Windstorm Insurance and Wind Mitigation, By Donald Cook, American Insurance. In 1992, the Miami-Dade County Building Code was thought to be among the strictest in the nation. Then along came Hurricane Andrew and its 170 mph winds which highlighted the vulnerability of our building standards. In response to the devastation caused by Andrew, the Florida Building Code Commission (FBC) was
established in the late 1990s. In March 2002, the FBC implemented the first statewide building code in the United States. Shortly after, in June 2002, Florida lawmakers implemented the first legislated windstorm mitigation premium credits.
What does all this mean to you? It means substantial savings on windstorm insurance premiums are available to homes built or retrofitted after these tougher building codes were in place. In order to realize these discounts, your home must be inspected by a state licensed contractor who must then fill out a Uniform Mitigation Verification Form. Once the completed and signed form is provided to your insurance company, they must apply available discounts to the windstorm portion of your insurance premium. Windstorm mitigation credits can reduce your overall insurance premiums more than any other single factor.
Wind Mitigation Inspections and Windstorm Insurance, By Mack Mosier, Trade Wind Builders
In the process of conducting a wind mitigation inspection, a certified inspector completes the “Uniform Mitigation Verification Form”. Information required in the completion of this inspection includes the building code applicable at the time of the homes construction. What type of roof covering is on the home and under what building code the roofing was installed. The inspector verifies the type of roof sheathing applied to the trusses, and how it was fastened, and what method was used to attach the roof system to the load bearing walls as well as what type of roof design is on the home. Next the type of exterior wall construction is documented and whether or not the home has a secondary roofing system applied under the primary roof. Lastly the inspector identifies what type, if any, of wind borne debris protection is on the window and door openings or if impact resistant glass was installed. Most data is supported by mandatory photographs or copies of building permits and the form is then certified by the inspector.
At completion of the inspection, this data is supplied to the homeowner’s insurance company which then will apply any applicable credits towards the homeowner’s insurance. Your inspector can also point out items on the report that are affecting your insurance cost in a negative way and suggest ways to improve the home. If you have never had a wind mitigation inspection preformed on your home, you should at a minimum recover the cost of the inspection in your first year’s savings alone. Most inspections are $175 or less.
There are many qualified inspectors here in our area. If you are not familiar with one, please contact Trade Wind Builders and start saving money on your home insurance with a Wind Mitigation Inspection.
