Would Letting Roofers Do More Wind-Mit Work Help Cut Florida’s Insured Losses?

November 4, 2024 by William Rabb

A recent photograph of destruction left by Hurricane Milton’s wind tells the story: An entire roof section on a residential complex in Bradenton, Florida – including rafters and ceiling joists – was ripped off, exposing people’s abodes and belongings to wind, rain and flying debris.

Experts say the near-catastrophic failure, resulting in hefty insurance claims, was possible because the structure, likely built before more-recent Florida building code requirements were put in place, did not have enough roof-to-wall connections, such as steel hurricane straps and clips.

The problem is, explained Mike Silvers with the Florida Roofing & Sheetmetal Contractors Association (FRSA), finding crews to install those connectors – especially now, after back-to-back hurricanes – is easier said than done. Florida statutes, building codes, and contractor licensing rules do not specifically allow roof contractors to install the straps and clips. It’s considered structural work under the purview of building contractors.

Few roof companies, which already replace the plywood roof decking on residential properties when needed, want to interrupt a roof job in order to schedule a structural contractor’s time. And most certified “Division 1” building contractors have little interest in getting involved in the middle of a roof-replacement job.

The FRSA and the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors Inc. (InterNACHI) are now urging Florida to loosen the rules and allow roofing contractors to install or upgrade the tie-down connectors. The two groups recently penned a public statement and letter to state officials, outlining the advantages of modifying the rules.

“The need to allow roofing contractors to perform this work and to be trained to follow the prescriptive sections in the code has become apparent,” the letter reads.

The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board, housed within the state Department of Business & Professional Regulation, may be able to make the change, Silvers said. Or, legislation could be required. The Florida Legislature’s regular 2025 session does not begin until March.

Allowing more contractors to perform hurricane-hardening work could go a long way toward ameliorating the cost of property insurance in claims-heavy Florida, FRSA argues. In some cases, roof decking is torn off in hurricanes, along with shingles or metal panels, making the trusses and wall connection sites accessible to roofers. But when roofers aren’t certified or licensed for the work, some property owners have foregone the vital tie-downs, which could lead to costly insurance claims in the next storm, FRSA explained.

“We want to keep homeowners’ insurance available in Florida, and we know we need to play our part,” said Silvers, who is director of technical services for FRSA.

InterNACHI recommends two hours of continuing education for roof contractors who want to be certified in retrofitting homes with roof-wall connectors. The certificate should be required by building officials when building permits are applied for “to provide notice of proper training on retrofit methodology and proper installation for applicable insurance effects,” the group said in the recent letter, seen here.

The need for more restoration companies has become more obvious as demand has risen after multiple hurricanes have plastered Florida in recent years. The demand for wind-mitigation work also has soared, thanks to the popular My Safe Florida Home program.

“We’re not seeing it just yet, but because we’ve had two hurricanes like we’ve had, I expect the need for contractors to explode,” said Steven Fielder, director of the program. “When more insurance checks come in, we’ll probably start to see it.”

The My Safe Florida Home program, revived and funded by the Legislature in 2022, provides matching grants for homeowners to fortify their structures with roof-to-wall connections, storm shutters, roof systems and other measures, in exchange for premium discounts on their HO policies.

But the program proved to be so popular that the $200 million allocated by lawmakers early this year was quickly exhausted. As of late October, the My Safe Florida Home had scheduled funding to 58,788 homeowners, said Fielder, chief business officer for the Florida Department of Financial Services, which oversees the program. Of those homeowners, 26,537 have completed the mitigation work and the remainder are in various stages of completing their work or submitting requests for reimbursement.

Fielder declined to weigh in on the wisdom of having more roof contractors provide wind-mitigation work. Officials with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Services, which houses the Construction Industry Licensing Board, could not be reached for comment on what may be required to amend licensing rules and let more roofers get certified in home hardening and roof-to-wall connections.

Of course, some roofers already may quietly install straps and clips on some sites when asked, even without a Division 1 builder contractor’s license, Silvers said. And while that practice may help keep the roof on, it can complicate things when property owners want to apply for premium discounts or when they want to sell the home – especially if a building permit did not include the work or if tie-downs are not installed perfectly, with correct nails and screws.

Having more roofers do more work may not seem like the obvious path to reduced insurance costs in Florida. After all, Florida insurers through the years have often been at odds with some roof contractors over what they have called exaggerated roof damage and assignments-of-benefits claims.

But a growing number of people in the industry agree that more home fortification is key to reducing losses in windstorms. State government should must act to protect citizens, “fortifying homes through building codes and mitigation,” writes Don Brown in his recently published book, “Nine Guideline Principles to Enact Change.”

Brown is a longtime Florida insurance agent and a former state legislator who has advocated for more retrofitting and less of the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which has grown to be the largest insurer in the state.

“By embracing sound risk mitigation strategies and resisting short-term fixes, the state can navigate the complexities of hurricane exposure and emerge stronger in the face of adversity,” Brown wrote.

The FRSA’s Silvers said his group has consulted extensively with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety on the idea of expanded roofer work. The Institute, which researches and advocates for more wind-resistant construction, declined to comment last week, except to say that having more people available to install wind connections will likely improve resiliency in hurricane-pounded Florida.

And the shortage of available workers – in all types of construction – could worsen next year. Bloomberg news service reported last week that some in the construction industry are worried that presidential candidate Donald Trump’s avowed plan to deport thousands of immigrants would cripple rebuilding efforts in Florida and other states.

Meanwhile, the insurance claims from recent storms keeps growing. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported that as of Nov. 1, insurance claims from four hurricanes in the last 14 months have toppd 447,000.

Top photo: The missing roof structure at a residential complex in Bradenton, Florida, near Cortez Bridge (Photo by Matt Mercier, a licensed drone pilot and national director of community associations for insurance advisor CBIZ.)

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