Florida Condo Property Damage Lawyer

After the hurricane, the association’s adjuster walked the roof, the parking garage, and the clubhouse. Your unit, where the water came in, was not on his list. That is not a snub. It is how condominium insurance is built, and it confuses almost everyone the first time.

I am Louis P. Meyer, Esq., a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A. in Tampa. My practice focuses on Florida property damage claims, and condominium claims are their own category of confusion: two or three policies on the same building, a state statute drawing the lines between them, and owners and associations pointing at each other while the mold grows. This page explains who insures what, and where these claims break down.

What this practice covers

Florida’s Condominium Act, Fla. Stat. § 718.111(11), splits a condominium building into insurance layers. The association buys a master policy covering the building structure, the roof, and the common elements. Each unit owner carries a separate policy, called an HO-6 policy, covering what the master policy leaves behind: the finishes and contents inside the unit, personal property, and loss of use coverage. The statute and the declaration draw the line, and the line decides whose carrier gets the bill.

I handle condo property damage claims across Florida for unit owners and for associations: hurricane and windstorm losses, roof and common element claims, water losses from plumbing failures and neighboring units, and the fights when a master policy pays too little and the shortfall lands on the owners as a special assessment.

Where condo claims break down

First, the boundary fight. Water does not respect insurance categories. A failed roof membrane is a master policy problem. The ruined flooring and cabinets beneath it may belong to the unit owner’s policy. A pipe inside a wall can fall on either side depending on whom it serves and what the declaration says. Every carrier has an incentive to assign the loss to one of the others, and the owner sits in the middle with a wet unit and two claim numbers.

Second, the association side runs on different math. Association hurricane deductibles are calculated as a percentage of total insured value rather than a flat dollar amount, and they apply per calendar year. On a mid rise tower, two or five percent is real money. When a master claim is underpaid, the gap does not vanish. It becomes a special assessment or a delayed roof, and the owners end up funding the carrier’s discount.

Third, owners underestimate their own policy. An HO-6 policy carries loss assessment coverage, the piece that responds when the association assesses owners, and its limits are often set far too low for a Gulf Coast hurricane. Unit owners carry post loss duties as any other policyholder does: prompt notice, mitigation, documentation, and cooperation, on deadlines nobody at the association office explains.

How I approach this work

I start with the documents: the master policy, the unit owner policy, and the declaration, because in a condo claim the paperwork is the map. From there it is the same discipline as any Florida property claim. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.70131, a carrier generally must pay or deny a residential property claim within sixty days after receiving notice, and Fla. Stat. § 627.70152 requires a presuit notice before suit. Sworn proofs of loss and examinations under oath appear in the large association claims as a matter of course. I will tell you plainly which carrier owes what, and when the honest answer is that the documents put a cost on your side of the line.

Questions condo owners and associations ask after a loss

The roof leaked into my unit. Is that my claim or the association’s?

Both files open. The roof and the building structure sit on the association’s master policy. The damage inside your unit falls to your HO-6 policy, subject to what the declaration says. Report the loss to both carriers promptly; each will want to see the other’s file before it pays.

A pipe burst in the unit above me and ruined my floors. Whose insurance pays?

It depends on where the pipe failed, whom it served, and what the documents say. The upstairs owner’s liability coverage, your own HO-6 policy, and sometimes the master policy all get examined. Document everything, mitigate, and give your own carrier notice regardless of whose pipe it was.

What does my HO-6 policy actually cover?

The interior items the statute and the declaration assign to the unit owner: floor coverings, wall coverings, cabinets, fixtures, and appliances inside the unit, plus personal property, loss of use, and loss assessment coverage for assessments levied after a covered loss. Read your limits closely. The loss assessment limit is often a fraction of what a hurricane assessment costs.

The association’s hurricane claim was underpaid, and now I face a special assessment. Can they do that?

Associations may levy assessments for common expenses, and an insurance shortfall on a building loss is a common reason. But the more important fight is upstream: an underpaid master claim is worth challenging, because every dollar recovered there is a dollar owners do not raise themselves. Your loss assessment coverage may respond, up to its limit.

Why is the association’s hurricane deductible so enormous?

Because it is a percentage deductible. Florida law allows hurricane deductibles set as a percentage of insured value, applied per calendar year, and on a building insured for tens of millions of dollars, even a two percent deductible runs into six figures. That structure is a major reason underpaid claims turn into assessments.

Who pays to rebuild the drywall and cabinets inside my unit?

Under Fla. Stat. § 718.111(11), the association’s master policy covers the condominium property as originally installed, which includes the drywall. Floor coverings, wall coverings, ceiling coverings, cabinets, countertops, fixtures, and appliances are the unit owner’s responsibility. The declaration can move some of these pieces, so the documents control the final answer.

The bottom line

A condo loss runs through a statute, a declaration, and at least two insurance policies before anyone writes a check. Owners who understand that map get their claims into the right file early. Owners who do not spend the storm season being transferred between carriers, each one explaining that the loss belongs to somebody else.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq.
Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A.
100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: 561-206-2949
Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com

About the Author

Louis P. Meyer, Esq. is a Senior Attorney at Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., where his practice focuses on first party property damage claims and personal injury cases across Florida, including condominium claims for unit owners and associations. He was selected to Florida Rising Stars in 2024, 2025, and 2026. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, writes the LouisTheLawyer publication on Substack, and hosts the podcast Off The Record by Louis Meyer. He holds an LL.M. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, a J.D. from Whittier Law School, and a B.A. from UCLA, graduating with Honors. He was admitted to The Florida Bar on November 23, 2020, Bar No. 1024811. This page is general information about how condominium property damage claims work in Florida. It is not legal advice about any specific claim or policy.

Louis P. Meyer, Esq., Senior Attorney, Kanner & Pintaluga, P.A., 100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 610, Tampa, FL 33602. Phone: 561-206-2949. Email: lmeyer@kpattorney.com.

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