| IHPA NEWS |
| FBC works on product approval
process The IHPA has had at least three members at every FBC meeting to insure that the needs of our members are being addressed. Currently the Florida Building Commission (FBC) has been working on the product approval process and Amy Yelverton of Weather Guard, Inc. summed up the last meeting that was held in Panama City: State Product Approval is slowly fixing problems with the system. The quick fixes to the rule are being adopted as we speak. This includes how to do revisions on products you currently have approved. At the last FBC meeting the commissioners voted to form a work group to identify the problems with the product approval system and how to make the system better. One of the major problems is that the scope is too broad. Hopefully, this committee will come up with solutions to make the system easier for everyone involved. The hearing to implement the quick fix changes for 9b-72 will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, July 23 in Tallahassee. These are the changes that were decided on at the Orlando meeting. Once again, I cannot stress enough: if you have a product up for approval, it is to your benefit to attend the FBC meetings. It could mean the difference between your product being approved that month or deferred until the next meeting or, worse yet, denied completely. IHPA HOLDS GENERAL MEETING IN JACKSONVILLE On Wednesday, May 19, IHPA held its general meeting in Jacksonville, FL. Approximately 35 were in attendance at Sterlings Restaurant in the Historical District of downtown Jacksonville. The IHPA conducted a business meeting along with presentations from four guest speakers: Leonard Buster Case, Department of Community Affairs (DCA), along with Joe Belcher, CBO, owner of JDB Code Services, Inc., spoke on Statewide Product Approvals and the Florida Building Code. Jim McCusker of Robbins Nest Software and Weatherguard spoke on software for the building and hurricane protection industry. Don Leggett, AAI, spoke on Workmans Compensation. The IHPA will hold its next meeting in late summer back in the southeast part of Florida. WORKERS' COMP VIOLATIONS INVESTIGATED IHPA has continued to work on legislative issues. Board member Doug Thomas and Insurance Chairman Don Leggett met with the Florida Insurance Dept. to discuss the problem of non-compliance of employers having procured workers compensation. The IHPA members stressed that a contractor who follows the law has to overcome a labor surcharge of $18 per hundred (the cost of workers compensation for installers in the state of Florida.) Shortly thereafter the following took place: In Okeechobee two men are facing workers compensation fraud charges after insurance fraud investigators with the Department of Financial Services conducted investigations of numerous construction sites in and around Okeechobee. Investigators with the Division of Insurance Fraud, Bureau of Workers Compensation Fraud, said the two men were caught working without the required coverage and had no prior or current exemption. Failure to secure workers compensation insurance is punishable by up to five years in prison and fines. Employers who avoid paying workers compensation premiums contribute to the rise in workers compensation rates and gain an unfair advantage over competitors. Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher says the department will continue to aggressively investigate instances of fraud and abuse of the workers compensation system. One of the two men was found working alone as a subcontractor for a construction company and was charged with failure to secure workers compensation insurance. The other, the owner of a rock excavating company, was found performing concrete work with four employees. Neither he nor his company had a valid workers compensation insurance policy. The owner was charged with failure to secure workers compensation insurance. FREE ONLINE HELP IN FLORIDA A new online database has been developed to send automatic electronic notification to primary contractors who sign up for the service, concerning changes to a subcontractors workers compensation coverage status. This free service is available at www.fldfs.com/wc by clicking on the Construction Policy Tracking Database icon. The Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud, investigates various forms of fraud in insurance, including health, life, auto, property and workers compensation insurance. Anyone with information about a possible fraud scheme should call the departments Fraud Busters Hotline at (800) 378-0445. A reward of up to $25,000 may be offered for information leading to a conviction. MEET THE NEWEST IHPA BOARD MEMBER Jeff Robinson, CEO of Hurricane Protection Industries, Inc., is the newest member of the IHPA Board of Directors. Weve asked him to introduce himself to our readers: Our industry is fortunate to have several families that have been in the hurricane protection business for multiple generations, and I am fortunate to belong to one of these. I began working full-time for my familys business in 1973 and havent stopped since. The really neat thing about this long tenure has been the pace and scope of changes that I have seen over the past 31 years. I think that we, as an industry, are providing the public with more innovations and options in product lines and at better prices than ever before. The most significant innovation to me has been the formation and success of the IHPA. I take my hat off to Frank Storms and all of the members that put forth their own efforts to bring real cohesion to what has traditionally been a fractionalized industry. It is true that we have had other associations in the industry before; however, most of these were formed for specific business reasons and not for the industry as a whole. If there is anything that I hope to bring to the table, it is a belief that we are tied to each other. The work and actions of one shutter or protective products manufacturer or contractor reflects on everyone else in our industry. With this belief comes a commitment to support the work and efforts of the IHPA. WILL OUR LUCK HOLD? IHPA is working with local business to provide free hurricane protection
assessments. The United States has been lucky. The loss of lives has steadily
fallen from a high of 8,000 lives lost during the hurricane that came
ashore in Galveston, TX, in 1900. WINDOW, DOOR PROTECTION: LESSONS LEARNED IHPA window committee, chaired by Tom Johnston, has met to discuss the
best ways to illustrate the danger of exposed, non-impact windows and
the value to be gained by protecting the openings of the home. The committee
findings:
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