Florida's Late-Notice Burden Now Depends on Your County

On July 22, 2026, the Second DCA reversed in part a Manatee County summary judgment in SFR Services, LLC a/a/o Wild Oak Bay Owner Association, Inc. v. American Coastal Insurance Co., No. 2D2024-1947.¹ Hurricane Irma made landfall September 10, 2017. The association reported its claim July 29, 2020, a 1053-day delay by the trial court's count.¹ The panel affirmed that notice was not prompt as a matter of law, then reversed on prejudice and gave the burden to the insurer.

American Coastal wrote the exception itself. Its policy said the insurer has "no duty to provide coverage under this Policy if the failure to comply with the following [listed] duties is prejudicial to [us],"¹ and prompt notice sat in that list beside duties like cooperation, which carry no common-law presumption. The structure means the listed duties get treated alike, the court held, so the carrier "removed any presumption of prejudice." The panel certified conflict with Arce v. Citizens, 388 So. 3d 205 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024),² and sided with Perez v. Citizens, 345 So. 3d 893 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022).³ The Florida Supreme Court has been here: in Arce it declined to exercise jurisdiction and denied review, No. SC2024-0174, April 26, 2024.⁴

Who must prove prejudice after late notice, by Florida appellate district (as of August 6, 2026)

District	Counties	Who carries the burden	Controlling decision
Second	DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota	Insurer must prove prejudice	Wild Oak Bay, 2D2024-1947 (2026)
Fourth	Broward, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie	Insurer must prove prejudice	Perez, 345 So. 3d 893 (2022)
Third	Miami-Dade, Monroe	Presumed; insured must rebut	Arce, 388 So. 3d 205 (2024)
Sixth	Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Orange, Osceola, Polk	Presumed; policy language not addressed	Bensen, 401 So. 3d 390 (2023)
First	29 panhandle and north-central counties	Presumed; policy language not addressed	Homeowners Choice v. Clark, 410 So. 3d 99
Fifth	Brevard, Duval, Marion, Seminole, Volusia and nine others	Presumed; no published decision on policy language	n/a

Venue now decides the burden. Lee and Collier left the Second District for the new Sixth DCA on January 1, 2023,⁵⁶ so Wild Oak Bay does not reach a Fort Myers or Naples loss. Nothing is final. As of publication no rehearing motion, jurisdictional notice, or mandate had been docketed, and the slip opinion remains subject to revision.¹ The insured still lost step one, which is why when you put the carrier on notice decides more files than anything argued later.