Florida Supreme Court Limits Property Insurance Presuit Notice Law on October 22, 2026

On October 22, 2026, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Hughes, No. SC2024-0025, that the presuit notice requirement in section 627.70152, Florida Statutes, does not apply to lawsuits over property insurance policies issued before the statute took effect on July 1, 2021. The decision resolves a split among Florida's district courts of appeal.

The opinion is not final until the time to file a rehearing motion expires and any motion filed is decided.

What the Presuit Notice Statute Requires

Section 627.70152 took effect on July 1, 2021, as part of a broader set of changes to Florida property insurance law. As enacted in 2021, it applied to suits under residential or commercial property insurance policies that were not brought by an assignee.

Under subsection (3), a claimant must give the Department of Financial Services written notice of intent to initiate litigation, on a department form, at least 10 business days before filing suit. The notice may not be given before the insurer has made a coverage determination. The department then notifies the insurer.

The insurer must respond in writing. If it denied coverage, it may accept coverage, continue to deny or assert a right to reinspect the property. If it did not fully deny the claim, it must make a settlement offer or demand alternative dispute resolution.

A court must dismiss without prejudice any suit filed without the required notice. A provision repealed in 2022 also barred a claimant whose suit was dismissed for lack of notice from recovering attorneys' fees incurred before the dismissal.

The Hughes Case and the Split Among District Courts

Rebecca Hughes held a homeowners policy with Universal from April 24, 2019, to April 24, 2020. She filed a water damage claim in May 2019, and Universal paid an amount she considered too low. She sued on August 4, 2021, without first filing the statutory notice, and the trial court in Collier County dismissed the case without prejudice.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed and held that the statute does not apply to policies issued before July 1, 2021. The Fourth District had reached the opposite result in Cole v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., and the Third District later agreed with Cole. The First, Second and Fifth Districts sided with the Sixth District.

How the Court Analyzed Retroactivity

Chief Justice Couriel wrote for the Court. As a general rule, the statute in effect when an insurance contract is executed governs substantive issues under that contract. A statute applies retroactively only when the Legislature clearly expresses that intent and retroactive application would not violate constitutional principles.

The Court found no clear statement of retroactive intent. The phrase "applies exclusively to all suits" in subsection (1) describes the types of cases covered and does not reach back to older policies. Silence in the notice provision about existing policies is not clear evidence of retroactive intent, and the statute's effective date points against retroactive application.

The Court also rejected Universal's argument that the notice requirement is only procedural. Viewed as a whole, the statute imposes dismissal for noncompliance, gives insurers added time to pay and delays the right to sue. Those effects make it substantive. The Court approved the Sixth District's decision and disapproved Cole.

Justice Tanenbaum concurred in a separate opinion. He relied on section 624.21, Florida Statutes, which directs that amendments to the insurance code operate prospectively unless a contrary legislative intent is specified.

Effect on Policyholders and Insurers

For claims under property insurance policies issued before July 1, 2021, the section 627.70152 presuit notice is not a condition for filing suit. Policies issued after the statute took effect remain subject to the notice requirement.

Homeowners, condominium associations and commercial property owners with claims under older policies, including those in Brevard County, are the groups most directly affected, along with the insurers defending those claims. Once final, the decision governs how trial courts and district courts statewide, including those that had followed Cole, apply the statute in property insurance litigation.