The difference that homes built with block and poured concrete, steel roofs, advanced insulation, and elevated foundations can make.
In Florida, it’s not a matter of if – but when – a hurricane will strike. The Florida Legislature, mindful of that following a 2024 season that saw three hurricanes make landfall with insured losses of $7.3 billion and growing, is trying again to help homeowners protect themselves from the future storms.
My Safe Florida Home Program
The My Safe Florida Home Program (https://mysafeflhome.com) is all about stronger homes and a safer Florida. It offers free home inspections and grants of up to $10,000 on a $2 to $1 match to incentivize homeowners to harden their homes. The legislature re-established the program in 2023 but it’s so popular, it keeps running out of money. About $576 million later, it ran out of money again this spring. Last year, nearly 110,000 home inspections were performed and more than 25,000 applicants received grant money for needed home improvements identified in the inspections. But about 45,000 families remain on the waiting list for grants.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asked the Legislature for $600 million to fund the program this next fiscal year beginning July 1. In their budget passed last week, state lawmakers appropriated $280 million and limited future eligibility to low- and moderate-income homeowners. There were 15 different bills in this spring’s legislative session to get the program back on track. None passed − including one that would have created a sustaining trust fund, to be funded by allocating 5% of sales tax dollars generated from post-storm rebuilding in hurricane-impacted counties. The idea was to direct post-storm revenue back into the communities that need it most.
The legislature this session also passed a measure that the Governor has signed into law that allows roofing contractors to install hurricane straps and clips on wood roof decking, something that was previously considered structural work to be performed only by building contractors. Lawmakers were also very thoughtful in allowing existing property insurance laws to remain on the books so that consumers can benefit from a vibrant competitive market, which is what those laws have fostered.
Those of us in the insurance and disaster management business know that reinforcing or replacing your roof, installing impact-resistant/hurricane-proof exterior windows and garage doors, and improving your home’s resistance to water are wise investments that create safer homes and resulting lower property insurance premiums, too. Florida insurance regulators meanwhile, are implementing newly-funded research to identify additional mitigation measures that provide homeowners’ premium discounts to consumers.
Fortified Homes
Those additional mitigation measures are actually a reality today in some – but not enough – of the new homes being built in Florida today. What’s really needed is better incorporation of the innovative building materials and techniques that have been developed in the past few years. These can apply to existing homes as well!
The Hunters Point development in Cortez, Florida
I spend thousands of miles in my car each year driving around the great state of Florida. Everywhere I go, I see homes built with plywood and two-by-fours, and I affectionately say that these production homes are built with sticks. I don’t see how they withstand 150 mph winds and many, actually, do not. Why were some homes in Hurricanes Helene and Milton heavily damaged while others sustained little or no damage? Much of the answer lies with the building materials and techniques used in their construction.
Two weeks after Milton’s landfall, I sat down with a building science researcher, a building products manufacturer, and a developer whose homes survived unscathed from Helene and Milton. The big question – like that facing Florida lawmakers and insurance regulators – is how can we do better to protect property and lives in a state surrounded by warm water? We recorded our conversation as an episode of the Florida Insurance Roundup podcast (episode 53). It was a master class on how using existing, yet innovative building products and techniques can enhance the resilience of homes.
Fred Malik, Managing Director, Fortified program at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety
Fred Malik, Managing Director of the FORTIFIED Program at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), shared his expertise on techniques and materials designed to minimize damage from natural disasters. He stressed the importance of rigorous building standards and inspections, noting that “you get what you inspect, not what you expect.” Malik explained that homes built to the IBHS Fortified standard undergo thorough third-party inspections, ensuring that critical details are not overlooked. This certification process provides consumers with a way to differentiate between homes that may appear similar but have vastly different levels of resilience against severe weather. The focus on the roof he said, is essential.
Marshall Gobuty, Managing Partner, Pearl Homes Developments
Marshall Gobuty, Managing Director at Pearl Homes Developments, shared his firsthand experience with building resilient homes. He discussed his development, Hunters Point in Cortez, Florida, which successfully withstood Hurricane Milton without any damage. Gobuty attributes this success to his innovative building practices, which include using a combination of block and poured concrete for foundations, as well as advanced insulation techniques and standing seam steel roofs that enhance the structural integrity of the homes. While some of these can be million-dollar homes, he’s working with city of Bradenton, Florida on building affordable, resilient workforce housing. FEMA has chosen Hunters Point as an example of “leading the change in hurricane resilience” in its latest case study.
His response to my comment about seeing homes being built with sticks? “I think that what you’re looking at is, when you drive by these places, you’ll see timber, and then you’re going to see Tyvek stapled on the outside. So that’s just the worst thing anyone can possibly do, because all they’re doing is meeting code. And if you’re meeting code, all you’re doing is not going to jail, because you have a job to do and meet code, but you’re doing nothing, nothing exceptional to make the home better for you, for the homeowner, and for sustainability itself, and for the environment,” Gobuty said.
Scott Lidberg, CEO, NEXGEN Building Products
Scott Lidberg, CEO of NEXGEN Building Products, shared the role his company’s innovative magnesium oxide-based building materials are playing. He explained how these products can replace traditional materials like plywood and gypsum, offering superior resistance to impact, moisture, and fire. We talked about the cost-value proposition. While there may be a slight premium in cost, Lidberg said the long-term savings from repair and insurance costs, plus the benefits far outweigh the initial investment.
Future Steps Needed
This concept of fortified homes also underscores the importance of collaboration among builders, manufacturers, and researchers to create homes that are not only resilient but also sustainable. That includes catching the attention of national home builders to put some of these improved materials and techniques into wider practice. This applies whether you live in Florida, New York, Iowa, or the recently fire-ravaged communities of California.
If history is a judge, the demand will again exceed the supply of funding for the My Safe Florida Home program in this new fiscal year. We can only hope that the Florida Legislature will continue to renourish the program as needed. Public education must be a key part of that. We need to encourage homeowners to take proactive steps in fortifying their homes.
