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Product Liability in Florida

For a personal-injury action founded on the design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of personal property not permanently incorporated in a real-property improvement, Florida § 95.11(3)(d) sets a four-year period. For periods under § 95.11(3), § 95.031(2)(b) starts the clock when the facts giving rise to the claim were discovered or should have been discovered with due diligence. Other claim categories—including wrongful death, property damage, contract, or products incorporated into an improvement—must be classified separately. Florida's separate product-age repose rule uses first delivery to a noncommercial buyer and includes product-category and exceptions for a manufacturer's longer useful-life representation or labeling; that longer-warranty provision affects repose, not by itself the filing period. Preserve product, warranty, delivery, injury, and discovery records; these statutes do not determine insurance response. 2,1

What Is Product Liability?

Product liability can cover claims that a product you make, import, distribute or sell injured someone or damaged property. If your business handles products, describe every role in the supply chain and ask how the quote treats product damage and recall costs. Read the national Product liability guide.

What to Watch for in Florida

  • Record when the product-related facts became known

    For product-liability periods under § 95.11(3), § 95.031(2)(b) runs the period from discovery, or when due diligence should have led to discovery, of the facts giving rise to the claim. Section 95.11(3)(d) allows four years for a personal-injury action founded on design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of personal property not permanently incorporated in an improvement to real property, including fixtures. Wrongful-death, property-damage, contract, and incorporated-product claims require separate classification; wrongful death is separately listed in § 95.11(4)(e). Give counsel the incident, injury, discovery, product, and incorporation facts before relying on a date. 2,1

  • Check first delivery and expected useful life

    For products with expected useful life of ten years or less, § 95.031(2)(b) generally bars claims for harm caused by exposure or use more than twelve years after delivery to the first purchaser or lessee outside the product-selling or component-manufacturing business. Most products are conclusively presumed to have a useful life of ten years or less, subject to listed categories and a manufacturer's express representation or labeling of a longer useful life. That representation or labeling changes the repose calculation described in § 95.031(2)(b); it does not by itself extend the four-year filing period in § 95.11(3)(d). Keep first-consumer delivery evidence and product-life representations. 1

  • Check the listed product categories and delayed-injury rules

    The statute excludes commercial aircraft, vessels over 100 gross tons, railroad equipment used in commercial or contract carrying, and improvements to real property (including elevators and escalators) from the general 12-year rule. For specified listed products, it provides a separate 20-year period, with an exception for elevators, escalators, and improvements to real property. A product used or encountered within the repose period may fall outside repose if the injury did not manifest until later; actual manufacturer concealment can toll repose. Counsel should assess the product category and facts before relying on any period. 1

  • Keep records about the accident and alleged defect

    Florida's comparative-fault statute defines a products-liability action broadly, including strict-liability, negligence, warranty, and similar theories, and addresses enhanced-injury cases by considering fault related to the accident. Preserve instructions, maintenance records, product condition, and incident evidence; ask counsel how the provision affects the specific claim. 3

Who Regulates Insurance in Florida

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation licenses and regulates insurance companies and reviews rates and forms. The Department of Financial Services separately licenses insurance agents and handles consumer insurance complaints; its resource page links to both state license searches. 4,5,6

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 4.94% of gross premium plus a 0.03% FSLSO service fee for policies effective July 1, 2026 or later When Florida is the insured’s home state, Florida taxes the entire gross premium at 4.94%; the premium definition includes policy and similar insurance charges. The separate FSLSO service fee is 0.03% for policies effective July 1, 2026 or later. Surplus-lines policies do not receive Florida Insurance Guaranty Association protection. 7,8,9

Florida Surplus Lines Service Office

Providers With Documented State Licenses

These providers publish a national listing for Product liability; the state records document licenses for the entities and roles shown below. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Florida. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

  • VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. 16

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Florida

  1. Can we document each Florida product's first delivery to a noncommercial buyer, expected useful life, and any manufacturer representation or labeling of a longer useful life?
  2. What dates should we capture when an injury appears after a product has been used over time or an issue is discovered later?
  3. Does the policy address claims involving products installed in real property or the statutory product categories with different repose rules?

Product Liability in Florida: FAQ

When does Florida start the product-liability filing period? 2,1

For product-liability actions under § 95.11(3), § 95.031(2)(b) starts the applicable period when facts giving rise to the claim were discovered or should have been discovered through due diligence. Section 95.11(3)(d) provides four years only for its defined personal-injury category; other claims must be classified separately. 2,1

Does Florida use a single twelve-year cutoff for all products? 1

No. Section 95.031(2)(b) provides a general twelve-year repose rule for products presumed to have useful lives of ten years or less, but it also lists product categories and exceptions, a longer-useful-life treatment based on a manufacturer's express representation or labeling, delayed-manifestation provisions, and concealment tolling. The longer-useful-life treatment is part of repose and does not itself lengthen a claim's limitations period. 1

Product Liability in Other States

Other Coverage in Florida

Sources

  1. 2026 Florida Statutes § 95.031, Computation of Time. Florida Legislature; Subsection (2)(b), discovery/due-diligence trigger for product-liability periods under § 95.11(3), plus distinct product-liability repose, expected-use-life, express-warranty, category, delayed-manifestation, and concealment provisions. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. 2026 Florida Statutes § 95.11, Limitations Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property. Florida Legislature; Subsection (3)(d), four years for a personal-injury action founded on design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of personal property not permanently incorporated into an improvement to real property, including fixtures; subsection (4)(e), wrongful-death category; checked against the 2026 text and 2023 transition note. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. 2026 Florida Statutes § 768.81, Comparative Fault. Florida Legislature; Subsections (1)(a), (c)–(d) and (6), definition of products-liability action and fault allocation in enhanced-injury cases. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation; Official regulator homepage; insurer regulation. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Resources. Florida Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate; State page links to DFS agent search and OIR active company search. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Get Insurance Help. Florida Department of Financial Services; Insurance concern and formal complaint intake; consumer helpline. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. Florida Statutes § 626.932: Surplus lines tax. Florida Legislature; 4.94% tax on gross premium; home-state taxation; statutory definition of premium. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. FSLSO Bulletin 2026-02. Florida Surplus Lines Service Office; Service-fee rate effective July 1, 2026: 0.03%. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  10. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  11. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  13. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  15. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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