Wind & storm surge from Hurricane Milton gutted this Gulf front home on Manasota Key, Florida, October 11, 2024
This is a special edition of our LMA Newsletter that we are devoting to the topic of fortifying our homes, in the wake of the devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We’re going to share with you the latest building science research from Fred Malik, Managing Director of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s Fortified program. Then, some of the highlights from our just-released episode of The Florida Insurance Roundup podcast. Fred joins my other guests, which include the developer of Hunters Point in Cortez, Florida, a resilient community that escaped the impacts of Helene and Milton with nary a scratch, and a building products manufacturer using an innovative material that is water, impact, fire, and pest resistant. Our conversation underscores the importance of innovative building techniques and materials for creating safer, more resilient homes.
This is an important topic, worthy of renewed consideration. 43 Floridians lost their lives in Helene and Milton. The latest claims data of this past Friday from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation shows:
- Hurricane Helene claims in these first four weeks since landfall totaling just over 127,000, with an estimated insured loss of $1.43 billion. Claims are split pretty evenly between residential property and automobile. About 51% of residential claims are closed; of those, nearly twice as many were unpaid as paid, due to the rampant flood damage to homes that homeowners insurance policies do not cover. Auto has seen 37% of claims closed, with five times as many paid as unpaid.
- Hurricane Milton claims in the 19 days since landfall totaling more than 247,000, with an estimated insured loss of $2.9 billion. Milton was much more of a traditional wind event, as almost 200,000 of those claims are residential property. Just under 18% of claims have been closed, with roughly 7 claims unpaid to every 4 paid claims.
What if we could have reduced the damage from these hurricanes? There would certainly be fewer insurance claims and a whole lot less aggravation and financial loss by those who suffered damage. That’s also the intent of FEMA’s 50% Rule, which requires homes in flood zones that suffer damage of at least 50% of their market value (not including the land) be brought up to current building codes – often involving more costly rebuild and elevation, rather than simple repair. I was interviewed by Tampa’s WFLA-TV for their story this past Friday on how the rule is likely going to catch some homeowners off-guard who suffered flood damage. Federal flood insurance and certain types of Federal financial assistance are available only in communities that adhere to the rule, as some Southwest Florida communities learned after Hurricane Ian. The idea is the same: encourage homeowners will be in homes that are higher and stronger, so they don’t suffer the same repeated damage in future storms.
We hope you enjoy this special edition and look forward to your feedback! You can reach me directly at [email protected].
LMA Newsletter of 10-28-24
