Public Adjuster Miami
Licensed Public Adjusters Serving All of Miami-Dade County
✓ No Fee Unless We Recover
✓ Licensed Florida Public Adjusters (#G199012)
✓ Serving The Entire State of Florida
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Miami-Dade property owners lose claims on two questions the carrier answers first: did the hurricane deductible apply, and was it wind or water. Both are settled by statute and by the federal storm record, not by opinion. We document them so your claim is decided on evidence.
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Why Miami-Dade Property Owners Need a Public Adjuster
Hurricane Irma is the clearest illustration of the problem. The National Hurricane Center found that nearly all inland observations across the Miami-Dade and Broward metro area reported sustained winds just below hurricane force. Owners reasonably assume that means an ordinary deductible applies.
It does not. Under Fla. Stat. 627.4025 the hurricane deductible runs from the moment a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida, and ends 72 hours after the last watch or warning for any part of the state is terminated. The trigger is the warning window, not the wind speed at your address.
On a 2 percent hurricane deductible against a 600,000 dollar dwelling limit, that distinction is worth 12,000 dollars out of pocket before a single square of shingle is priced.
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We are based in Naples, FL but are licensed and our team services the entire states of Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota & South Dakota - contact us today to get started!
Miami-Dade Claim Statistics That Prove Professional Help Matters
Every figure below comes from the federal flood claim record or the Florida Statutes. None is a marketing estimate.
The county's full federal flood claim history, across every year on file.OpenFEMA NFIP Claims, countyCode 12086
Roughly 45 percent of every Miami-Dade flood claim ever filed closed without a building payment.OpenFEMA NFIP Claims, countyCode 12086
Of the Miami-Dade claims carrying a 2017 date of loss, just under half closed with no building payment.OpenFEMA NFIP Claims, yearOfLoss 2017
Measured from the date of landfall, not the date you discovered the damage. Supplemental claims get 18 months.Fla. Stat. 627.70132
Your Insurance Claim Rights Under Florida Law
Five statutes decide most Miami-Dade claims. Each is linked to its current text on the Florida Senate site.
When the hurricane deductible applies627.4025
How long you have to file627.70132
What your insurer owes you, on the clock627.70131
What a public adjuster may charge626.854
Condominium loss assessment coverage627.714
Public Adjuster Services Across Miami-Dade County
Shoreline Public Adjusters is licensed in Florida under firm license G199012 and handles claims countywide.
Coastal & Bayfront
Biscayne Bay corridorSurge and wind-driven rain dominate here. During Irma the National Hurricane Center recorded maximum inundation of 4 to 6 feet above ground level in parts of the county, concentrated along Biscayne Bay.
Central Miami-Dade
Downtown, Brickell & inland coreNHC attributed downtown flooding during Irma to heavy rainfall and urban runoff, wave overwash trapped behind seawalls, and seawater rising through the city drainage system, all at once. Multi-cause losses are the hardest to get paid.
South & West Miami-Dade
Kendall to HomesteadInland wind exposure, where sustained winds ran just below hurricane force during Irma and the hurricane deductible still governed the claim.
Public Adjuster vs. Insurance Attorney vs. Handling It Yourself
Three ways to pursue a Miami-Dade claim. The right one depends on whether your dispute is about the amount or about the carrier's conduct.
Public Adjuster
Best for disputed scope and amount- Licensed by Florida DFS and regulated under Fla. Stat. 626.854.
- Fee capped at ten percent for declared-emergency claims during the year after the declaration, twenty percent otherwise.
- No upfront cost. The fee comes out of what the carrier pays.
- Documents cause, scope and proof, which is what the 27,777 no-payment Miami-Dade files were missing.
- Handles the whole claim from first notice through settlement.
- Cannot file suit or pursue a bad-faith action.
- Represents you at the inspection, so the carrier's adjuster is not the only person measuring the loss.
- Reads the master policy and the unit owner policy side by side on condominium claims.
