Florida: statutory restrictions on AOB in water insurance claims
If a Florida homeowner has water damage and a restorer at the door offers to "handle everything with your insurance" if they sign one form, that form is almost always an assignment of benefits (AOB). Florida has enacted specific statutes to restrict how those agreements work — Fla. Stat. §627.7152 and §627.7153 — because water damage AOB litigation flooded state courts through the mid-2010s. The rules do not ban AOB, but they change the shape of the transaction significantly.
Written by Kent Lansing, Founder & Editor·Last reviewed Verified 2026-09-07
What §627.7152 does
Fla. Stat. §627.7152 governs assignment agreements for property insurance claims. The statute sets required form, notice, and content standards for any AOB assignment, and gives the insured the right to rescind an AOB within a defined period after signing. In substance, the required elements include:
Written and executed by the insured, dated, and in a form that meets the statutory requirements.
A right of the insured to rescind the assignment within a defined post-signature period, without penalty.
An itemized, per-unit cost estimate for the services the assignee agrees to perform.
Statutory disclosures on the face of the agreement about what the homeowner is giving up.
Notice to the insurer of the assignment within a defined period.
The specifics (exact rescission window, disclosure language, notice period) are in the statute text. Read the current text at leg.state.fl.us/statutes/ before signing anything.
What §627.7153 does
Fla. Stat. §627.7153 addresses attorney-fee awards in litigation arising from assigned property insurance claims. Historically, Florida's one-way attorney-fee statute (§627.428, since amended in the broader property-insurance reforms) had made it very cheap for a contractor with an AOB to sue an insurer even over small dollar disputes, because the contractor's attorney fees would be paid by the insurer if the contractor prevailed by any amount. §627.7153 modifies the fee-shifting framework specifically for AOB-related litigation, reducing the litigation incentive that had driven much of Florida's AOB abuse.
The AOB reform framework is part of a broader multi-year Florida property insurance overhaul (SB 76 in 2021, SB 2-A and SB 2-D in 2022, and subsequent bills). Verify the current text and amendments at leg.state.fl.us/statutes/ before relying on any specific provision.
What the statutes do NOT do
They do not ban AOB agreements. A properly-formed AOB with the statutory disclosures is still valid. Homeowners can still sign one.
They do not stop door-knocking contractors from offering AOBs. That practice is legal, though the paper the homeowner is asked to sign must meet the statutory form requirements.
They do not change the underlying coverage answer. If your water event is a flood without an NFIP policy, or a gradual leak, or a sewer backup without an endorsement, the AOB reform does not change any of those coverage answers.
They do not apply to non-property claims. The AOB reform is specific to property insurance under Chapter 627.
What this means when you're deciding what to do
The practical rule in Florida is the same as elsewhere but the statutory backing is louder:
Do not sign anything at the door. A licensed restorer will happily walk your property, write a written estimate, and hand it to you without any signature. That is the free, no-commitment path. If the person insisting on a signature is unwilling to leave the estimate without one, they are not the restorer you want.
If you have already signed an AOB in Florida, check whether the rescission window under §627.7152 is still open. It is measured from a defined post-signature point; the exact window is in the statute text.
Run your water event through the peril check and the water calculator before you file. The AOB reform does not change the coverage answer. If your event is a covered peril and the numbers work, file directly with your carrier; you do not need an AOB to file a claim.
How Florida compares
Florida is the flagship AOB restriction state, and it got there because of a decade of documented water-damage AOB litigation abuse specific to Florida. Most other states have no state-specific AOB rule and rely on general contract law plus policy anti-assignment provisions. The state rules hub maps the categories and the states currently populated in our verified dataset. Texas mold-cap rules and California's Toxic Mold Protection Act cover different peril mechanics; they do not overlap with Florida's AOB framework.
Sources
Fla. Stat. §627.7152 (assignment agreements for property insurance claims). Official statute site: leg.state.fl.us/statutes/. Verified 2026-09-07.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: floir.com. Publishes bulletins and consumer guidance on property insurance rules and post-storm contractor conduct.
Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services: complaint intake and post-storm scam alerts at myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers.
Educational information, not legal or insurance advice. Florida's property insurance framework has been amended multiple times since 2019 (SB 76, SB 2-A, SB 2-D, and subsequent bills). Verify the current text of §627.7152 and §627.7153 at the official source before relying on specific provisions in a dispute with your insurer or a contractor.