# Do You Have to Use a Preferred Contractor in Florida?

**Restoration Doctor of Miami** (Restoration Doctor of Miami)
Phone: (786) 213-9489 ((786) 213-9489) · office@restorationdoctors.com
Address: 1200 Brickell Ave Suite 1950 #1007, Miami, FL 33131
Category: Hiring & Trust · Published: September 21, 2026 · Updated: September 21, 2026
Author: Steve Jafari, General Manager — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/authors/steve-jafari

> TL;DR: A preferred contractor or managed repair list in Florida is a commercial arrangement between an insurance company and the companies on it, not an order from a court or a regulator. We read the sections that would carry a policyholder's right to pick a contractor and found none, while three preserve an insurer's own right to repair. The answer sits in your policy and your repair contract, so get both in writing before work starts.

![A sheet of evenly ruled paper lying flat on a tile floor beside a wall where the baseboard has been pried away.](https://restorationdoctorfl.com/images/blog/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida-contractor-list-1600w.jpg)
*A page of rows is a starting point for questions, not the end of the conversation.*

## What is an insurer's preferred contractor list?

Whether you have to use an insurer's preferred contractor in Florida is not answered by a Florida statute; it is answered by your own policy language and your own repair agreement. A preferred contractor list is a commercial arrangement between an insurance company and the companies whose names appear on it. Work is referred in one direction, under terms the two companies set between themselves.

The names vary, and the variation matters. Preferred vendor, approved vendor, program contractor and network contractor usually describe a referral. Managed repair describes something that can be written into the policy itself. Florida law uses both kinds of language in one sentence, which is the clearest available signal that they are not the same thing.

This post answers the first of the two questions hiding inside one, the kind of arrangement a list is, from public statutes you can read yourself. The second, what your own policy says, belongs to your insurance company and your agent.

Restoration Doctor is a restoration contractor, not a public adjuster, a law firm or an insurance company. Nothing here is legal advice or insurance advice, and nothing here is a reading of your policy.

## Who holds the contract for the work, and who holds the policy?

An insured repair usually involves two separate contracts, and almost every misunderstanding on this subject comes from treating them as one. The insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company. The repair agreement is a contract between the property owner and the contractor doing the work. Different parties, different documents, different obligations.

A contractor is not a party to your insurance policy and cannot act under it. Where the homeowner signs the repair agreement, the adjuster is not a party to it. Where an insurer exercises a right to repair under its own policy, the paperwork can run differently, which is section four. Whoever signs is who the contractor answers to for scope, schedule and payment.

The first thing worth establishing is not whether a list is fair, but which document the instruction comes from. Asking the insurer to name the source in writing needs no lawyer.

![A painted concrete block wall cut open at the base, exposing block cores and a wood furring strip.](https://restorationdoctorfl.com/images/blog/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida-block-wall-cut-1600w.jpg)
*Whoever measured the wall is who can write what the wall needs.*

## Does Florida law give you a right to choose your own contractor?

We looked for one and did not find it. That is a finding about statutes, not about practice. Homeowners hire whoever they hire, and the state's own advisory list assumes it by speaking of the contractor you choose. What is missing is a section of Florida law that says so. A great deal of writing on this subject asserts a Florida right of choice without citing a section.

We read six sections in full on the Legislature's own site, because they are where such a provision would sit. Four are policy sections: the [Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7142), [replacement cost](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7011), [valued policy and repair](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.702) and [assignment agreements](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7152). Two are conduct sections: [unfair methods of competition](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/626.9541) and [prohibited property insurance practices by contractors](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/489.147). None grants a policyholder a right to select the contractor who performs insured repairs.

The Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights is the most telling of the six: it is the state's own plain-language summary of what a claimant is entitled to. Its enumerated rights run from claim acknowledgment and a coverage confirmation on written request to free state mediation and a state helpline. Contractor choice is not among them.