- Tracks the carrier's statutory clock under Fla. Stat. 627.70131 and escalates when it slips.
Insurance Attorney
Best for bad faith and litigation- Required if the dispute becomes a lawsuit or a civil remedy notice under Fla. Stat. 624.155.
- Typically a contingency fee, often higher than a public adjuster's statutory cap.
- Timeline runs in months to years rather than weeks.
- Appropriate when the carrier's conduct, not the estimate, is the problem.
- Many attorneys prefer a documented file before taking the case.
- Can pursue appraisal, mediation through the Department of Financial Services, or suit.
- Fees and costs sit outside the public adjuster caps in Fla. Stat. 626.854.
- Usually the right call once the dispute is about conduct rather than scope.
- Often wants a documented claim file before accepting the matter.
Handle It Yourself
Workable only on small, undisputed claims- No fee, and reasonable when the carrier's first offer is already fair.
- You build the scope, price the work and meet every statutory deadline yourself.
- The 1-year notice bar under Fla. Stat. 627.70132 runs from landfall, not discovery.
- Multi-cause Miami-Dade losses require separating wind from flood across two policies.
- Nearly half of Miami-Dade flood claims on file closed with no building payment.
- You negotiate against an adjuster who prices losses every day.
- Reopened claims are barred after 1 year and supplementals after 18 months.
- No cost, but 27,777 of 62,027 Miami-Dade flood claims closed with no building payment.
- Reasonable when the loss is small, single-cause and already fairly offered.
Types of Miami-Dade Property Damage Claims We Handle
Only the perils that actually drive Miami-Dade claims are listed. A page that lists every peril for every city tells you nothing about your own.
Hurricane & Wind Damage
Irma left inland Miami-Dade with sustained winds just below hurricane force, and the hurricane deductible still applied. We document the storm timeline against your policy so the deductible charged is the one the statute calls for. See our wind and tornado damage page.
Storm Surge & Flood
NHC recorded 4 to 6 feet of inundation along Biscayne Bay during Irma and 2 to 4 feet across coastal northern Miami-Dade. Flood and wind sit in separate policies, and each carrier has an incentive to point at the other. See water and flood damage.
Water Damage
Downtown Miami flooded from four mechanisms at once during Irma: rainfall, urban runoff, wave overwash trapped behind seawalls, and seawater rising through the drainage system. Multi-cause losses turn on documentation, not on which carrier argues hardest.
Roof & Structural
Tile, concrete and stucco hide damage for months. Fla. Stat. 627.70132 measures the deadline from landfall, not discovery, so a roof that starts leaking the following spring is still counted from the storm.
Condominium & Association
Fla. Stat. 627.714 requires unit owner policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010 to carry at least $2,000 in loss assessment coverage with a deductible of no more than $250. See our HOA and condo claim support.
Denied & Underpaid Claims
Of the 4,100 Miami-Dade flood claims with a 2017 date of loss, 2,014 closed with no building payment. A denial is a deadline as much as a decision. See insurance claim support.
Wind-Driven Rain
At Government Cut off Miami Beach the National Hurricane Center recorded sustained winds of 65 knots at 23 meters elevation during Irma. Wind-driven rain entering through a wind-created opening is a wind claim; the same water entering from below is a flood claim. The distinction decides which policy pays.
Seawall & Drainage Backflow
NHC documented seawater coming up from below through the city drainage system during Irma, alongside wave overwash trapped behind seawalls. Backflow losses are routinely coded as flood even where a wind-created opening contributed, and the coding decides the deductible.
Mold Following Water Intrusion
Miami-Dade humidity turns an unresolved water loss into a mold claim within days. Carriers commonly split the two, paying the water and excluding the mold as a maintenance issue. Documenting the intrusion date against the landfall date under Fla. Stat. 627.70132 is what keeps them joined.
