Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney
.
Approved Mediator
.
Approved Arbitrator
Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney
.
Approved Mediator
.
Approved Arbitrator
Insurance & Property Mediation & Arbitration
Insurance and property mediation resolves first-party coverage disputes and bad faith claims between a policyholder and their insurer — hurricane, hail, water damage, and sinkhole claims where the two sides disagree on coverage or the value of a loss.
Tampa Civil Mediation, LLC handles these disputes in Hillsborough County and across the Tampa Bay area, with Anthony T. Martino bringing decades of insurance-industry trial experience to disputes over policy language, appraisal awards, and claim denials. Schedule a mediation once litigation is underway.
Martino also serves as arbitrator in insurance and property disputes, whether sole arbitrator, panel chair, or panel member, when parties elect that path instead of a negotiated settlement.
Insurance and property mediation at Tampa Civil Mediation covers first-party coverage litigation — lawsuits between a policyholder and their own insurer, not liability claims against a third party.
Parties with a personal injury or medical malpractice claim can review those practice areas separately. This page covers property coverage disputes only.
Florida’s Department of Financial Services runs a separate, state-administered mediation program under Fla. Stat. § 627.7015 — a free, informal, nonbinding conference available to residential policyholders before litigation or the appraisal process even begins, paid for by the insurer. That DFS program does not count as the mandatory pretrial mediation required by a court once a lawsuit is filed.
A policyholder who has already gone through DFS mediation without resolving the dispute, or whose case has moved past the point at which that program applies, is exactly who this service is for.
A Hillsborough County circuit judge may order a contested property insurance lawsuit to mediation under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.700(a), the same civil procedure rule that applies to personal injury litigation, once a coverage or bad faith complaint has been filed. For a bad faith claim specifically, a policyholder must first file a civil remedy notice with DFS and give the insurer a 60-day window to cure the alleged violation under Fla. Stat. § 624.155(3)(a) before that bad faith claim can even be brought.
A litigated insurance coverage mediation commonly opens with a joint session before moving into separate caucus rooms — a typical format in Tampa Civil Mediation’s practice rather than a sequence required by rule — centered on interpreting policy language and evaluating an appraisal award or engineering report rather than liability facts alone. The mediator moves between rooms to work through the coverage dispute with the policyholder’s counsel and the carrier’s claims counsel or adjusters.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Joint session | Both sides and counsel typically open the conference together; confidentiality and process are outlined |
| Caucus rooms | The mediator meets separately with each party to discuss the policy language and supporting evidence |
| Coverage framing | Each side works through how the disputed policy provisions and any appraisal or engineering findings might be received at trial |
| Written agreement | If resolved, the agreement is reduced to writing and signed, often the same day. If not, the mediator reports the impasse to the court without comment, per Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.730(a) |
A carrier representative attending mediation needs binding settlement authority under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.720, and policyholders benefit from having the claim’s full paper trail organized before the session. In Tampa Civil Mediation’s experience, incomplete files are a common reason early settlement discussions stall before either side has a clear basis to move off its position.
When requesting a mediation date, providing the case type, court and case number if suit has already been filed, and the parties and counsel involved helps scheduling move faster.
Property insurance disputes have a fourth option most other civil cases do not: appraisal, a contractual valuation process many policies require before litigation. The exact scope of appraisal depends on the specific policy language and the issues in dispute, so the comparison below describes common practice rather than a fixed rule that applies to every policy.
| Factor | Mediation | Appraisal | Jury Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it resolves | Any disputed issue, including coverage and bad faith | The amount of loss under most policy language; coverage disputes generally fall outside its scope | Any disputed issue |
| Decision maker | The parties themselves | Two party-appointed appraisers and an umpire | A judge or jury |
| Binding? | Only if parties agree and sign | Binding on the amount of loss under most policy language | Binding verdict |
| Confidentiality | Confidential under Fla. Stat. § 44.405 | Not confidential | Public court record |
Parties who want a binding decision on the merits instead of a negotiated settlement can review arbitration services separately. Martino personally serves as arbitrator for parties who choose that path.
At a glance
Common Questions
DFS mediation, appraisal, civil remedy notices, and bad faith timing — with the governing statute or rule cited for each.
No. DFS mediation under Fla. Stat. § 627.7015 is a free, state-run, nonbinding conference available before litigation begins. Tampa Civil Mediation handles coverage disputes already in litigation, mediated privately under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure once a lawsuit has been filed and is at issue.
Many residential and commercial property policies require appraisal for valuation disputes before litigation, though appraisal generally does not resolve coverage questions under most policy language. If DFS mediation was requested and the insurer failed to comply with notice requirements, a policyholder may not need to complete appraisal first, under Fla. Stat. § 627.7015(7).
A civil remedy notice is a formal notice filed with DFS identifying an insurer’s alleged statutory violation, required before a bad faith lawsuit can be filed under Fla. Stat. § 624.155(3)(a). Once filed, the insurer has 60 days to cure the violation before the bad faith claim can proceed to litigation.
It centers on interpreting policy language and evaluating appraisal or engineering evidence, rather than liability and damages evidence. It also involves a separate pre-litigation track — DFS mediation and contractual appraisal — that ordinary personal injury claims do not have.
Each party, their counsel of record, and a representative with full authority to settle must attend, under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.720. For an insurance carrier, that typically means an adjuster or claims counsel empowered to bind the company to any agreement reached at the table.
Mediation communications are confidential under Fla. Stat. § 44.405, but a signed settlement agreement itself is not automatically protected by that confidentiality. This differs from DFS mediation, in which a written settlement becomes binding after a three-business-day rescission window, unless the check has been cashed.
The mediator reports the lack of agreement to the court without comment or recommendation, under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.730(a). The case then proceeds toward trial on the coverage or bad faith claim. Any appraisal award already obtained remains part of the case record, though its effect on the remaining dispute depends on the specific policy and issues still in litigation.
An assignee under an assignment of benefits (AOB) agreement can be a party to litigation over a property claim. DFS notes that an insurer is not required to participate in DFS mediation requested by a third-party assignee, though that limitation applies to the state program, not to court-ordered litigation mediation.
Anthony T. Martino brings decades of insurance-industry trial experience to every coverage mediation or arbitration, helping policyholders’ counsel and carriers work through disputed policy language before trial.
Check available dates for mediation or arbitration in Tampa Bay or statewide by video.
