Homes to Withstand Storms & Decrease Insurance Costs

Think designations are only for people? The Institute for Business & Home Safety IBHS, located in Tampa, Florida, and set up by the insurance industry, has come up with its FSL designation - Fortified for safer living for homes build above and beyond the strictest building codes. Further, insurance companies are offering discounts of as much as 25% on premiums for these homes. They increase the home's resistance against high winds, floods and wildfires.



Jason Comer is building FSL homes in Alys Beach on the Florida Panhandle. This is a community of white stucco homes with white ridged concrete roofs, similar to styles in Bermuda and Antigua. Because these are all FSL homes, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and S.S. Nesbitt & co have partnered to offer a special Masterpiece Personal Insurance Program for these homes. Homes in this area range from $500,000 to $5,000,000.

The St Petersburg Times describes the ridged roofs of Comer's homes as follows: "They start with a base of three-quarter-inch plywood nailed to frames strapped to the walls. Then comes a think sheet of rubberized, waterproof material. Next comes a coating of adhesive foam. Inch-thick concrete tiles are pressed into the adhesive, then screwed into the plywood. The tiles are then covered with a slurry of concrete that fills in all the joints and cracks. Finally, the roof, with foreshortened eaves, gets four coats of waterp[roof paint to further smooth and seal the surface."



Starting in the low $200s, Kristin Beall builds FSL homes that take inspiration from bungalow style homes. She's building in Eustis, outside of Orlando.

Features of FSL homes often include concrete "safe rooms", thicker concrete, hip roofs, exterior doors that swing out, and of course hurricane straps, reinforced windows and storm shutters.

An increasing number of people are willing to pay for additional storm protection on their homes. Discuss these options with your builder - or for homes in the Tampa Bay area, contact The Simms Team, RE/MAX Metro in St. Petersburg, sharonsimms@ssimms.com