deny coverage.” If it continues to deny, the claimant may file suit without additional notice.
- After any other act or omission, the response is a settlement offer or a requirement to participate in appraisal or another method of alternative dispute resolution. If that process “has not been concluded within 90 days after the expiration of the 10-day notice of intent to initiate litigation,” the claimant may immediately file suit without additional notice.
A suit filed before those periods run is dismissed without prejudice under 627.70152(5), the same result as a suit filed with no notice at all.
The suit deadline while the notice runs
The notice has to be served within the s. 95.11 time limits. For a suit on a Florida property insurance policy that is five years from the date of loss, under 95.11(2)(e). The section tolls those limits in four places:
- Serving the notice: “for 10 business days if such time limits will expire before the end of the 10-day notice period,” 627.70152(3)(b).
- A reinspection: “during the reinspection period if such time limits expire before the end of the reinspection period,” 627.70152(4)(a)3.
- Appraisal or other alternative dispute resolution: “as long as appraisal or other alternative dispute resolution is ongoing if such time limits expire during the appraisal process or dispute resolution process,” 627.70152(4)(b).
- After the presuit process: if the claim is not resolved and the limits expire “in the 30 days following the conclusion of the presuit notice process,” they are “tolled for 30 days,” 627.70152(7).
Each tolling rule applies only when the time limits would otherwise expire inside the period it names. The claims guide to a hurricane insurance lawsuit covers suing your insurance company in Florida and South Carolina.
The presuit notice and the Civil Remedy Notice
A bad-faith action under Fla. Stat. 624.155 has its own condition precedent: 60 days written notice to the Department of Financial Services and the insurer, under 624.155(3)(a). The 627.70152 notice precedes a suit under the policy itself, and one claim can involve both. The guide to the Civil Remedy Notice sets the two notices side by side.
627.70152 questions, answered
What is a notice of intent to initiate litigation in Florida? +
It is the written notice Fla. Stat. 627.70152(3)(a) makes a condition precedent to a suit under a residential or commercial property insurance policy. The claimant provides it to the Department of Financial Services on the department's form, and the department sends it to the insurer at the e-mail address the insurer designated under s. 624.422.
How long before filing suit must the notice be given? +
At least 10 business days before filing suit under the policy, and not before the insurer has made a determination of coverage under s. 627.70131, under 627.70152(3)(a). It must also be served within the time limits in Fla. Stat. 95.11, under 627.70152(3)(b).
What does the insurer have to do after it receives the notice? +
Respond in writing within 10 business days, under 627.70152(4). After a denial of coverage it accepts coverage, continues to deny, or asserts the right to reinspect, which gives it 14 business days to reinspect and accept or continue to deny. After any other act or omission it makes a settlement offer or requires appraisal or another method of alternative dispute resolution.
What happens to a suit filed without the notice? +
Under 627.70152(5) a court must dismiss without prejudice a suit on a claim for which the notice was not given as required, or a suit commenced before any time period under subsection (4) expired.
Can the notice be used as evidence in the lawsuit? +
No. Under 627.70152(6) the notice and its supporting documentation are not admissible as evidence in any proceeding, and they do not relieve any obligation to give notice under any other provision of law.
Is the presuit notice the same as a Civil Remedy Notice? +
No. The Civil Remedy Notice is the 60 days written notice to the Department of Financial Services and the insurer that Fla. Stat. 624.155(3)(a) requires before a bad-faith action. The 627.70152 notice comes before a suit under the property insurance policy.
Cited on this site
- The Civil Remedy Notice, and the 60-day clock it starts.
- Florida statutory bad faith: § 624.155, taken apart.
- Filing your hurricane claim: proof of loss, the adjuster, and the traps
- Claim letters: the demand, the appeal, the DOI complaint
- Suing your insurance company over a hurricane claim
- Every hurricane claim deadline
- Hail hit your roof, will insurance pay?
- Burst pipe or slow leak, which one is covered?
- Is sudden water damage covered by homeowners insurance?
- Hurricane Milton
- The statutes that decide your claim
- Appraisal vs. mediation vs. lawsuit: three ways to fight a property claim
- Fla. Stat. 627.70152, Suits arising under a property insurance policy (history: s. 12, ch. 2021-77; s. 16, ch. 2022-268; s. 17, ch. 2022-271) · flsenate.gov ↗
- Fla. Stat. 627.70131, insurer's duty to acknowledge communications regarding claims; investigation · flsenate.gov ↗
- Fla. Stat. 95.11, limitations (5 years from the date of loss on a property insurance contract) · flsenate.gov ↗
- Fla. Stat. 624.05, “department” defined (Department of Financial Services) · flsenate.gov ↗
- Fla. Stat. 624.155, civil remedy · flsenate.gov ↗
Statute summaries as of November 2026, read against the 2025 Florida Statutes; simplified; verify against current statute. Not legal advice; consult an attorney about your specific claim.
Is your claim headed to court?
Send the denial letter, the policy, and the dates. You will get a straight answer on where the claim stands under the presuit notice rules and the deadline to sue.