Overview of My Safe Florida Home

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International Hurricane Protection Association
(IHPA) August 8, 2007 Florida Department of
Financial Services Alex Sink, Chief Financial
Officer
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• Setting the Stage for the My Safe Florida Home
  Program
• 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons 33 billion in
  insured property damage inflicted on more than
  2.8 million Florida homeowners.
• Florida is in a 10-year cycle of frequent and
  more intense storm activity.
• There are approximately 4.4 million
  single-family, site-built homes in Florida
  representing 1.65 trillion in insurance
  exposure.
• In a 2005 study, the National Institute for
  Building Sciences concluded that for every dollar
  invested in mitigation, there is a savings of 4.
  

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• My Safe Florida Home was created by the 2006
  Legislature to
• Help Floridians better protect their
  property/assets
• Help reduce future property losses
• Help Floridians save money on their insurance
  premiums
• Strategies to Accomplish These Goals
• Provide free home inspections to 400,000
  Floridians
• Provide matching grants up to 5,000 to 35,000
  Floridians
• Foster a culture of preparedness through home
  hardening efforts
• With public (homeowners and the media)
• With providers (manufacturers, inspectors and
  contractors)
• With industries (insurance, realtors and
  builders)

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• Who is eligible for My Safe Florida Home program?
  
• Free Wind Inspections
• Single-family, site-built homes statewide
• Matching Grants up to 5,000
• Insured value of 300,000 or less
• Owner occupied (valid homestead exemption)
• Permit to be built issued before March 1, 2002
• Located in wind-borne debris region
• Match waived for eligible low-income homeowners

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• Pilot Phase
• Develop website/information for homeowners
• Develop application process for homeowners
• Handle mass influx of calls, emails and letters
• Develop curriculum for inspectors
• Background check, drug test and train inspectors
• Develop pilot hurricane rating scale
• Develop technology to generate inspection reports
• Develop application process to sign up
  contractors
• Develop grant application and reimbursement
  process
• 14,000 INSPECTIONS COMPLETED

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• STEP ONE FOR HOMEOWNER
• FREE WIND INSPECTION
• Apply Online Or By Phone
• Contacted To Schedule An Inspection Within Two
  Weeks
• Once Inspected, Report Received Within 45 Days

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• Inspection Report Gives Homeowners
• Improvement Plans
• Up to 7 retrofit improvements
• Cost estimates to make improvements
• Regionalized estimates
• Projected insurance savings
• Hurricane-resistance rating scale
• 0-100 scale based on structure plus location

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• Recommended Retrofit Improvements
• 1. Roof deck attachment
• 2. Secondary water barrier
• 3. Code-plus roof coverings attachment methods
• 4. Bracing gable end walls
• 5. Strengthening roof-to-wall connections
• 6. Protecting or replacing window openings
• 7. Protecting or replacing doors
• Entry and Garage Doors

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• Snapshot of 97,000 Inspection Applicants
• 85 of applicants are living in homes with an
  insured value of 300,000 or less
• Nearly 50 of applicants are paying a wind
  premium between 1,500 and 3,000
• 92 of applicants live in homes built before 2002
  

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• Results from Inspections To Date
• Of 79,000 inspections completed to date, more
  than 52,000 homeowners were eligible for
  discounts based on the existing structure of
  their home.
• On average, these homeowners were eligible for
  17.5 in premium discounts (or a savings of 310
  on an average windstorm premium of 1,776)
  without first nail being hammered.
• Average total cost of most aggressive improvement
  plan (Plan C) was less than 10,000 (in line with
  the 5,000 matching grant)
• On average, homeowners rated 43 on hurricane
  resistance rating scale of 0 to 100.

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• Results (continued)
• Plan A
• Estimated Costs 3,917
• Average Discounts 23
• Rating Scale Moved 43 to 54 (9-point increase)
• Plan B
• Estimated Costs 6,324
• Average Discounts 26.5
• Rating Scale Moved 43 to 62 (19-point
  increase)
• Plan C
• Estimated Costs 9,909
• Average Discounts 29
• Rating Scale Moved 43 to 71 (28-point
  increase)
• (Wind portion of premium)

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• STEP TWO QUALIFIED HOMEOWNER CAN APPLY FOR
• A MATCHING GRANT UP TO 5,000
• Process
• Homeowner Fills Out Grant Application Online or
  By Phone
• Homeowner Sends in Proof of Homestead, Insurance,
  Building Permit if House was built in 2002 or
  Low-Income Status
• Homeowner Receives Grant Approval with
  Reimbursement Forms
• Once work is completed, Homeowner Submits
  Reimbursement Forms for Payment

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• Snapshot of 13,100 Grant Applicants
• Estimated 9,400 homeowners have applied through
  DFS with 6,100 already approved and work is in
  progress
• Approximately 600 homeowners have been reimbursed
  a total of 1.8 million (Average grant is about
  3,000)
• Nearly 54 of grant applicants live in South
  Florida, 31 are from the Tampa Bay area
• Another 3,700 low-income homeowners being served
  by local governments/non-profits. Nearly 480
  homes already completed.

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• Current Workforce for My Safe Florida Home
• 11 inspection firms
• 626 certified wind inspectors
• Requirements
• 924 licensed contractors (2,005 have applied)
• Requirements

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• Steps to become a Participating Contractor
• Log on to www.mysafefloridahome.com.
• Click on For Contractors button.
• Select sign up to participate.
• Complete the online application.
• You must agree to Participation Agreement before
  your application can be processed.
• We verify you are licensed, have workers comp and
  have taken the appropriate training before we
  post your name on the My Safe Florida Home Web
  site as an approved contractor. 
• We list approved contractors by county and by
  type of improvement.
•  

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• Important Points for Participating Contractors
• Labor and materials must be documented in your
  contract with the homeowner
• If your measurements differ from inspection
  report, we need to know
• Refer homeowners with grant questions to us
• Cant do work on your own home

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• Sample Bid Sheet
• Provided to Homeowner in
  Inspection Report
• Homeowners will use this bid sheet to get
  estimates from Contractors

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• Sample Reimbursement Form
• This form must be completed and signed by the
  participating contractor.

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• Reimbursement Requests What we look for
• Did a participating contractor do the work?
• Was permit pulled for the job (if applicable)?
• Do of windows and doors match inspection
  report?
• Product approval (FBC or NOA)
• Actual costs in relation to estimated costs
• Are forms completed and signed?

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• Next Steps
• Ongoing support of inspections, grants training
  and public awareness
• Enhance participation and communication among
  stakeholders
• Data gathering/Analysis/Consumer Research
• Continued funding

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• OPEN DISCUSSION/QUESTIONS
• HELPLINE FOR CONTRACTORS
• [phone]
• www.mysafefloridahome.com
• Alex Sink, Floridas Chief Financial Officer