Florida's unfair methods of competition section is equally clear by absence. We extracted the entire section through its history note and searched it: the words repair, contractor, shop and steer appear zero times. Its unfair claim settlement practices list addresses investigation, communication and payment conduct, much of it only where the conduct is performed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. It is not about who does the work.

One contrast is worth naming, because it shows the Legislature knows how to write this kind of rule. Florida does address an insurer that directs a repair, but only for vehicles. [Fla. Stat. 626.9743](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/626.9743) says an insurer that elects to repair a motor vehicle and specifically requires a particular repair shop must restore it to its pre-loss condition at no added cost to the insured beyond the policy terms. That provision lets the insurer require a shop, then attaches a condition to it. No parallel provision was located for residential property repair.

Two honest limits on that finding. The Legislature's full-text statute search would not run for us over a plain page request today, so this is a careful reading of the sections that would carry such a provision, not a survey of every line of Florida law. And a question about one specific policy is a question for a licensed Florida attorney or a licensed public adjuster, neither of which we are.

## What does Florida law say about an insurer's own right to repair?

Here the statutes are not silent, and they do not run the homeowner's way. Three sections preserve an insurance company's ability to repair rather than pay, where its policy provides for it. The replacement cost section ends with a list of things it does not do, and one of them is this: it does not prohibit an insurer from exercising its right to repair in compliance with its policy and section 627.702(7).

Section 627.702(7) says nothing in it shall be construed as prohibiting an insurer from repairing or replacing damaged property at its own expense and without contribution on the part of the insured, in lieu of any liability created by the money payment provision. Where a policy gives the insurer that option, performing the repair can substitute for writing the check.

The Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights carries the same limit on its own face. It says the document does not enlarge, modify or contravene statutory requirements, does not prohibit an insurer from exercising its right to repair in compliance with an applicable policy or the two sections above, and creates no civil cause of action for a policyholder.

Florida's assignment of benefits reform did not disturb any of this. The assignment section states that an assignment agreement and that section do not modify or eliminate any term, condition, or defense relating to any managed repair arrangement provided in the policy. None of that tells you what your policy says. It tells you what the statutes permit a policy to say, which is the honest boundary of what any contractor can offer you here.

## What does the Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights actually tell you to do?

This is the most useful document in the set, and it arrives in the week nobody is reading anything. An insurer issuing a personal lines residential property policy in Florida must provide it within fourteen days after receiving an initial communication about a claim. Its stated purpose is to summarize existing Florida law in simple, nontechnical terms.

Advisory item two tells a policyholder to contact the insurance company before entering into any contract for repairs, to confirm any managed repair policy provisions or optional preferred vendors. Read that phrasing slowly. The state's own summary treats the two as separate categories, which is the distinction the next section turns on.

Advisory item five is worth quoting as well: confirm that the contractor you choose is licensed to do business in Florida, and verify the license and any complaints through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The statute's own words are the contractor you choose. It assumes the choice exists in practice without granting it as a statutory right, which is exactly the shape of Florida law here.

Advisory item four is the one people skip: carefully read any contract that requires you to pay out-of-pocket expenses, or a fee based on a percentage of the insurance proceeds you will receive. Two enumerated rights also give you paper. A copy of the insurer's detailed estimate is yours within seven days after the adjuster generates it, and free state mediation is available under most circumstances.

- Verify any Florida license and complaint history yourself at the [DBPR licensee search](https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=).
- State insurance help, including the mediation program, sits with the [Florida Department of Financial Services](https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers).

## How is a managed repair provision different from an optional vendor list?

The statute draws the line and then stops, which leaves the specifics to each policy. Rather than guess at what any particular program does, treat the difference as a short list of things to establish in writing. Every row below has an answer on paper somewhere.

