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- Auto, Truck & Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Personal Injury
- Wrongful Death
- Nursing Home Neglect / Abuse
- Product Liability
- Insurance Disputes
- Hurricane Insurance Claim
- Sinkhole Claims
- Commercial Litigation
- Defective Medical Devices
- Asbestos/Mesothelioma
Blog 
Hurricane Insurance Claim
- 3 Important Steps To Filing a Hurricane Damage Claim
- Late season hurricanes are still a threat
- Tropical Storm Fay – Are You Covered?
- Experts predict more hurricanes – Better check your coverage
- Hurricane Season Is Good Time to Check Insurance Coverage
Claims Involving Children
Lower Your Homeowner's Insurance Rate with Hurricane Inspections
While none of us can prevent hurricanes, there is much you can do to limit the amount of damage a hurricane can have on your home. Florida’s Department of Financial Services has instituted the My Safe Florida Home program, which offers suggestions for “hardening” your home to hurricanes. The state of Florida has set aside $250 million for this program, which funds the inspections and also offers matching grants of up to $5,000 to help defray the cost of the recommended improvements.
The first step is to take advantage of the free wind inspection offered by My Safe Florida Home. The program offers free inspections to any Florida resident with a single-family, detached, site-built home. You can have your home inspected by calling 1-866-513-6734 or by clicking here and filling out an online application.
The inspection will provide you with:
- An outline of improvements that may be made to your house to increase resistance to hurricane wind damage
- An estimate of how much each improvement would cost
- An estimate of insurance discounts available to you
- A “Hurricane Resistance Rating” that compares your home’s current strength to the strength that the recommended improvements would offer.
Seven simple improvements that may be made to your house include:
- Improving the strength of your roof deck
- Upgrading exterior wall-opening protections
- Upgrading your exterior doors
- Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections by installing metal tie-down straps
- Creating a secondary water barrier to prevent water intrusion
- Upgrading roof singles
- Bracing gable-ends in your roof framing to lessen the chances of roof collapse
After receiving and evaluating the suggested improvements, you can apply for a matching grant of up to $5,000 from Florida to help pay for the improvements. Grant funds must be used to protect openings, protect exterior doors, replace garage doors, or brace gable ends in your roof. To see if you will be eligible for a grant, click here.
Finally, homes that have been strengthened by hurricane-resistant improvements may be entitled to a wide range of discounts on their homeowner’s insurance premium. These discounts will be individually outlined in the free wind inspection report.
Lilly, O'Toole & Brown, LLP
Lakeland Office: (863) 683-1111
Bartow Office: (863) 533-5525
Sebring Office: (863) 471-0003
Lake Wales Office: (863) 676-1991
Haines City Office: (863) 422-1282
Wauchula Office: (863) 767-1111
Winter Haven Office (863) 294-8100
Also providing legal assistance to clients from:
Wauchula, Lake Placid, Avon Park, Plant City, Brandon, and Valrico, Florida.
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Lakeland Office
800 S. Florida Ave.
Lakeland, FL 33801
Phone: (863) 683-1111
Fax: (863) 683-0915
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Sebring Office
2154 Lakeview Drive
Sebring, FL 33870
Phone: (863) 471-0003
Fax: (863) 471-2034
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Bartow Office
310 E. Main Street
Bartow, FL 33830
Phone: (863) 533-5525
Fax: (863) 533-0505
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Lake Wales Office
815 S.R. 60 East
Lake Wales, FL 33853
Phone: (863) 676-1991
Fax: (863) 676-3873
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Winter Haven
70 Fourth Street N.W.
Winter Haven, FL 33881
Phone: (863) 294-8100
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