Selling as is · November 16, 2026 · 8 min read

Selling a fire-damaged house in Florida: the insurance claim, your lender and your options

Published by BIMINIO Properties, a company that buys houses for cash in Florida and Arizona.

Scheduled for November 16, 2026.

A Florida stucco house with a soot-blackened window, a charred roof gable and a blue tarp on the roof

A fire gives you three jobs at once: the insurance claim, the lender, and the house itself. Settle what the insurer owes first, because that number decides whether you repair, rebuild or sell the house as it stands.

This post covers Florida law as it reads on 2026-11-09. It is general information. For your own claim, ask a Florida lawyer.

What your insurer owes after a fire

Florida has a "valued policy law", section 627.702 of the Florida Statutes. It sets the amount an insurer owes for a fire, and it works in two ways.

Loss	What section 627.702 says
Total loss of the building from a covered peril	The insurer owes the amount the property was insured for in the policy, if a premium was charged and paid (subsection 1)
Partial loss by fire or lightning	The insurer owes the actual amount of the loss, up to the amount of insurance for that property and that peril (subsection 2)

The same section adds limits:

The total loss rule needs "the absence of any change increasing the risk without the insurer's consent" and no "fraudulent or criminal fault" by the owner.
The insurer is "never liable for more than the amount necessary to repair, rebuild, or replace the structure" after other benefits already paid for the loss.
The rules do not apply when several insurers cover one building and the owner did not tell them all, when buildings share one blanket amount, or when a builder's risk policy covers the building. A coinsurance clause in the policy also applies.

Find the page of your policy that lists the insured amount and the type of cover. It tells you which line of the table fits your loss.

How fast the insurer must act

Section 627.70131 gives the insurer a schedule once you report the fire:

7 calendar days to review and acknowledge your communication.
7 days after it receives proof-of-loss statements to begin its investigation.
30 days after it receives those statements to carry out any physical inspection.
60 days after it receives notice of the claim to pay or deny it.

Write down the date of every call, email and letter. If the insurer misses a date, you have a record. The deadlines for you to report a claim are in our post on storm damage claim deadlines. They are the same for a fire: 1 year for a new claim and 18 months for a supplemental one.

Your lender and the claim check

If you have a mortgage, the claim check may carry two names. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal bank regulator, says on its consumer page that the check "may be payable to both the policy holder (you) and the lien holder (the bank)." The same page says banks have different rules for releasing insurance funds, and tells owners to review their mortgage loan documents and contact the bank.

So before the check arrives, ask your loan servicer in writing:

How it releases claim money, all at once or in stages.
What papers it needs from you or from a contractor.
Who to call when a payment is late.

If you plan to sell, also ask what the servicer needs before it releases claim money, because the loan is paid from the sale at closing.

Help with the claim: a public adjuster and mediation

Florida law gives you two kinds of help.

A public adjuster is a licensed person you hire to handle the claim for you. Section 626.854 caps the fee. It is 20 percent of the claim payments for a claim that is not tied to a state of emergency, and 10 percent when the claim comes from an event under a Governor's state of emergency declaration. On any payment the insurer made, or agreed in writing to make, before the contract was signed, the fee is 0 percent. The contract must tell you that you can cancel within 10 days.

Mediation is a meeting with a mediator to settle a disagreement with the insurer. Under section 627.7015 the policyholder can request it, and the insurer pays the cost of conducting the conference, with exceptions in the section. Your insurer must tell you about this right when you file a covered claim.

What to tell a buyer

A buyer wants to know about a fire, and in Florida the seller has a legal duty to say so. In Johnson v. Davis (1985), the Florida Supreme Court held that "where the seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose them to the buyer."

A repaired house can look new. The fire, the smoke damage and the repair work are then facts the buyer cannot see, so tell the buyer. Tell the buyer about an open or paid insurance claim too. Our guide on selling as is and what to tell the buyer lists what to share and how.

Florida also requires a seller of residential property to give the buyer a flood disclosure under section 689.302, at or before the time the contract is signed. A fire does not remove the flood disclosure.

Fire damage in your Florida house? Get a written offer in 24 hours. A written cash offer comes within 24 hours, with the comparable sales we used. There is no cost and no obligation.

Call or text (813) 729-8998

When the damage reaches half the house's value

If your house is in a FEMA flood zone, a second rule can decide your plan. FEMA says "substantial damage" means repairs that cost 50 percent or more of the structure's market value before the disaster, "regardless of the cause of damage." A building in that position "must be brought into compliance with local floodplain-management regulations", and owners who rebuild may need to elevate the house.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, explains how it works there. The rule applies to properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas (flood zones A, AE, V, VE, AO, AH, AR or A99). Costs include permits pulled in the prior 12 months. The county says it is the owner's responsibility to work out whether the repairs reach the threshold, and when they do, "the entire structure must comply with current floodplain requirements." Other counties publish their own pages, and the percentage can differ between local governments, so ask the building office before you sign a repair contract.

A buyer who plans repairs inside a flood zone faces the same rule.

Repair first, or sell as is?

Repair first and you may sell at a higher price, but you keep paying the mortgage, taxes and insurance while the work is done, and you wait for the insurer's payments. Sell as is and you stop those costs sooner. The buyer takes the repairs, so the price is lower than for a repaired house.

Before you choose, work out:

How much has the insurer paid, and how much is still to come?
How many months would the repairs take, and what does each month of ownership cost you?
Is the house in a flood zone where the 50 percent rule could apply?

