By Max Dorfman, Analysis Author, Triple-I
Properties with extra trendy roofs had been capable of keep away from vital injury from Hurricane Ian, in contrast with these with older roofs, in keeping with a current examine by the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA).
Of the 200 houses surveyed, 90 p.c with roofs put in earlier than 2015 had roof injury, versus 28 p.c for these put in after 2015, when Florida imposed new ordinances concerning how roofs are connected to homes and the way waterproof they have to be. Certainly, when Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa, a barrier island in Lee County, Fla., on Sept. 28, 2022, it broken 52,514 houses and different buildings within the space, inflicting an estimated $55 billion in insured losses in 2024 {dollars}.
A few of this injury, in keeping with the info, may have been mitigated by up to date roofs.
Historical past tells the identical story
After the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida took the initiative to develop modern plans to stop hurricane injury. These adjustments additional got here into impact in 2002, with a brand new give attention to roofing. Nevertheless, there have been inconsistencies within the high quality of the roofing.
“The Seventies-era houses carried out higher than a number of the post-2002 new constructing code houses due to the sealed roof deck,” Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president of the Federal Alliance for Secure Properties, advised The Miami Herald. “It was a nominal price (to bolster the roof) and a easy factor to do, nevertheless it made an enormous distinction.”
Now, with a renewed give attention to steel sheet roofs—which bear the brunt of storms extra resiliently than asphalt shingle roofs—FEMA’s information may drastically change the best way wherein houses are constructed, and the way insurers are responding to fraudulent claims.
Insurance coverage scams set progress again
Insurers are compelled to boost the worth of protection in hurricane-prone areas in Florida due to a rash of schemes to intentionally injury roofs to qualify them for insurance coverage claims, a persisting pattern.
“Fraud drives insurance coverage charges up and harms all Florida policyholders,” Residents Property Insurance coverage CEO Tim Cerio mentioned. Nonetheless, implementing the adjustments advised by the FEMA examine might assist alleviate a number of the considerations posed by insurers—and assist householders.
“While you’re a house and evaluating its capability to outlive a hurricane, the well being of the roof is the primary query to ask,” mentioned Chapman-Henderson. “It not solely will increase your efficiency within the hurricane itself, however within the present atmosphere it may well assist prevent cash in your insurance coverage.”
Be taught Extra:
Lawsuits Threaten to Swell Hurricane Ian’s Pricetag
Triple-I Points Temporary: Hurricanes
