Florida has completed 12,000 home inspections for residents aspart of a program to strengthen its housing against hurricanes, anofficial said.

Tom Gallagher, Florida's chief financial officer, announced thatthe pilot phase of the My Safe Florida Home program ended today andhis goal of completing 12,000 inspections by the Nov. 30 end of thehurricane season was met and exceeded by nearly 1,000inspections.

Mr. Gallagher said that an estimated 560 inspectors and 800contractors have been specifically trained for the program duringthe pilot phase.

Mr. Gallagher heads the Department of Financial Services, whichadministers the My Safe Florida Home activity.

The program, funded with $250 million by the FloridaLegislature, was created to protect Floridians by strengtheningtheir homes against hurricanes and to reduce the state's exposureto hurricane damage.

Since the program launched in August, the Department ofFinancial Services said it has received more than 58,000applications statewide for free home inspections fromhomeowners.

The department said the home inspections will help tellhomeowners:

o The current rating of their homes against hurricane damage ona 0-100 scale.

o Up to seven ways they can improve the strength of their homesagainst hurricanes.

o The estimated costs to make recommended improvements.

o What their potential insurance premium savings could be ifthey were to make those improvements.

Inspections have been done in the counties of Broward,Charlotte, Collier, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River, PalmBeach, Pinellas, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, SantaRosa, Sarasota, St. Lucie and Walton over the last eight weeks.

The most inspections were performed in Miami-Dade County

In a partnership with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes(FLASH), the My Safe Florida Home program has held six trainingsessions for inspectors and 12 training sessions for contractorsinterested in doing mitigation improvements, the departmentsaid.

The program currently has an estimated 560 specifically trained,qualified inspectors who have also undergone drug tests andbackground checks to conduct free home inspections for the program.Over 600 contractors who have applied to participate in the My SafeFlorida Home program are currently being reviewed to verifylicensure and that current workers' compensation insurance coverageis in place, the department reported.

Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and chief executive of theFederal Alliance for Safe Homes, said: "Florida leads the nation inits commitment to better protecting residents from disasters andbuilding safer communities. We won't get there overnight, but ouraccomplishments in the last 12 weeks are evidence that we are wellon our way."

To leverage resources through local programs, the My SafeFlorida Home program has partnered with 12 non-profit entities toserve as many as 4,000 low-income homeowners in 10 counties. Toachieve this, the program has partnered with Volunteer FloridaFoundation.

"We are on track to providing free home inspections to another40,000 Floridians in the coming months, and we are excited toproactively help homeowners strengthen their homes and betterprotect their families against catastrophic storms," Mr. Gallaghersaid.

Homeowners who undergo a My Safe Florida Home inspection mayalso qualify for matching grants of up to $5,000 to fortify theirhomes. As directed by the new law to reduce hurricane exposure andproperty losses in Florida, grants will be prioritized and awardedto homeowners who live in high-risk, hurricane-vulnerable areas ofthe state.

Floridians eligible for a free home inspection must live in asingle-family, site-built home with an insured value of $500,000 orless and have a valid homestead exemption, the department said.

Documents verifying home information must be submitted with acompleted application. Floridians can apply on-line atwww.mysafefloridahome.com or by calling 1-800-342-2762 to get anapplication packet.

Gallagher said that the public response to this program andsupport for strengthening their homes has been tremendous. Nearly100,000 Floridians have gone on-line or called to learn more aboutthe My Safe Florida Home program. Nearly 58,000 eligible Floridianshave submitted completed applications for free homeinspections.