Insurers Urge Tougher Building Codes for Fla. Panhandle in Today’s Vote

In its vote today, the Florida Building Code Commission should adopt the same windborne debris requirements for the Panhandle that are in place throughout Florida, insurers have urged.

“The commission should adopt the broader standard established by the American Society of Civil Engineers until the evidence for implementing the stronger building codes only in a more narrowly defined area is more convincing,” said Keith Lessner, vice president, loss control for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) . “Given the conflicting science regarding how broadly the code requirements should be extended and the likelihood of strong hurricanes in the Gulf, prudence dictates emphasizing caution.”

Over the years, local developers and their legislative allies have thwarted efforts to expand stronger building codes inland more than a narrow one-mile stretch of land. As part of the discussion this year, a study by Applied Research Associates (ARA) of North Carolina recommended that a limited area of the Panhandle be required to meet the more rigorous standards for new home construction.

However, ARA noted that there are limitations and several unresolved issues regarding its study. ARA also recommended there be a second phase to the study to answer some of the questions.

“It is not at all clear from the data presented by ARA that the study provides sufficient rationale for limiting the windborne debris zone to the area being recommended,” maintained Lessner. “In addition, with the lack of widespread scientific peer review, it is simply too early to make real world decisions that will affect peoples’ lives based on the ARA study. The commission’s decision to embrace the ARA recommendations has the potential to leave many in the Panhandle vulnerable to future hurricane damage because they fall short of what is required in other coastal areas of Florida.”

Source: PCI