Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation
Listed below is information for consumers regarding premium discounts that are offered by insurers to policyholders who harden or
reinforce their homes against wind damage.
What's the story?
In 2005, the Florida legislature passed a law requiring all residential property insurance companies to file with the Office of Insurance Regulation
(Office) a range of premium discounts they offer to customers who live in homes of certain construction types or who apply loss mitigation devices
(like shutters) to their homes.
Accordingly, the Office sent the following notice to all residential property insurance companies on December 8, 2005:
Informational Memorandum - Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation
instructing them to electronically file their discounts with the Office and to start sending the list of discounts to all new and renewed policies starting on February 1, 2006.
The legislation was an important step in providing incentives for Floridians to mitigate their homes.
However, the wide range of discounts offered did not provide policyholders with the information
needed to make informed decisions on whether to spend money retrofitting their homes. In addition,
the Office determined that the discounts should be higher based on an engineering report conducted
for the Florida Department of Community Affairs demonstrating that recognized loss mitigation devices
are much more resistant to damage than previous data indicated. Click here if you would like to view
the research document on which the new higher discounts are based: Report on Mitigation Discounts.
Therefore, in December 2006, the Office promulgated
Rule 69O-170.017 which required all property insurers to provide to the Office higher discounts in their
insurance rates for policyholders who had recognized loss mitigation devices on their homes no later than March 1, 2007.
The Rule requires insurers to send a list of those discounts with exact dollar savings to all new and renewed policyholders.
Insurers had to send the “Notice of Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation” form (OIR-B1-1655) to new and renewing policyholders starting September 5, 2007.
In 2008, the Office commissioned another study to evaluate windstorm loss relativities for construction
features involving the analysis of damage and loss data from the 2004 and 2005 Florida hurricanes.
Once I know what my discounts would be, how do I prove to the insurance company I have these features on my home?
Consumers can contract with a
licensed inspector to examine
the home using the official
Uniform Mitigation Verification
Inspection Form.
In either case, the homeowner
should take the completed
inspection form to their agent
to begin processing the policy
discounts.
The "Notice of Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation" was updated in 2010 and provides
information on windstorm loss mitigation for a personal residential insurance policy.
The "Windstorm Loss Reduction Credits" shows the range of wind premium
credits for existing construction on a single family residence according to Section 627.0629(1), Florida Statutes.
What if my agent or insurance
company refuses to accept the
inspection results submitted on
the proper form?
To file a complaint or speak with an insurance specialist, contact the Department of Financial Services' (DFS) Division of
Consumer Services at: