The My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program has done remediation inspections for more than 50,000 Floridians previously on a waiting list, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Adelaide “Alex” Sink.
Ms. Sink's announcement said her agency recently streamlined the program to update the process by which homeowners qualify for insurance premium discounts and to eliminate repetitive inspections required by carriers.
The MSFH program offers free wind inspections to qualified homeowners so they can learn how safe their homes are as well as how to strengthen their homes against hurricanes. Those who receive the inspection may be eligible for matching grants up to $5,000 to help make remedial improvements their homes.
Before the new emergency rule, participating homeowners were required by insurance companies to hire a wind inspector or other licensed professional to fill out a separate form other than that required by MSFH to access insurance discounts.
“The state's paying money for Floridians to get free wind inspections, so we didn't want homeowners to have to pay to get another inspection,” explained Tara Klimek of the Florida Insurance Department.
The new regulation will be in place for the next 90 days and will require insurance companies to recognize the MSFH wind inspection reports as sufficient evidence for homeowners to access insurance premium discounts.
At the end of the 90-day period, future inspections with the MSFH program will include a certified Uniform Mitigation Form for Florida homeowners who are eligible for a discount on their insurance premiums.
“As a businesswoman, I wanted the My Safe Florida Home program to serve Floridians more efficiently and provide the critical information homeowners needed to harden their homes,” said Ms. Sink in explaining the need for an emergency regulatory change.
The program has helped provide as many as 65,000 wind inspections so far, with more than 5,600 remediation grants awarded to homeowners since April 2007. Nearly 250 homeowners have completed the improvements recommended in their inspection reports for a total payout of more than $680,000, according to Ms. Sink.
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