Homeland Public Adjusters helps renters in Florida and New Jersey after fires, water damage, storms, and break-ins. We document your belongings and your living expenses, review your renters policy, and present the claim to the insurance company on your behalf.
Florida renters face hurricane and wind damage, water leaks from the unit above, fires, and break-ins, and they often learn after the loss that the landlord’s insurance covers the building but not their belongings. Homeland represents renters with contents and living-expense claims, in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and across the state.
A renters claim is a contents claim. Every item is photographed, described and priced before the inventory goes to the insurer.
Renters Insurance Claims in New Jersey
New Jersey renters in apartments, townhomes and shore rentals deal with nor’easters, flooding, fires, burst pipes and water from neighboring units, and theft. Homeland represents New Jersey renters with these losses, in New Brunswick, Elizabeth and across the state.
A renters policy generally covers your belongings, may pay for temporary living costs if a covered loss makes your home unlivable, and may include personal liability coverage. It usually does not cover the building itself, which is your landlord’s responsibility and your landlord’s policy. Limits, deductibles, and special limits on items like jewelry, cash, and electronics vary by policy.
Homeland Public Adjusters helps renters document what they owned, what was lost or damaged, and what it costs to replace it, and presents the claim to the insurance company on your behalf.
Your Policy and Your Landlord’s Policy
Your renters policy is for your belongings, your living expenses if you cannot stay, and your liability. Your landlord’s policy is for the building. After a fire, a leak or a storm, the landlord’s insurance may repair the structure, but it generally does not replace your furniture, clothing, electronics or other belongings. That is what your renters policy is for. If you do not have one, see the last question below.
Common Renters Losses
Fire and smoke in your unit or building
Water from a neighbor’s unit or a burst pipe
Roof leaks and wind-driven rain
Hurricane and storm damage to belongings
Theft and burglary
Vandalism
Lightning and power surges
A vehicle striking the building
Belongings damaged during repairs
A home that is unlivable after a covered loss
Proving What You Owned
Contents claims depend on a clear inventory. Go room by room and list each item with a description, age, and value, then add photos, receipts, serial numbers, and bank or card records where you have them. Some policies pay replacement cost and others pay actual cash value, which subtracts depreciation, so check which one yours is. Dated photos taken before a loss make this far easier, which is what Safety Vault™ is for.
Living Expenses When You Cannot Stay Home
If a covered loss makes your home unlivable, your policy may pay additional living expenses, often called loss of use: a hotel or temporary rental, extra costs beyond your normal rent, and similar expenses, subject to the policy’s limits and time period. Keep every receipt and a record of your normal monthly costs.
What to Do After a Renters Loss
1
Make safety the priority: Get everyone, including pets, to a safe place and stay out of unstable or damaged areas.
2
Notify your landlord or manager in writing: Report the damage and keep a copy, with the date.
3
Let Homeland notify the carrier: Call us before you speak with the insurance company. Hire us, and we’ll submit the notice of loss and handle every carrier conversation from there.
4
Document the damage: Photograph and video the damage and your belongings before cleanup, and keep damaged items until they are documented.
5
Protect what you can: Move undamaged belongings to a safe place and take reasonable steps to prevent more damage.
6
Start your inventory: List what was lost or damaged, room by room, with descriptions, ages and values.
7
Keep every receipt: Save receipts for emergency purchases, a hotel or temporary housing, and other costs caused by the loss.
8
Report theft or vandalism: Call the police and keep the report number. Save any camera footage.
9
Keep your communications: Save emails, texts and letters with your landlord, the building manager and the insurer.
10
Speak with a public adjuster: Contact Homeland Public Adjusters before accepting a settlement or signing a release so we can review the claim and the policy.
ADJUSTER ADVANTAGE™ · FREE MEMBERSHIP
You Don’t Have to Remember All of This. Adjuster Advantage Has You Prepared.
The best way to prepare for a loss as a renter is a free Adjuster Advantage membership, so your belongings are documented before anything happens.
Safety Vault™
Dated photos and documents of your belongings in one place.
Policy Scan™
A licensed Homeland adjuster explains your policy in plain words.
Damage Guide™
Safety first, how to document, and how insurance works.
Lifeline Card™
Shutoffs and emergency contacts, available offline.
Renewal Radar™
See what changed from one policy year to the next.
90DAY XPlus™
Reminders before the dates you enter, such as your policy renewal.
Boards and managers can join too. AA Associations gives them the master policy explained in plain words, a dated building record, reminders and Building Storm Check-in. For Florida associations today.
