Check a licence before you hire
Every record on this site came from one of these registers. Use them directly — they are always more current than any directory, including this one.
| Public adjusters | DFS licensee search — search the name and pick the adjuster category |
| Contractors, roofers, plumbers, window & door | DBPR licence lookup |
| Professional engineers | FBPE engineering directory |
| Attorneys | The Florida Bar member search |
| Any insurance company or agent | Florida company search |
If a claim is going wrong
Florida runs a free insurance consumer helpline staffed by specialists who will take the complaint up with your insurer for you. You do not need a lawyer or an adjuster to use it.
- Insurance Consumer Helpline — 1-877-693-5236. File a complaint or ask about your rights.
- Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate — the state office that argues the consumer's side of insurance policy in Florida. Resources and reports.
- Complaint about a contractor or an engineer — DBPR complaints.
Report fraud or unlicensed work
Unlicensed contracting and inflated claims are the two things that most often turn a recoverable loss into a disaster. Both are reportable, and reporting is free.
- Insurance fraud — 1-800-378-0445 or report online at first.fldfs.com (DFS Criminal Investigations).
- Unlicensed activity — DBPR unlicensed activity. Anything a contractor does without a licence is also a reason to stop paying.
Trade and professional associations
Associations are a good second signal on a business — they usually require a licence, carry a code of ethics, and run their own continuing education. Membership is not a licence, and it is not something this site records: we publish licence data from public registers, and we link to an association rather than copy its member list, which is that association's own work.
- FAPIA — Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Find a FAPIA member adjuster · their code of ethics.
- NAPIA — the national association of public insurance adjusters. napia.com
- FRSA — Florida Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors Association. Find an FRSA member contractor.
- Florida Association of PHCC — plumbing, heating and cooling contractors. Member list.
Guides worth reading
- United Policyholders — a non-profit policyholder advocate; the most detailed free claim guidance anywhere. uphelp.org
- My Safe Florida Home — the state's free wind-mitigation inspection and grant program. mysafeflhome.com
- FloodSmart — the NFIP's consumer site; flood is not covered by a standard homeowners policy. floodsmart.gov
- Florida Division of Emergency Management — floridadisaster.org
- National Hurricane Center — official forecasts, advisories and cone of uncertainty. nhc.noaa.gov
Our knowledge base
Plain-language articles on preparing, claiming and recovering — each one naming the authority it summarises and linking the original.