Usually not for the removal, and only sometimes for the damage. Many Florida homeowners policies list insects or vermin as exclusions and treat keeping them out as upkeep the owner pays for. Harm that follows, like a ceiling soaked through by honey, turns on the exact wording of your form and the adjuster's reading of it. Photograph the entry and the damage, get the bees out, and ask your agent how your policy reads before you file.
Removal and damage are two separate questions
A bee problem in a Broward house produces two bills. The first is the rescue itself: lifting the bees and their comb out alive and sealing the gap they used. The second is the repair bill for what the colony and our opening left behind: stained drywall, a sagging ceiling panel, honey streaks on stucco, lifted roof tiles. Insurers treat the two differently, and your policy's wording matters more than how bad the mess looks.
Why a colony usually reads as maintenance
Homeowners coverage is built for sudden, accidental events like a burst supply line. A colony arrives gradually: scouts find a gap, a swarm moves in and the comb grows week by week, so insurers tend to file it with upkeep.
Read the exclusions in your policy form, not only the declarations page. Look for insects, vermin, rodents or nesting, and for gradual deterioration, wear and tear or neglect. If a colony fits one of those under your form, the removal bill generally isn't a covered loss. Wording differs between companies and between forms, so we never predict what a carrier will decide.
Need a number to hold against your deductible?
A free quote starts with two photos by text: the hole the bees use and the mark on your ceiling. The invoice afterward lists removal, cleanup and repairs separately.
When the damage a hive leaves might be covered
Some forms follow their excluded causes with a sentence that restores coverage for a later loss the excluded cause set in motion, often called ensuing or resulting loss. Picture comb above a bathroom softening in August heat until honey drips through and the drywall gives way. Whether that collapse belongs to the excluded insect problem or stands as its own loss is a call for your agent and adjuster, not a bee crew.
Timing counts too. A colony active for months under a spreading stain can look like neglect. When honey has already broken through the paint, the first steps are in our guide to honey leaking through a ceiling.
Condo owners: two policies and one shared wall
Florida condos split coverage between the association's master policy and each owner's unit-owner policy, often called an HO-6. Roughly, the association insures the building and common elements while owners insure interior finishes and belongings, but your declaration and state law set the exact line. Bees in an exterior wall or the roof are usually the association's to remove; the honey stain on your kitchen ceiling might be partly yours.
So call the manager before your own carrier. Ask who orders the removal and whose policy answers for interior damage. Villa owners in communities like Lauderdale West in Plantation should check who insures shared walls and roofs. A board that wants our certificate of insurance on file can have it before anyone sets up a ladder, and our condo and HOA bee rules explain the rest of the paperwork a manager tends to ask for (condo and high-rise bee removal covers the work itself).
What to photograph, and when
If you might file, record the problem before anyone cuts into the house. Once a wall is opened and patched, the original condition is gone.
- Photos and a short video of the entry, taken from well back. Colonies here can carry Africanized genetics, so give the hole plenty of room.
- The stain, drip or sag inside, with something in frame for scale, and the date you first noticed it.
- Anything ruined below, such as a rug or cabinet base, plus receipts for the plastic sheeting or bucket you used to contain it.
We can photograph each stage (entry, opened cavity, comb, cleaned void, seal) and itemize removal, cleanup and repair on separate lines. That split matters: an adjuster may refuse the removal line and still weigh the drywall, paint or tile lines on their own. Dates and descriptions stay accurate; we won't relabel a job to fit a policy.
Talk to your agent before filing
Before opening a claim, check with your agent: which exclusions touch insects, whether your form has resulting-loss language, what your all-other-perils deductible is, and how a claim, paid or denied, could affect your renewal. If the repair estimate lands near the deductible, a claim may not be worth opening.
Get our quote first so you have a figure to hold against the deductible. It's free, and texting us photos usually gets you a price range before anyone drives out. Our pricing page explains what moves it.
The smallest bill is the early one
Because the removal bill is probably yours either way, timing is the one lever you control. A swarm hanging within reach on a hedge, or a small new colony tucked into a ground-level meter box, sits at the low end of what we charge (roughly $300 to $400). Let bees fill a second-story wall cavity or the space under barrel tile until honey creeps into the drywall, and the job means opening the structure, clearing every comb and paying for repairs, which can run into the thousands.
Watch for steady traffic at one crack, soffit vent or eave gap, and listen for a low hum behind a wall at night. Don't spray. A poisoned colony leaves comb that no worker is fanning, and in a hot attic it can soften and let go, turning an excluded pest problem into a larger repair you will likely fund yourself. Our wall removals and roof and attic removals start with a thermal camera so we open only what's needed, and honeycomb cleanup takes out the honey and wax that would draw ants later.
How it plays out in Coral Springs and Plantation
Most of Coral Springs went up during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and a lot of it sits under tile roofs. Bees work in where tile meets the eave, and the city keeps a list of tile colors and styles pre-approved for single-family homes, so replacement tile isn't a free choice. Give the tile work its own invoice line so a reviewer can see what was replaced and why.
In Plantation's older section east of University Drive (the land west of it was sold for development in 1964), an adjuster may look hard at aging wood soffits and ask whether rot let the bees in. Photos of the entry and the sound wood around it, taken before we start, give you an answer.
Common Questions
Will homeowners insurance pay for bee removal in Florida?
Rarely. Policies generally treat keeping insects out of the house as the owner's upkeep, and many list insects or vermin as an exclusion outright. Budget for it the way you would a roof patch: an easy ground-level job is about $300 to $400. A colony living inside a wall or roof can reach into the thousands. A free quote from (954) 429-5133 gives you that number before you decide whether anything else is worth claiming.
Honey is staining my ceiling. Should I file a claim?
Photograph the ceiling and the entry, then get the bees out quickly, because the stain keeps spreading while the colony is up there. Ask your agent whether your policy has resulting-loss wording that could reach the drywall. Weigh the repair estimate against your deductible before contacting the carrier. Our comb and honey cleanup stops the damage from growing.
I rent. Who deals with bees in the wall?
Tell your landlord or property manager in writing, with photos and the date, since walls and roofs are normally the owner's responsibility under a lease. A renters policy covers your belongings subject to its own exclusions, so a rug ruined by dripping honey is worth a question to your agent. Don't hire anyone to open the landlord's wall without permission.