Florida’s 2022–2023 Law Changes Make Hiring a Public Adjuster More Important Than Ever
Homeland Public Adjusters · Last reviewed: October 2026
For decades, a Florida homeowner who sued an insurer over a denied or underpaid property claim and won could usually recover their own attorney’s (lawyer’s) fees — a rule designed to make litigation a realistic option even against a carrier with an in-house legal team. Two bills changed that. Senate Bill 2-A, passed in a December 2022 special session, removed the right to attorney fees in lawsuits over residential and commercial property policies. House Bill 837, signed into law in March 2023, repealed the underlying fee statutes entirely and tightened how any remaining fee awards get calculated in other kinds of insurance litigation.
What that means in plain terms: a homeowner who takes a property insurance dispute to court today generally can’t recover their own legal costs, even by winning. Litigation didn’t disappear, but the economics of it changed — the fee-shifting that used to make a lawsuit a comparatively low-risk option for a policyholder with a legitimate claim is largely gone.
Why this makes the first steps of a claim matter more, not less
When litigation was a lower-cost fallback, a claim that started out underdocumented could often still get corrected later, in court, with the carrier effectively bearing the legal cost if the homeowner won. That safety net is thinner now. The practical result: getting a claim right from the very beginning — full documentation of the damage, an accurate scope of repair, a defensible estimate, and a clear paper trail with the carrier — matters more than it used to, because fewer disputes can count on a lawsuit to fix what wasn’t built correctly the first time.
Where this leaves a denied or underpaid claim today
Many disputes are over the amount owed on an otherwise-accepted claim, not whether anything is covered at all — and those are exactly the disputes a thorough, well-documented claim resolves without ever reaching a courtroom. Florida’s DFS mediation program (see our dedicated article) is a free, non-binding option built for exactly this kind of dispute, and it works best when the claim brought to the table was already built correctly.
Call Homeland before you speak with the insurance company, and before deciding whether a dispute needs an attorney (lawyer). In a lot of cases, the right public adjusting work from day one means that question never comes up.
Homeland handles claims across Florida, including Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville, and refers to counsel only when a claim calls for it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still recover attorney fees if I sue my property insurer in Florida?
Why do the attorney fee changes make a public adjuster more important?
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.
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Yisel DieguezHomeland Public Adjusters represents policyholders, not insurers. Get a free review of your claim.
Get a Free Claim ReviewThis topic often comes up alongside Insurance Appraisal & Umpire Services Explained. If your situation involves this kind of loss, see our Denied & Underpaid page for how Homeland can help with the claim itself.
