An industry survey of Florida homeowners found that although most had taken precautions against upcoming hurricanes, some others did not regard hurricanes as a risk and would not take additional protective measures.
The Institute for Business & Home Safety released the results of a statewide phone survey among Florida homeowners. The survey, conducted by Lawrence Research and sponsored by State Farm Insurance, polled 800 homeowners in the state.
Among the statistics, 47 percent of the respondents expressed concern about preventing and reducing potential hurricane damage to their home, while another 53 percent of homeowners said that they had already taken steps to better protect their home.
Of those surveyed, 38 percent felt they had a 10 percent chance or less of a hurricane damaging their home in the next 10 years and 10 percent said they did not perceive hurricanes to be a great risk and would not take additional steps to protect their home.
Another aspect of the study, the Florida building codes, were considered to be important by 83 percent of those surveyed in reducing hurricane damage to homes. Two-fifths, in fact, went as far as to state that the building codes were not strong enough.
Alex Soto, president of Miami-based insurance agency Insource, Inc. and vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America told National Underwriter that Southern Florida's building codes are the strongest in the state.
He added that, "Since the four hurricanes last year hit everywhere but Southeastern Florida, the rest of the state began to develop the same level of awareness [as their region has had] for a long time. The rest of the state is now gravitating towards the South Floridian building code."
This shift, in his opinion, is beneficial in terms of protecting Florida homeowners. IBHS engineers found that during Hurricane Charley, local wind gusts ranged between 112-134 miles per hour. As a result, one-third of buildings lacking sufficient window protection suffered at least one broken window. Once the external structure of a building is compromised, he said, greater internal pressure from gusts greatly increases the risk of damage.
The survey was optimistic in that as many as 30 percent of the respondents said they would upgrade their home protection against hurricane damage if they were better informed on specific actions to take.
Mr. Soto said that not all Florida homeowners have yet recognized the economic benefits of increased protection, however. He used the analogy of the introduction of seatbelts.
Insurance companies, he said, are encouraging homeowners to add protection to their homes by offering more coverage for the same policy price. For example, homeowners adding storm shutters would receive a greater amount of coverage, but at the same policy cost, as those without shutters.
Mr. Soto said he believes that as Floridians other than those residing at the coasts perceive their vulnerability to hurricanes risks, levels of protection to their homes will increase as well.
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