Heavy damage down Murat St from felled Pine trees from Tallahassee tornados of May 10, 2024. Courtesy, Adrian Holt
With the official start of hurricane season less than two weeks away, we have news this edition on an alarming trend in the condominium association community, how insurance regulators and carriers are preparing for the season, FEMA’s shift in emphasis and funding, the health of the state catastrophe fund, and updated home mitigation discounts. The Florida Legislature is still at a budget impasse and isn’t scheduled to reconvene now until next month. If lawmakers don’t pass a new state budget by the start of the fiscal year on July 1, a government shutdown could be a reality.
Last weekend marked the first anniversary of the deadly Tallahassee tornados. Three EF-2 twisters touched down on May 10, 2024, killing one resident, destroying 55 homes, and damaging 640 others. The signs are still visible today. Our local NPR station, WFSU-FM produced a nearly hour-long town hall forum last week and I was honored to be interviewed on the insurance aspects of such disasters. Of course, I told them that a tornado is a totally different animal and has its own set of challenges. While installing impact windows, bracing our garage door, and strapping our roof down are wise investments to protect against damage from the more common tropical storms and hurricanes that strike Florida, it’s tough to prevent 100-year-old tress from toppling on your roof, as we suffered here. While you can trim branches, there’s only so much trimming you can do. Many residents were very unsuspecting. You just don’t think about tornados ever happening.
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I stressed in that interview what I stress at the start of every hurricane season and really in every talk I do throughout the state, throughout the year. Insurance is just as important for renters as it is for homeowners. Talk to your agent. Ask about the different deductibles you’d have in a hurricane versus another loss. Talk about flood coverage. If you live in Florida, you can be flooded whether you’re in a designated flood zone or not. This isn’t just about wind. Resilience is key. We need to make our homes as resilient as we can from the wind and the water, especially here in Florida. At right is my Lisa’s Lucky 7 Hurricane Season Prep! that you can click on to blow up into a fully readable and printable document to guide you, your family, and clients to a more secure home.
As we’ve previously reported in these pages this spring, forecasters are predicting a ‘near average’ hurricane season with a few new changes to forecast models as well, to give us even better storm warnings.
As always, forewarned is forearmed! With that in mind, please read on to the rest of our packed newsletter edition and be well.
LMA Newsletter of 5-19-25
