Funding shortfall halts inspections for Florida home-hardening grant

Funding shortfall halts inspections for Florida home-hardening grant | Insurance Business America

Property

Funding shortfall halts inspections for Florida home-hardening grant

Inspection process ongoing for applicants who’ve completed or are currently under review

Property

By
Althea Javellana

The Florida Department of Financial Services has announced a temporary halt to initial inspection applications for the My Safe Florida Home grant program. This pause comes as the program has depleted the funds allocated for covering inspection costs. The news was confirmed through an update on the program’s official website.

The My Safe Florida Home program, which opened its doors to applications on July 1, primarily targets supporting low-income homeowners who are 60 or older. In 2024, the program outlined several adjustments aimed at enhancing its accessibility and impact.

Despite the suspension of new inspections, the program continues to process applications for those who have already completed or are currently undergoing inspections. This allows them to advance in the grant application process without interruption.

Originally, the program had a budget of $3.5 million earmarked exclusively for initial and final inspections. Out of this, $550,732 was designated for approximately 3,422 initial inspections. While the inspection funds have been exhausted, the program still has substantial grant funds available, with $184.9 million set aside for this fiscal year to support mitigation projects.

Devin Galetta, the director of communications at the Financial Services Department, emphasised the importance of the program. “As we continue to tackle rate increases, the My Safe Florida Home program remains a crucial resource for making homes safer and managing costs,” he said. He also hinted at future enhancements, noting that the chief financial officer plans to introduce proposals aimed at securing ongoing funding for the program.

Eligible homeowners can receive up to $10,000 to help cover the costs of mitigation projects, with the program providing $2 for every $1 spent by the property owner. However, only improvements identified in the official inspection reports are eligible for funding.

To qualify for a grant, homeowners must first complete a free wind mitigation inspection. Once they have the inspection report, they can proceed to apply for the grant itself, with priority given to low- and moderate-income residents aged 60 and over.

Since its inception in 2022, the My Safe Florida Home program has completed over 106,000 inspections and approved 38,500 grants. To date, the state has allocated $634 million to support these home-hardening efforts, with more than $176 million approved just last year.

In terms of insurance market share in Florida for 2023, the five largest providers were Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (18.57%), Universal Insurance Holdings Group (8.47%), State Farm Group (6.88%), Florida Peninsula Group (4.88%), and Tower Hill Group (4.35%).

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