Assignment of benefits

Definition

The homeowner's claim against the insurer, signed over to the restorer who then pursues it.

Why It Matters

This is the other half of a direction to pay, and the two are different businesses wearing one label. A direction to pay names the restorer as a payee on money the homeowner is owed. An assignment hands over the claim itself, so the restorer negotiates it, sues on it and collects it. Florida closed that door in a December 2022 statute: for any residential or commercial property policy issued on or after January 1, 2023, a policyholder may not assign post-loss benefits, and an attempt to do so is void and unenforceable. The trigger is the policy date and not the job date, so every renewal since has moved another house out of reach and a Florida book built on assignments is melting. Age the receivables by whether each rests on an assignment, then check the policy issue date behind it, because one written under a newer policy is worth nothing.