August 2008 - the Parklander

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
WIND MITIGATION FEATURES PROVIDE INSURANCE SAVINGS
By Donald L. Morris
Windstorm damage to homes results in extensive property damage
and extremely costly insurance claims. Among the several failure
mechanisms from wind that lead to water damage and significant
insured losses is the failure of roof systems and exterior door
and window openings. These failures during a high wind event
like a hurricane, quickly leads to extensive water damage to the
building and its furnishings. Insurance claim data shows that
once a roof or exterior opening fails, even partially, a house
becomes a major loss.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be
based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send
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132 AUGUST 2008
Since Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992, Florida has taken the lead
in adopting regulatory provisions related to hurricane resistant
construction and to continue to improve the hurricane resistance of
homes. This is done predominately through building codes for new
homes and through insurance incentives for existing homes.
In 1994, the new South Florida Building Code came into effect.
This was the first revised code post Hurricane Andrew which began
dictating the upgrading of construction requirements for wind
resistive construction. Since then, each following code change has
continued to evolve and to upgrade its construction requirements to
withstand the impact of high wind storm events.
Shortly after Andrew, Florida Statute 627.0629 was adopted. This
statute requires residential property insurance providers in Florida to
provide “discounts, credits, or other rate differentials, or other
appropriate reductions in deductibles” for residential properties
where construction methods which reduce loss caused by
windstorms are integrated. Insurance incentives are required to be
offered for mitigation techniques that include “roof strength, roof
covering performance, roof-to-wall strength, wall-to-floor-tofoundation
strength, window, door, and skylight strength and
exterior opening protection”. Florida’s property insurance companies
were the first in the nation to offer such incentives for wind
mitigation techniques that are based on these construction features.
Florida’s statutes have required insurance providers to incentivize
wind mitigation practices which has been demonstrated by actuarial
data to reduce property loss caused by windstorms since 1994.
Document your potential insurance
savings with a Wind Mitigation Inspection.
A Wind Mitigation Inspection is a valuable asset that may reduce
your windstorm insurance premiums. Wind Insurance discounts
are available for building features that reduce damage during high
wind events. The Wind Mitigation discounts are justified because
stronger, wind-resistive structures have lower windstorm losses
which reduce costs to insurance companies.
Most existing residential structures have one or more wind resistive
construction features that may qualify for some Wind Mitigation
insurance discounts. Homes built after 1994 may have many
features. The more features, the higher the insurance discount.
Wind Mitigation inspections are available for single family
homes, town homes and condominiums. Contact a registered
architect, engineer or certified mitigation inspector who will
inspect your property and document the Wind Mitigation
features present in your home. A certified Wind Mitigation
Report will be given to you to use in order to receive your Wind
Mitigation discount on your Wind Insurance policy.
Information provided courtesy of Florida registered Architect Donald
L. Morris, 954-344-7301.