Commercial & Business Interruption
Miami-Dade recorded 8,390 NFIP claims with a 1992 date of loss and 9,717 with a 2005 date of loss, and commercial files carry the added question of income loss during restoration. Business interruption is proved with records, not estimates.
How Our Miami-Dade Insurance Claim Process Works
Four steps, and the first two decide most of the outcome.
Establish the storm timeline
We fix the date of loss and the hurricane warning window first, because Fla. Stat. 627.70132 and 627.4025 use those two dates to control which deadline and which deductible apply to your claim.
Separate wind from water
We trace entry paths and damage patterns to allocate the loss between your wind policy and your flood policy, so neither carrier can default to pointing at the other.
Build and price the scope
A full scope with photographs, measurements and code requirements, priced line by line, including the code-driven items a first-pass carrier estimate typically omits.
Negotiate and track the clock
Fla. Stat. 627.70131 gives the carrier 7 days to acknowledge, 30 days to inspect and 60 days to pay or deny. Those dates are leverage, and most owners never learn they exist.
Every Miami-Dade claim runs on the same evidence standard we use across Florida, and neighboring markets are handled from the same office — including Fort Lauderdale.
Miami Public Adjuster — Frequently Asked Questions
Does the hurricane deductible apply if winds near my Miami home stayed below hurricane force?
How long do I have to file a hurricane claim in Miami-Dade?
My flood carrier blames wind and my wind carrier blames flood. What happens now?
What can a public adjuster charge in Florida?
How often do Miami-Dade flood claims close without payment?
Can I cancel a public adjuster contract after I sign it?
My Miami condo association levied an assessment after a storm. Is that covered?
How long does my insurer have to respond to a Miami-Dade claim?
Does my hurricane deductible apply once per storm or once per season?
What if my Miami-Dade damage did not show up until months later?
How many Miami-Dade flood claims are on the federal record?
Do you handle commercial property claims in Miami-Dade?
What escalation options exist if the carrier still refuses?
Denied or Underpaid Claim in Miami-Dade? Here's What Happens Next
Of the 62,027 NFIP flood claims on record in Miami-Dade, 27,777 closed with no building payment. Those files did not fail because the water was imaginary. They failed on cause, scope and proof.
Read the denial against the statute
We check the stated reason against your policy language and against Fla. Stat. 627.70131, which requires the carrier to pay or deny within 60 days of notice and to send you any detailed estimate within 7 days of generating it.
Re-inspect and rebuild the evidence
Most Miami-Dade denials turn on causation between wind and flood. We re-document the loss with the entry paths and damage patterns that separate the two, which is the evidence the original file usually lacked.
Reopen, supplement or escalate
A reopened claim is barred after 1 year from the date of loss and a supplemental claim after 18 months under Fla. Stat. 627.70132, so the escalation path is chosen against the clock, not after it runs out.
If the carrier still refuses after the appeal, Florida offers appraisal, mediation through the Department of Financial Services, and a civil remedy notice under Fla. Stat. 624.155. We prepare the file so whichever path you take starts from documented evidence.
Condominium and HOA Claims in Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade is condominium country, and a storm loss almost always splits across two policies. The association's master policy covers the building to a defined point, and the unit owner's HO-6 covers inward from there. Knowing which one your building carries determines how the claim is filed and who pays which deductible.
Fla. Stat. 627.714 requires unit owner policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010 to carry at least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage, subject to a deductible of no more than $250 per direct property loss. If a deductible was already applied to other property loss from the same event, no deductible applies to the loss assessment coverage at all.
The limit that matters is the one in effect 1 day before the occurrence, so raising coverage after the storm does not reach backward. We review the master policy and the unit owner policy side by side, split the claim correctly between association and unit costs, and negotiate the common elements, limited common elements and individual units together. See our HOA and condo claim support.
Talk Through Your Miami-Dade Claim
No upfront cost. Florida caps public adjuster compensation at ten percent for claims from a declared state of emergency during the year after the declaration, and twenty percent otherwise, under Fla. Stat. 626.854.