PORT CHARLOTTE — A state program can provide mediators for residents struggling to contact their insurance providers months after hurricane damage hits their home.
Craig Trapani, a representative for Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, spoke about the program with Charlotte County commissioners on Tuesday.
“It’s a taxpayer funded service that the residents of the state of Florida pay for, but they don’t know about it,” he said.
Trapani noted the mediation service does not require public adjustors or attorneys, instead relying on the state CFO’s jurisdiction to regulate insurance.
Charlotte County Commission Chair Bill Truex said he had made use of the mediation service after Hurricane Ian.
Despite some friction with the insurance company after they were contacted by mediators, Truex reported he was able to get the reimbursement he was seeking within 30 days of contacting the service.
“They were very beneficial,” he said during the meeting.
Trapani noted that there is still a need for such services, as he had seen several roofs with blue tarps across southwest Florida.
“We have seen premiums skyrocket over the last three years, particularly after Ian,” he said.
Trapani also highlighted the CFO’s My Safe Florida Home program, which provides up to $10,000 in reimbursement for home hardening against storms.
Proof of hardening projects, including impact-resistant windows, could then be submitted to insurance companies to negotiate rate reductions.
Patronis himself had made use of the program after Hurricane Ian damaged his home in Panama City, according to Trapani; the installation of hardened windows at his home was reimbursed for $4,500.
Commissioner Joe Tiseo shared his own experience getting an inspector to check his home for wind risks. After paying for a $125 wind mitigation report, he reported his insurance company scaled back a planned 100% increase to his premiums and reimbursed him the difference.
Commissioner Ken Doherty spoke about his own family’s efforts to harden their home before Ian and how making it more feasible for others to do so would be vital to preparing for future storms.
“It’s a great program,” he said.
Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch also praised the My Safe Florida Home program, but inquired about the likelihood and amount of reimbursement that residents could anticipate.
“Do you have to pay a portion of that yourself, or do you get reimbursed for the whole amount?” he asked Trapani.
The full cost of hardening projects, Trapani admitted, could run beyond $20,000 or $30,000. While many homeowners go beyond what the program offers, he argued that carving even a portion of the costs off would be a benefit to homeowners.
He also noted that the program had a series of qualifications that would direct more funding towards reimbursing low-income and elderly residents, and that the program currently had a 50,000-strong wait list from the previous year.
The program was awarded $200 million in new funding by the state Legislature this year, replenishing an existing fund of $30 million. Funding will be distributed in order of requests received.
Both the insurance mediation program and the My Safe Florida Home program are administered through the CFO’s Department of Consumer Services.
Prospective program applicants can contact the Department via phone at 877-693-5236 or seek information online at myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/home
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