Florida cut the window to report a hurricane claim in half. Here's how the deadlines work now, and why a claim you already filed can still have options after they pass.
Florida’s 2022-2023 reforms (Senate Bill 2-A) rewrote the clock on property claims. The change most policyholders feel is the notice deadline: you now generally have one year from the date of loss to give your insurer notice of a new or reopened hurricane claim, and 18 months to file a supplemental claim. That is down from the older, longer windows, and it is codified at Fla. Stat. § 627.70132.
What the deadlines actually govern
The one-year clock is about notice, telling the carrier a loss happened. It is not the deadline to finish the claim, and it is not the deadline to sue. Under Florida’s general statute of limitations, the time to file a lawsuit for breach of a property insurance contract is longer: five years from the date of loss, § 95.11(2)(e).
That distinction matters. For storms now several years past, the notice windows have closed: Ian (2022) predated SB 2-A and ran on the earlier two-year window, which closed in September 2024, and the one-year windows for Helene and Milton (2024) have passed. But a claim you already filed that was denied or underpaid can still have paths open: appraisal on an amount dispute, or litigation on a filed-and-denied claim within the longer limitations period.
What to do with your dates
- Find the date of loss and the date you gave notice, both drive which deadlines apply.
- If a claim was already filed and denied, the notice deadline is behind you; the question becomes the deadline to dispute or sue, which is different.
- Deadlines are strict and fact-specific. Confirm your exact dates and the current statutes with a licensed attorney before relying on any of this.
The takeaway: a passed notice deadline does not automatically end a claim you already filed. But the windows are short and unforgiving, so the dates are the first thing to nail down.
General information, not legal advice, laws and policies vary and change. Confirm current statutes and your own dates with a licensed attorney before acting.