Notice what is not in the table: any prediction about what happens if you decline. That depends entirely on your policy language, and a contractor who offers you one has crossed a line Florida takes seriously.

| Question to settle | Where the answer lives |
| --- | --- |
| Is this list a referral, or a provision written into my policy? | The policy form and any endorsement, explained by your insurer or agent |
| Which policy provision is the insurer relying on? | A written answer from the insurer or adjuster that names the provision |
| Who signs the repair agreement, who pays the contractor, and when is payment due? | The repair agreement itself, read before anyone signs it |
| Is the estimate itemized and detailed, as Florida requires for insurance repair work? | Fla. Stat. 489.147(2)(e), and the estimate you are handed |
| Does the company hold a current Florida license, and does it have complaints? | The DBPR licensee search, checked yourself |

*Questions to settle in writing, and where each answer actually lives. Your policy language controls.*

## What does the restoration industry itself say about a third party directing the work?

The Restoration Industry Association published a summary of its Advocacy and Government Affairs position statements in October 2020, on its own blog at restorationindustry.org. It is useful because it describes the working relationship rather than the coverage. The full statements sit behind a member login, so only the public summary is quoted here.

The first position states that third parties cannot unilaterally dictate restoration procedures, scope, price, or billing. The summary adds that absent a direct contract with an insurer, restoration contractors are under no legal obligation to an insurer, its adjuster, or a third party. Third party opinions have no effect on the restorer's duties, it says, unless agreed with the customer and written into the contract.

Now the part that cuts against our own side of this. A trade association position is not law. It binds no insurer, no adjuster and no court, and quoting it at an adjuster wins nothing by itself. It is evidence of how the industry understands its own duties, and anyone presenting it as authority is overselling it. What those positions do and do not mean for the amount on an invoice is covered in [industry standard pricing is not a legal standard](/blog/industry-standard-pricing-water-mitigation-florida).

![A single air mover on a bare concrete slab in a daylit empty room, its power cord trailing to the left.](https://restorationdoctorfl.com/images/blog/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida-air-mover-slab-1600w.jpg)
*Equipment decisions follow moisture readings, not a referral list.*

## What can a Florida restoration contractor tell you about the list, and what can it not?

Florida draws this line by statute, and the penalty shapes how any careful contractor talks to you. Section 489.147(2)(d) makes three things a prohibited practice for a contractor that does not hold a public adjuster license: interpreting policy provisions, advising an insured regarding coverages or duties under the property insurance policy, and adjusting a claim on the insured's behalf. The penalty is disciplinary proceedings plus a fine of up to ten thousand dollars for each violation.

Where exactly that line sits is the subject of its own post: [why a Florida contractor will not read your policy for you](/blog/why-contractor-cannot-read-your-policy-florida).

Two more paragraphs of that section are worth knowing, whoever you hire. A contractor may not give you an agreement authorizing repairs without providing a good faith estimate of the itemized and detailed cost of services and materials for repairs undertaken pursuant to a property insurance claim. A contractor may also not offer, deliver, receive or accept any compensation, inducement or reward for the referral of services for which insurance proceeds are payable. That second one is a fair question to ask about any referral, from any direction.

Payment is where these conversations end up, so here is our own answer. We invoice the property owner, never the insurance company. The amount owed is the whole invoice, not only the deductible. A deposit equal to the deductible is collected when the agreement is signed. It confirms the agreement and puts the work on the schedule, and it is credited against the final invoice rather than added to it. Payment is due on completion and is charged to the card placed on file, the same way other home service businesses collect. Whatever your carrier reimburses is between you and your carrier, and our job is the documentation you take there.

![A closed binder resting on a tile floor beside a folded drop cloth in an empty room.](https://restorationdoctorfl.com/images/blog/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida/insurer-preferred-contractor-choice-florida-closed-binder-1600w.jpg)
*A closed file you can carry to your carrier is the deliverable that outlasts the equipment.*

## What should you put in writing before a list becomes a decision?

Written matters for an unglamorous reason: a written answer can be read twice, compared with the policy, and shown to whoever helps you next. A phone call cannot. Ask the insurer and any contractor the same way, then read the two sets of answers next to each other. Where they disagree is the thing worth resolving before work starts.

