Summary: Hurricane Michael struck Florida’s panhandle in October 2018 as a strong Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. At least 29 people in Florida died in the storm or its aftermath and another 10 people in Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, as of this recording. Beyond the cost in human lives, is the cost of rebuilding homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Estimates of insured losses alone are between $6 billion to $10 billion. Just how well did Florida's building codes, both old and new, hold up against the devastating winds - and what's needed in post-hurricane mitigation as Florida rebuilds? Host Lisa Miller, a former deputy insurance commissioner, talks with two catastrophe adjusters on the ground with Michael's damages and the head of a consumer insurance group that's fighting for stronger building codes in the Sunshine State. Show Notes: Although Florida is recognized as having the toughest building codes in the nation, a large share of homes and other buildings in the Florida panhandle were built before 1995, when Florida’s tougher post-Hurricane Andrew building code was established. The newer Florida Building Code (FBC) requires structures statewide to be built to withstand winds of 111 mph and up. But it wasn’t until 2007 that homes in the panhandle built more than one mile from the coast were required to follow the higher standard. (The Miami area is a “high velocity hurricane zone” with higher standards, in excess of 170 mph.) Catastrophe claims adjusters Jason Brugh and Jeromy Harding spent much of the following week after Hurricane Michael struck, surveying the damage from ground zero at Mexico Beach, Florida to the Alabama-Georgia state lines. They also spent several days in service to local communities, helping clear downed trees from roads and people’s property, re-righting travel trailers, and in one case, putting out a fully-involved house fire. Both had building construction backgrounds prior to becoming insurance agents and claims adjusters. Brugh, of Catalyst Insurance Management in New Port Richey said he and Harding saw total destruction in their travels in the panhandle, with nearly every structure suffering damage. Their inspections revealed that standing seam metal roofs performed very well in the hurricane, while gable and three cap shingles were often completely gone. “FBC 110 mph-rated shingles came off like you’re peeling Post-It notes off a Post-It pad,” Brugh said on the podcast. “We did see improperly installed metal roofs, where they were installed over existing shingles, allowing for an air gap between the two roof surfaces and those roofs were totally devastated. Those peeled the roof decking off like a beer can.” He added that the only damage he saw to properly installed metal roofs was impact-related. Jay Neal, President and CEO of the Florida Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR), said Hurricane Michael is further proof that Florida needs to adopt the tougher Miami-Dade building code statewide. “There’s no logic in having one higher standard for Miami-Dade County and not having it for the rest of the state,” he said. Neal and FAIR are pushing the Florida legislature to provide more funding for mitigation of existing structures; and to make homeowners more aware, too, of the difference installing impact-resistant windows and enhancing roof connections to walls can have on their home surviving the next hurricane. “We spend about 15-cents per Florida resident giving cities, counties, and nonprofits the funds to spend on mitigation and that’s got to change,” Neal said. He cited FEMA statistics that shows for every $1 invested in mitigation, $6 in damages are avoided. It’s an issue FAIR will be presenting to the 2019 legislatu(continued)
