As Florida residents gear up for hurricane season, the My Safe Florida Home program has received a much-needed boost thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis. In April, the governor signed Senate Bill 7028 into law, allocating additional funds to the program. This means more homeowners can now apply for grants to strengthen their homes against hurricane winds and reduce their insurance premiums.
My Safe Florida Program: Get Help Hardening Your Home This Hurricane Season
The My Safe Florida Home program was created to help single-family homes protect and fortify against hurricanes. With the program, homeowners can get a free inspection and report detailing the strength of their home against hurricanes, as well as recommendations for improvements to increase that strength. These homeowners are then eligible to apply for up to $10,000 in state funding to protect their homes; for every $1 spent making improvements in preparation for hurricane season, the program will reimburse them $2. Homeowners interested in applying for the program should visit the website and work with an experienced local law firm to ensure their claims and inspectors are legitimate.
New Funding Boosts Program
Since the program's launch, it has successfully reduced the cost of home insurance premiums. But, the applications open very early in the year and fill up even quicker. Due to the program's popularity, an additional $200 million in funding was made available for those on the waitlist. This extra funding was to help ensure that predominantly low-income, senior homeowners could get inspections and home-strengthening grants.
Free Inspections & Priority for Seniors and Previous Applicants
The additional $200 million in funding was just a part of the program changes that began on July 1st. The main reason for the additional funding was to open up the applications and check the waitlist to ensure that the most at-risk homeowners could get the inspections and grants in preparation for hurricane season.
Applications were accepted and prioritized in this order:
- July 1-15: Low-income homeowners age 60+
- July 16-30: Low income homeowners
- July 31-August 14: Moderate income homeowners age 60+
The program's popularity cannot be overstated because although it helps many Florida residents prepare for hurricane season, it runs out of funding very quickly. To ensure that you are prepared for the application process, place your name on the waitlist and ensure that you have a certified Florida State contractor to do the inspection.
Understanding Your Insurance Policy and Covered Damages
The best part of applying for My Safe Florida Home is that it’s preparing you for hurricane season by fortifying your home and strengthening it to suffer less damage. During major hurricanes, the wind damage is severe.
Typical hurricane damage:
- Roof damage
- Structural damage
- Impact damage
- Windows breaking
Most of these damages come from hurricane-force winds, and mitigating the wind damage with inspections and proper upgrades will keep your insurance premiums and damage down. If a hurricane damages your home, file a claim with your insurance company. Most standard homeowners insurance policies cover wind damage. Still, part of your hurricane season prep is familiarizing yourself with your policy to see what is covered in the event of a storm.
Filing Your Claim Efficiently and Protecting Your Rights
Choosing a policy with sufficient protection long before hurricane season arrives is important. Still, if you suffer damages, you need to file a claim and ensure that you receive the proper compensation. When your insurance company doesn’t honor your claim, it can devastate your family.
Experienced lawyers can fight to protect your rights and work to seek the compensation that you are owed as a policyholder in need of their payout to get their damages covered. Don’t fall for their tactics to deny your coverage, and work with Garcia Law Firm to build a solid case to fight for your payout.
Local Roots, Legal Excellence | Garcia Law Firm
While hurricane damage can be far-reaching you should be able to count on your insurance company when you need them the most. As homeowners in Florida, we know that that is not always the case. In times of major hurricanes, with extensive damage across the state, getting the cleanup started is hard, but getting it funded and compensated is even more challenging. In the mess of a hurricane’s aftermath, don’t waste your energy fighting with your insurance company for what is legally yours. Contact us online or by calling (305) 292-1437 to help you fight for those rights and get your deserved compensation.