Set Up Your Association →
Joining Adjuster Advantage is free and does not create a contract or agreement with Homeland Public Adjusters for any claim. Hiring Homeland is optional and requires a separate written agreement.
Renters Claims by the Numbers
Renters by the numbers
55%Share of renter households with renters insurance; nearly half have no coverage (National Apartment Association via Harvard JCHS)
0.2%Share of residential NFIP flood coverage held by renters, who occupy 34.8% of U.S. homes (JCHS)
$171Average annual renters insurance premium in 2022 (III)
32% / 36%Renter-occupied share of homes in Florida and New Jersey (Census, 2020–24)
Florida. Florida law requires notice of an initial or reopened property claim within 1 year after the date of loss, and notice of a supplemental claim within 18 months. Your insurance company generally must acknowledge your claim within 7 calendar days and pay or deny within 60 days after receiving notice, and Florida defines residential coverage to include tenant policies. Your policy may include its own requirements, so do not wait.
New Jersey. New Jersey regulations require insurers to begin an investigation within 10 working days of notice of a claim, and set a 30-calendar-day period, running from receipt of a properly executed proof of loss, for first-party claims. If more time is needed, the insurer must explain why in writing, with updates every 45 days, unless a clear justification or other law provides otherwise.
Policyholder-only representation: Homeland works for renters, homeowners, businesses and associations, not insurance carriers.
Contents documentation: We help organize inventories, photos, receipts and records so every item is supported.
Living expense support: We help document additional living costs when a home is unlivable.
Policy review: We review your coverage, limits, deductibles and special limits.
Carrier communication: We communicate with the insurance company and its adjusters for you.
Denied and underpaid claims: We review claims that were denied or paid less than expected.
Florida and New Jersey: We represent renters in both states.
Serving property owners since 2007.
No Recovery, No Fee.
In the News: A Real Renters Claim
In the News. According to NBC 6 South Florida, when a fire caused part of a Miami-Dade apartment building to collapse in January 2023, displacing nearly 200 people, the building manager made a point that every renter should hear: a landlord's or association's insurance policy — if one even exists — does not cover a tenant's own furniture, electronics, clothing, or documents. Without a separate renter's insurance policy, those losses simply aren't reimbursed by anyone. The lesson for any renter in Florida or New Jersey is that personal belongings need their own coverage, separate from whatever the building carries, and that filing a renter's insurance claim after a fire, storm, or burst pipe can still be a confusing, adversarial process. If an insurer is undervaluing or delaying a renter's claim for lost belongings, Homeland Public Adjusters can help renters understand their policy and fight for a fair settlement.
Generally not. The landlord’s policy is for the building. Your belongings are covered, if at all, by your own renters policy.
What is loss of use or additional living expense?
If a covered loss makes your home unlivable, your renters policy may pay certain extra living costs, such as a hotel or temporary rental, subject to its limits and time period. Keep every receipt.
Replacement cost or actual cash value?
Replacement cost coverage pays to replace an item with a similar new one. Actual cash value subtracts depreciation. Your policy says which applies, and we review it with you.
How do I prove what I lost?
Build a room-by-room inventory with descriptions, ages and values, then add photos, receipts, serial numbers and card or bank records. Dated photos taken before a loss, for example in Adjuster Advantage Safety Vault, make this much easier.
The damage came from my neighbor’s unit. Can I still file?
Yes. Your renters policy may cover your belongings no matter whose unit the water or fire started in. Report it, document it, and call us.
I do not have renters insurance. Can Homeland help?
Without a policy there is no claim under your own insurance. In Florida, if someone else’s insured loss damaged your property, see Third Party Uninsured Damage Claims. This service is not available in New Jersey.
Can a public adjuster help with a renters insurance claim?
Yes. A renters policy is a property policy, and the same rules apply: you have to document what was damaged and what it's worth, the insurer's adjuster works for the insurer, and the burden of proving the claim is on you. A public adjuster inventories your belongings, values them under your policy's replacement-cost or actual-cash-value terms, documents loss of use and negotiates the claim. Florida caps the fee at a percentage of what the insurer pays; New Jersey requires the contract to state the maximum fee. Homeland handles renters claims in both states on a No Recovery, No Fee basis.
Losing your belongings and your home at once is hard enough without a complicated insurance claim. Call us 24/7 or request a free review, and we will explain your options and the next steps.
By Yisel Dieguez
By Nelson Avila