To compare both paths with your own figures, use the net proceeds calculator. If the claim is still open when you sell, read how a buyer can take over a claim in our storm damage post.

What we ask about a fire-damaged house

When you call BIMINIO about a house after a fire, we ask:

When the fire happened, and what the fire department or insurer has told you.
Whether you reported the claim, and where it stands.
Whether anyone lives in the house, and whether the utilities are on.
Whether a lender holds a mortgage.

We buy damaged houses as they are in Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Lakeland. No repairs and no clean-up. The repair budget behind the offer comes from a real scope of the work, and we say clearly that a cash offer is below full market value. You get a written offer within 24 hours and choose a closing date from 7 to 35 days out. See our page on vacant or damaged property, or call us at (813) 729-8998.

Thinking about selling? BIMINIO buys houses in Florida and Arizona as is. A written offer comes within 24 hours, and you pick the closing date.

Sources

Florida Statutes (2026), section 627.702: valued policy law, read November 9, 2026
Florida Statutes (2026), section 627.70132: notice of property insurance claim, read November 9, 2026
Florida Statutes (2026), section 627.70131: insurer's duty to acknowledge and investigate claims, read November 9, 2026
Florida Statutes (2026), section 626.854: public adjusters, read November 9, 2026
Florida Statutes (2026), section 627.7015: alternative procedure for resolution of disputed property insurance claims, read November 9, 2026
Florida Statutes (2026), section 689.302: disclosure of flood risks to prospective purchaser, read November 9, 2026
Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985), Supreme Court of Florida, decided October 31, 1985 (copy of the opinion), read November 9, 2026
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, HelpWithMyBank.gov: property and home insurance, read November 9, 2026
FEMA: What does substantial damage mean?, read November 9, 2026
Hillsborough County: Rebuilding and repair, the 50 percent rule (page last modified 2025-08-07), read November 9, 2026

Situations this helps with

Vacant or damaged property

Guides

This post is general information. BIMINIO does not give legal, tax or financial advice.

Questions and answers

How long do I have to report a fire claim in Florida?

Florida Statutes section 627.70132 says notice of a new or reopened property insurance claim must reach the insurer within 1 year after the date of loss. Notice of a supplemental claim, which is more damage from the same peril, must reach the insurer within 18 months after the date of loss. Report a fire at once, because the other deadlines in this post start from that report.

How fast must a Florida insurer respond to a fire claim?

Florida Statutes section 627.70131 says the insurer must review and acknowledge a communication about a claim within 7 calendar days. It must begin its investigation within 7 days after it receives proof-of-loss statements, and any physical inspection must happen within 30 days after it receives them. The 60-day limit to pay or deny the claim runs from notice of the claim.

Does a total fire loss in Florida pay the full policy amount even if the house is worth less?

Not always. Florida Statutes section 627.702(1)(a) sets the insurer's liability on a total loss from a covered peril at the amount the property was insured for, with a premium charged and paid. Section 627.702(1)(b) then says the insurer is never liable for more than the amount needed to repair, rebuild or replace the structure, after counting all other benefits actually paid for the loss.

When does the Florida total loss rule not apply?

Florida Statutes section 627.702(3) says the total loss and partial fire loss rules do not apply when more than one company insures the same building and the owner did not disclose the other insurance to all of them, when several buildings are insured under one blanket amount, or when a builder's risk policy insures the building. Section 627.702(4) also makes any loss subject to a coinsurance clause in the policy.

Can I cancel a contract with a public adjuster in Florida?

Yes. Florida Statutes section 626.854(7) requires the contract to say the insured may cancel for any reason, without penalty, within 10 days after the date of the contract. For a claim based on an event under a Governor's state of emergency, the insured may cancel within 30 days after the date of loss or 10 days after signing, whichever is longer. The fee on any payment the insurer made or agreed to before the contract is 0 percent.

What is Florida's property insurance mediation program?

It is a conference run under Florida Statutes section 627.7015, with a mediator, to settle a disputed residential property claim. The policyholder can ask for it, and the insurer must pay all the cost of conducting the conference, with exceptions stated in the section. The insurer must tell the policyholder about the right to mediation when the policy is issued and renewed and when a covered claim is filed.

Do I have to give a flood disclosure when I sell a fire-damaged house in Florida?

A fire does not remove the flood disclosure. Florida Statutes section 689.302 says a seller must complete and give a flood disclosure to the buyer of residential real property at or before the time the sales contract is signed. The form asks whether the seller knows of flooding that damaged the property and whether the seller filed a flood claim or received flood assistance.

Does the 50 percent rule apply to a house damaged by fire?

It can, when the house is in a flood zone. FEMA defines substantial damage as repairs costing 50 percent or more of the structure's market value before the disaster, regardless of the cause of damage, for a structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Rules can differ between local governments, so ask the building office of your county or city before you plan repairs.

Does BIMINIO buy houses with fire damage in Florida?

Yes. BIMINIO buys single-family houses as they are in Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Lakeland, including houses damaged by fire or water. You make no repairs and no clean-up, and we pay the closing costs. A cash offer is below the full market value of a repaired house, because the offer already takes the repair cost off.

How soon can I get an offer and close on a fire-damaged house with BIMINIO?

BIMINIO sends a written offer within 24 hours. You choose the closing date, from 7 to 35 days after you accept. After you accept, one building inspection of under 30 minutes takes place, and a licensed title company handles the paperwork and pays any lender from the sale at closing.

Get a written cash offer

A firm number within 24 hours, with the comparable sales we used. No fees, no repairs.