How did the Wind Mitigation program come about?
It actually goes back to about 2002 when a report commissioned by the Florida Department of Community Affairs recommended that some credits should be provided for homes that had various wind resistant features.
Then in 2005, the legislature passed a law requiring insurers to notify policyholders of the availability of premium discounts and the range of discounts, or premium reductions, that they could receive if their home met certain requirements. Needles to say, the insurance companies were not happy with this.
In an effort to help improve the wind resistance of the homes, and possibly to calm the insurance industry, the legislature passed a law in 2007 creating the "My Safe Florida Home" program. This program provided free inspections to many homeowners and made grants available to encourage homeowners to "harden" their homes against wind damage.
The program quickly used up the allotted funds and in 2009, the program was discontinued. The good part for home owners is that the requirement that insurance companies provide discounts remained. Since then the program has changed into a way for homeowners to receive discounts on their insurance premiums by simply having a Wind Mitigation Inspection done by a qualified inspector such as REM Inspections.