JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Big changes and big money are on the way for the State of Florida’s My Safe Florida Home Program.
On July 1, $200 million will be available to help Floridians harden their homes to save money on their property insurance.
“We prioritized seniors and those that are low income. We also opened the list to contractors to apply to be part of the program,” said Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer.
The My Safe Florida Home program will begin matching grants of up to $10,000 for repairs to help homes better withstand hurricanes.
Related: The Weather Authority Hurricane section
The program is an incentive for homeowners to harden their houses with upgrades to roofs, windows, garage doors, reinforced wall-to-roof connections, roof deck attachments and secondary water resistance.
Two-thirds of the project will be issued to homeowners via grants.
Patronis said there is already 58,000 people on the waiting list, some of whom will receive priority.
“There is a substantial waitlist that is already in place for those that have made an application. Now, what we did is, we did outreach to all those on the waiting list and doing it by age and also by income,” Patronis said. “The legislature decided they wanted to prioritize seniors and those that are low income first. So if you’re on the waitlist, and you got that email, and you responded, and you fit one of those categories, then you’ll be prioritized in order to get that money a little bit sooner because of the urgency of getting needed relief.”
Applications will be prioritized in the following order.
- Consideration, July 1 – 15, goes to low-income homeowners ages 60+
- Between July 16-30, low-income homeowners of any age will be considered
- Moderate-income homeowners ages 60+
- Moderate-income homeowners of any age
- All eligible Florida homeowners
The other change to the program allows any licensed Florida contractor to make important retrograde updates to their homes, eliminating the state’s authorized contractor list.
“It’s going to make it a lot easier because they don’t have to go through some online process to choose a contractor they don’t know. They can call who they do know. This is beneficial for the people that need it the most. Low-income seniors really are the people hit hardest by increased insurance,” said Brightway Insurance owner Matt Carlucci Jr.
Patronis anticipates the entire $200 million will be spent.
He did say, however, if you are approved for the program and follow the guidelines, it’s likely the changes you make to your home will result in your property insurance decreasing.