What OPPAGA Found: Florida Carriers Pay Up to 747% Less When You Don't Have Help

The Question Florida's Legislature Asked

In 2010, the Florida Legislature asked OPPAGA — the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability — to study a simple question: Do public adjusters actually help homeowners get more money on insurance claims?

The answer wasn't subtle.

OPPAGA Report No. 10-06 found that Florida homeowners who used a licensed public adjuster received insurance settlements that were 19% to 747% higher than homeowners who negotiated with their carrier alone. The study analyzed actual Florida claims data and controlled for claim characteristics including property type, damage severity, and carrier.

That finding — published by the Florida government itself, not by a PA industry group — remains the most authoritative study ever conducted on the value of professional representation in homeowner insurance claims. Sixteen years later, no subsequent study has contradicted it. And the market conditions that created those gaps have only intensified.

What OPPAGA Actually Studied

The study was commissioned by the Florida Legislature under its routine program evaluation authority. OPPAGA operates independently within the Legislature — it is not an advocacy organization, an industry group, or a plaintiff firm. Its findings carry the weight of government-sourced, peer-reviewed policy research.

The 19% to 747% range reflects variation across claim types, carriers, and damage categories. Not every claim saw a 747% improvement. But the floor — a 19% improvement — means that even in the best-case scenario, homeowners who negotiated alone left significant money on the table.

And in the worst-case scenarios, carriers paid unrepresented homeowners roughly one-eighth of what represented homeowners received for comparable damage.

Why the Gap Exists: Information Asymmetry

Insurance is one of the most information-asymmetric markets in the American economy. When you file a hurricane claim, here's what each side brings to the negotiation:

Your carrier has: Xactimate pricing databases (controlled by Verisk, which also serves carrier interests), decades of claims data, teams of adjusters trained in estimation minimization, AI-powered damage assessment tools (Shift Technology, XactAI), engineering firms on retainer, and legal departments specializing in coverage denial.

You have: A damaged home, a phone full of photos, and a policy document you've never read.

That gap is not an accident. Carriers invest billions annually in claims technology specifically designed to reduce payouts. Verisk's Xactimate platform — which controls approximately 80% of property damage estimates in the U.S. — has been documented using pricing that systematically understates material and labor costs in certain markets. When contractors are charging $150/square for roofing, Xactimate might price it at $80/square. The gap isn't an error — it's structural.

A public adjuster — or an AI tool built on the same data carriers use — closes that gap. OPPAGA proved it.

The Weiss Ratings Confirmation: The Problem Is Getting Worse

OPPAGA's findings from 2010 are corroborated by more recent data. Weiss Ratings reported that 42% of all U.S. homeowner insurance claims in 2024 were closed with zero payment — meaning the carrier paid nothing at all. That's up from 25.7% in 2004.

Nearly half of all claims resulted in zero payment. Not underpayment. Zero.

For the claims that do get paid, the amounts are declining relative to actual repair costs. Material costs have increased 30%+ since 2020. Labor costs in Florida's construction market have surged post-hurricane. But carrier estimates haven't kept pace — because they're not designed to keep pace. They're designed to settle claims at the lowest defensible number.

What This Means for Florida Homeowners in 2026

If you filed a hurricane insurance claim in Florida — for Milton, Helene, Ian, or any storm — and accepted the carrier's offer without professional review, the OPPAGA data suggests you likely left money on the table. The question is how much.

Historically, the only way to answer that question was to hire a public adjuster (10-20% contingency fee, capped at 10% within one year of a declared emergency in Florida) or an insurance attorney (33-40% contingency). Both are effective — OPPAGA proved that. But both are expensive, and both require you to identify the problem before they can help solve it.

That's the gap ClaimRestored fills. Our AI analyzes your settlement against 100,000+ Florida DFS Civil Remedy Notice records — the largest proprietary dataset of carrier behavior in the state. In 3 minutes, our system compares your payout to comparable claims in your county, from your carrier, for your specific storm. You see whether you're in the OPPAGA "unrepresented" column or the "represented" column — before you spend a dollar.

The initial check is always free. If the data shows a significant gap, you decide what to do next: use ClaimRestored's flat-fee analysis tools (starting at $249), engage a licensed public adjuster, consult an attorney, or file a complaint with the FL Division of Financial Services. The point is that you make that decision with data — not hope.

The Public Adjuster Landscape in Florida

Florida has approximately 3,000 actively licensed public adjusters, organized primarily through FAPIA (Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters) with roughly 600 members. Standard contingency fees range from 10-20%, with a statutory cap of 10% on claims filed within one year of a governor-declared emergency.

PAs are effective. OPPAGA proved it. But not every homeowner can afford to give up 10-20% of their recovery — especially when the carrier's first offer barely covers their deductible. And many homeowners don't even know PAs exist.

ClaimRestored was built to serve both sides of that equation. For homeowners who can work with a PA, our AI helps them understand their claim's value before engaging one — making the PA relationship more productive and the negotiation more informed. For homeowners who can't afford or don't want a PA, ClaimRestored's flat-fee tiers (starting at $249, never a percentage) provide the same analytical firepower at a fraction of the cost.

The Bottom Line

OPPAGA Report No. 10-06 is the most important piece of evidence in Florida homeowner insurance. It proves — with government authority — that carriers systematically pay unrepresented homeowners less. Not a little less. Up to 747% less.

Sixteen years later, the data says the problem is worse: more claims closed at zero, higher repair costs, more sophisticated carrier AI, and a homeowner population that still negotiates blind.

ClaimRestored exists to change that math. The OPPAGA gap is an information gap. See how we close it →