Florida has completed 12,000 home inspections for residents as part of a program to strengthen its housing against hurricanes, an official said.

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

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

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

The program, funded with $250 million by the Florida Legislature, was created to protect Floridians by strengthening their homes against hurricanes and to reduce the state's exposure to hurricane damage.

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

The department said the home inspections will help tell homeowners:

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

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

o The estimated costs to make recommended improvements.

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

Inspections have been done in the counties of Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Santa Rosa, 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 training sessions for inspectors and 12 training sessions for contractors interested in doing mitigation improvements, the department said.

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

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

To leverage resources through local programs, the My Safe Florida Home program has partnered with 12 non-profit entities to serve as many as 4,000 low-income homeowners in 10 counties. To achieve this, the program has partnered with Volunteer Florida Foundation.

"We are on track to providing free home inspections to another 40,000 Floridians in the coming months, and we are excited to proactively help homeowners strengthen their homes and better protect their families against catastrophic storms," Mr. Gallagher said.

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

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

Documents verifying home information must be submitted with a completed application. Floridians can apply on-line at www.mysafefloridahome.com or by calling 1-800-342-2762 to get an application packet.

Gallagher said that the public response to this program and support for strengthening their homes has been tremendous. Nearly 100,000 Floridians have gone on-line or called to learn more about the My Safe Florida Home program. Nearly 58,000 eligible Floridians have submitted completed applications for free home inspections.

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Fla. Hurricane Mitigation Program Hits A Milestone

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