Did You Know You Can Save Up To 85% On HomeOwners Insurance?

First, let’s qualify that 85%. If your home lacks all wind mitigation and you upgrade to the current code requirements and receive approval, you can potentially get up to 85% off the wind and hurricane part of your insurance coverage. Your home would have to be an older home with no wind mitigation currently for an 85% reduction. If your home has been built in the last 5 years then it should, in theory, meet all the standards necessary for the discounts. 

In 2004 central Florida was hit by four hurricanes. Fortunately, they were not the most severe storms but they still did a lot of property damage. That cost insurance companies and the state a lot of money. So the state legislators decided to incentivise homeowners to upgrade their homes’ wind protection with wind mitigation measures. The incentive is a discount on your homeowner’s insurance.  

As you can imagine, insurance companies do not like it when they make less money. Over the years they have fought to have the legislation altered in their favor. It is a back and forth battle because if legislators do not keep the discounts applied fairly and evenly, homeowners won’t be motivated to upgrade their wind mitigation. If they don’t upgrade there is the potential for a lot more property loss in storms. It’s a catch-22. 

So, what kinds of things can you do to get these discounts? One of the easiest and most impactful is to get impact resistant windows and doors. If you have old, single-pane windows with aluminum frames, upgrading your windows is the single most effective remodeling project you can undertake. 

Impact Resistant Windows

It’s obvious windows are the weakest part of your home. But they don’t have to be. If you have old, single pane windows, that technology is over 100 years old! In just the past 20 years the technology of windows has advanced tenfold. Those old single pane windows were simply made to put glass in the hole in the wall to let light in. There is no protection or security at all. In fact, it is the place most criminals will use to gain easy access to your home. 

Protection

Glass

If you’re getting impact resistant windows the glass itself has a special laminated layer on the outside pane. It is actually two panes of glass fused together with an inner layer of super strong laminate. That laminate makes your windows nearly impenetrable. It also has other features we will cover later.

Frames

The frames are the next consideration. Single pane, aluminum window frames are flimsy and weak. They were not built to withstand damage. They were just built to hold your glass in place. 

Durashield frames are in the strongest class of window frames in the industry. 

• Reinforcement: Attachment points reinforced with stainless steel
• Frames: Rigid, tubular, and fused at the corners
• Locks: Heavy-duty cam sweeps provide security as well as protection from the elements
• UPVC Frames: Eight air chambers for structural stability and mitigate the transfer of heat and cold 
• Warm-Edge Spacer: A flexible edge spacer featuring a unique composite that insulates the window
• Weatherstripping: Highest quality weatherstripping is used on all sashes and meeting rails 

Energy Efficiency

Our windows feature superb energy efficiency. That special layer of laminate we mentioned that makes the window impenetrable has other properties as well. A special low-e coating stops the UV and infrared light that does damage to your home. 

Do you have pets that lay in the sunshine next to the windows? It’s because the heat warms their bodies and relaxes them. Heat, coming in. Think about that. If heat is coming through your window then your AC has to work against it to cool your home. So block the heat, right? That is what our low-e coating does. It blocks the infrared light that carries the heat so it does not come into your home. 

How about sun bleached furniture, carpets, flooring, and draperies? That is caused by ultraviolet light. The same light that causes sunburn. The low-e coating blocks UV light as well as infrared light while allowing visible light to come through. 

Impact Resistant Doors

After windows, doors are the next item that require wind mitigation work. Older doors are usually made from wood. Wood that dries out, weakens, and becomes brittle. But, we’ve been using wood doors forever so there is a certain level of expectation in a door’s appearance.

Just like new technology has advanced windows it has done the same for exterior doors. New composite materials have the look of wood but are far stronger. Along with the use of impact resistant glass your door can be strong and beautiful.

The second most common place for your home to be compromised in a storm or an  attempted break-in is your doors. Let’s be honest, if you really wanted to, most of us could smash through an old wood door with a good kick. The composite material used in new doors is far stronger than wood and can withstand impacts over 150 MPH. 

WHY WIND MITIGATION?

State legislators created these building codes after they consulted with researchers on how Florida could better limit the destruction during storms. The answer was to deal with the weakest part of a home. The windows and doors. 

Most of the damage occurs when windows and doors are breached. Flying debris strewn by powerful wind is the number one culprit. Once wind and rain gain entry the damage and flooding can be severe.

A potential catastrophe can occur when the wind builds pressure in the house. If the pressure overcomes the construction methods it literally blows the roof off of the home. Then the house is a total loss, along with all the belongings in it.  That is what is happening to the home pictured above. 

Other Wind Mitigation considerations

Roof coverings – do your shingles or tiles meet Florida building codes?

Roof Attachments – How is your roof nailed, the size, spacing and pattern of the nails?

Roof Connection – How your roof is connected to the walls? Is it nailed or are there additional features, like clips or straps? 

Roof Shape – This is a consideration but can’t really be simply modified. 

Secondary Water resistance. Do you have thick, self sticking tar paper on the roof under the shingles? 

Shutters – There are two types: An intermediate level that is rated to meet approximately 50% of the wind code standards.

Hurricane protection shutters that meet or exceed current building code standards. 

If you’d like more information you can visit the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation page on wind mitigation CLICK HERE

If you’d like to see the forms your inspector submits to your insurance company click HERE

The list of Florida Insurance Companies CLICK HERE