By Max Dorfman, Analysis Author, Triple-I
Properties with extra fashionable roofs have been in a position to keep away from vital harm from Hurricane Ian, in contrast with these with older roofs, based on a latest examine by the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA).
Of the 200 properties surveyed, 90 p.c with roofs put in earlier than 2015 had roof harm, versus 28 p.c for these put in after 2015, when Florida imposed new ordinances concerning how roofs are hooked up to homes and the way waterproof they should 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 properties and different buildings within the space, inflicting an estimated $55 billion in insured losses in 2024 {dollars}.
A few of this harm, based on the information, might 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 forestall hurricane harm. These modifications additional got here into impact in 2002, with a brand new deal with roofing. Nevertheless, there have been inconsistencies within the high quality of the roofing.
“The Seventies-era properties carried out higher than a few of the post-2002 new constructing code properties due to the sealed roof deck,” Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president of the Federal Alliance for Protected Properties, instructed The Miami Herald. “It was a nominal value (to strengthen the roof) and a easy factor to do, however it made an enormous distinction.”
Now, with a renewed deal with steel sheet roofs—which bear the brunt of storms extra resiliently than asphalt shingle roofs—FEMA’s knowledge might drastically change the way in which wherein properties are constructed, and the way insurers are responding to fraudulent claims.
Insurance coverage scams set progress again
Insurers are pressured to lift the value of protection in hurricane-prone areas in Florida due to a rash of schemes to intentionally harm 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 modifications urged by the FEMA examine might assist alleviate a few of the issues posed by insurers—and assist owners.
“If you’re a house and evaluating its capacity 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 could actually assist prevent cash in your insurance coverage.”
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