- To the insurer: is the list a referral, or does my policy contain a managed repair provision, and which provision is it.
- To the insurer: is the company exercising a right to repair under the policy, and if so, please cite the provision.
- To any contractor: please provide the itemized and detailed good faith estimate the statute requires before I sign anything.
- To any contractor: does anyone pay or receive a referral fee connected to this work.

## Where can I read the authorities for myself?

Every quotation above came from the sources below, read on the publishers' own sites on September 21, 2026. Statutes change every session, so confirm the current text before relying on any of it. For a question about one specific policy, a licensed Florida public adjuster or attorney is who answers it.

| Source | Link |
| --- | --- |
| Fla. Stat. 627.7142, Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights: advisory items and right-to-repair carve-out | [Fla. Stat. 627.7142](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7142) |
| Fla. Stat. 627.7011(6)(e), replacement cost: an insurer's right to repair preserved | [Fla. Stat. 627.7011](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7011) |
| Fla. Stat. 627.702(7), repair at the insurer's own expense in lieu of the money payment | [Fla. Stat. 627.702](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.702) |
| Fla. Stat. 627.7152(5), assignment agreements do not modify managed repair | [Fla. Stat. 627.7152](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/627.7152) |
| Fla. Stat. 626.9541, unfair methods of competition, read in full: no repair-choice provision | [Fla. Stat. 626.9541](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/626.9541) |
| Fla. Stat. 626.9743(3), an auto insurer that requires a particular repair shop: the contrast | [Fla. Stat. 626.9743](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/626.9743) |
| Fla. Stat. 489.147, prohibited property insurance practices by contractors | [Fla. Stat. 489.147](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/489.147) |
| Florida DBPR, licensee and complaint search | [DBPR licensee search](https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=) |
| Florida DFS Division of Consumer Services, including state mediation | [DFS Consumer Services](https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers) |
| RIA position statement summaries, October 2020, on restorationindustry.org; full statements member-only | Cited in prose, no public link |
| Sister sites in other markets | restorationdoctors.com and restorationdoctordc.com |

*Sources quoted in this post. Confirm the current text before relying on it.*


## Frequently asked questions

### Do you have to use a preferred contractor in Florida?

Florida statutes do not answer that for you. We read the six sections where a right to choose your contractor would sit, including the Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights, and none grants one. Several preserve an insurer's right to repair under its own policy. The answer turns on your policy language, which your insurer or agent explains.

### Is a preferred vendor list the same thing as managed repair?

Not necessarily, and Florida's own summary keeps them apart. The Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights advises a policyholder to contact the insurer before signing any repair contract, to confirm any managed repair policy provisions or optional preferred vendors. Two categories, one sentence. Ask in writing which one applies and which provision it relies on.

### Can a restoration contractor tell me whether my policy lets me pick?

No, and a careful one will decline. Fla. Stat. 489.147(2)(d) makes it a prohibited practice for a contractor without a public adjuster license to interpret policy provisions, advise an insured about coverages or duties, or adjust a claim. The fine runs up to ten thousand dollars for each violation. Ask your insurer, your agent, a licensed public adjuster or an attorney.

### Who pays the restoration contractor, and when?

We invoice the property owner, never the insurance company. What is owed is the whole invoice, not only the deductible. A deposit equal to the deductible is collected at signing; it confirms the agreement and is credited against the final invoice. Payment is due on completion against the card placed on file, as with other home service businesses. Reimbursement is between you and your carrier.

## Related reading

- Water damage restoration in South Florida — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/services/water-damage-restoration
- Restoration services in Fort Lauderdale — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/locations/fort-lauderdale
- Why a Florida contractor will not read your policy for you — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/blog/why-contractor-cannot-read-your-policy-florida
- Plumber, roofer or restoration company: who to call first — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/blog/plumber-roofer-or-restoration-company-south-florida
- Filing a claim or paying out of pocket on a Florida water loss — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/blog/file-claim-or-pay-out-of-pocket-florida-water-damage
- Why a restoration deposit equals your deductible — https://restorationdoctorfl.com/blog/restoration-deposit-progress-billing-florida

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