Florida’s Insurance Market Is Healing — But the Fight for Fair Supplemental Claims Is Just Beginning
A Deadline That Changed Everything
On October 9, 2025, thousands of Floridians woke up to a hard truth: they could no longer file a new Hurricane Milton claim.
The one-year statutory deadline expired at midnight.
But the war isn’t over.
In fact, it’s entering its most lucrative — and dangerous — phase.
Between now and April 9, 2026, policyholders have 150 days to file supplemental claims for damage that “could not have been reasonably discovered” during the initial inspection.
And trust us: the damage is still being discovered.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Most restoration estimates are written for project management, not litigation. They’re built to track tasks, not to tell a defensible story about cause, scope, and cost.
Common shortcomings include:
- Citizens Property Insurance lost 740,000+ policies since its 2023 peak — now down to ~560,000. Private carriers are back in the game.
- Property claim lawsuits dropped 25% in the first half of 2025 — the sharpest decline in Florida history — thanks to the 2022-2023 tort reforms.
- Average homeowners rate increase YTD: just 1.5%. The reinsurance market finally cooled.
- Yet the OIR just fined Kin and Slide $250,000 each for Ian/Idalia mishandling — and auditors are circling Milton files like sharks.
The market is healing. But it’s still on life support.
The Supplemental Tsunami Is Here
Milton hit October 9, 2024. Helene hit two weeks earlier. Many homes took two catastrophic hits in 14 days.
Fast-forward 13 months:
- Roofs that “looked fine” in drone photos are now leaking into attics.
- Chinese drywall is swelling.
- Foundation cracks from Helene’s flood are spreading under Milton’s 140-mph winds.
Policyholders are finding six-figure surprises every week.
And they have until April 9, 2026, to prove the damage is “newly discovered.” That’s why claims desks are about to get buried.
The New Battleground: Scope, Scope, Scope
Pre-reform, 79% of all U.S. property lawsuits came from Florida. Attorneys could bank on one-way fees and AOB abuse.
Those days are gone.
The cases that remain are the nuclear ones — $750k, $1.2M, $2M+ disputes where the carrier says “we already paid” and the policyholder says “you never looked hard enough.”
Winning now requires bulletproof documentation and neutral expertise that holds up in appraisal or (if it gets that far) court.
Three Trends That Will Define Q4 2025 – Q1 2026
- Anti-Public Adjuster Endorsements
Six carriers now delay investigations 30–60 days if a PA is involved. Citizens removes PA names from checks entirely. Lawsuits challenging these clauses are already filed. - Drone + AI Scoping Backlash
Carriers love drones. Policyholders hate them. When a $900,000 roof claim gets scoped at $47,000 because the AI missed interior ceiling collapse, someone’s going to appraisal. - OIR Zero-Tolerance Era
The Kin/Slide fines were a shot across the bow. Regulators are demanding carriers prove every denied supplement was “reasonable.” Documentation gaps = fines.When field data is transformed into structured, fact-based insight, disputes shrink, and resolutions come faster.
Why Neutral Expertise Wins in 2025
At All Claims Consulting, we’ve completed 15,480 appraisals and 10,210 expert testimony assignments since 2005 — mostly for carriers, always impartial.
Last quarter, we resolved a $1.2M Milton supplemental dispute in 12 days via appraisal.
Pre-reform? That same file would have taken 14 months and $400k in legal fees.
Here’s the new reality:
| Stakeholder | Old World (Pre-2023) | New World (2025) + Neutral Expert |
|---|---|---|
| Carriers | Endless lawsuits, AOB fraud | 25% fewer suits, but need ironclad scope defense |
| Attorneys | Volume game, one-way fees | Fewer cases, higher stakes — need umpires who hold up under cross |
| Public Adjusters | 10% fee on everything | Endorsements blocking access — need neutral backup to force appraisal |
The Clock Is Ticking
- If you’re a carrier staring at 10,000 supplements…
- If you’re an attorney with a $1M+ Milton file heading to trial in 2026…
- If you’re a policyholder who just found mold behind the drywall…
You have 150 days to get it right.
Neutral, licensed, battle-tested expertise isn’t a luxury anymore.
It’s the difference between a $47,000 settlement and a $900,000 reality.
Contact All Claims Consulting
All Claims Consulting stands ready as your appraisal panelist, umpire, or expert witness.
Contact us today — because April 9, 2026, won’t wait.
Tony Allogia
President, All Claims Consulting
Expert. Neutral. Credible.