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 Sterling’s 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 Workman’s 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 subcontractor’s 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 department’s
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. We’ve 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 family’s
business in 1973 and haven’t 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.
While the number of lives saved have been reduced by advanced tracking
and forecasting abilities, the economic losses have continued to skyrocket.
As more people move to U.S. coastlines and the demand for housing and
services escalate, the potential for a severe loss is greatly increased.
About 80 percent of U.S. coastal residents from Texas to Maine have not
experienced a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1900. Risk management
models show that there is a 1 percent annual probability that a direct
economic loss of $75 billion or more could occur somewhere in the United
States from the occurrence of a hurricane. In comparison Hurricane Andrew,
the most expensive storm in terms of insurance dollars, cost the insurance
industry $26 billion.
The highest historical reconstructed losses using current dollar values
would be the Category 4 storm to hit Miami, FL, in 1926 causing $87 billion
in damages and $47 billion in insured losses.
Clearly the United States has been lucky.
Rank Hurricane/Year Damage
1. Andrew 1992 / $26.5 billion
2. Hugo 1989 / $7 billion
3. Floyd 1999 / $4.5 billion
4. Fran 1996 / $3.2 billion
5. Opal 1995 / $3 billion
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:
• Damage to Windows and Doors: Lessons from Hurricane Hugo,
South Carolina, and Hurricane Andrew, Florida: When window and door loss
occurs, interior damage from wind and rain intrusion can be substantial.
Many homes were uninhabitable for long periods after the storm subsided,
although the main structural system was intact and damage appeared minimal
from the outside. Windows, especially sliding glass doors, were very susceptible
to failure from wind pressure and debris impact. Frame systems were
usually found intact, but only because the glazing had already failed.
The breaching of the building envelope by failure of openings (doors,
windows) due to debris impact was a significant factor in much of the
damage from Hurricane Andrew. After-the-storm studies have shown that
roof damage from flying debris was a major problem during Andrew because
of the quantity of missiles in the air stream. Missiles included tree
limbs, fences, dislodged rooftop HVAC equipment and components from failed
buildings.
Window protection such as shutters and impact glass performed well. Structures
with adequate roof ventilation were observed to have performed better
due to the ability of the ventilation to relieve induced internal pressure.
Garage door failure was a significant cause of damage during Andrew. The
most common failure was deflection of the garage door from wind pressure
until the tracks rotated and the door rollers separated from the tracks.
Loss of doors resulted in envelope breach and a sudden increase in internal
pressure.
Many researchers regard the loss of doors (primarily garage and sliding
glass) and windows to be the second most costly and important cost aspect
of the storm after roof damage. Many times loss of windows and doors predicated
the roof loss. One investigator noted that during Hugo many anchored roofs
failed because of loss of windows and sliding glass doors.
• Doors and Windows: Modern homes are constructed with more
and larger openings than older homes. Entry doors are often double, sliding
glass doors replace regular doors, and attached garages often have double-width
garage doors to hold two cars. (Single-car garages withstand internal
pressure better than multi-car garages.) The greater number and size of
openings place homes at increased risk from hurricane forces.
Nearly every residential house or apartment in south Florida has at least
one sliding glass door and frequently more, sometimes placed in adjacent
walls. Sliding glass doors are at least six feet wide. Typical single-family
homes have attached garages many with double wide garage doors.
Failure of windows and doors exposes the entire structure to increased
force and loads. One research project, performed in 1994, estimated that
an opening of only five percent in the windward side of a building will
allow full pressurization of the interior, exerting uplift pressure on
the roof and horizontal pressure against the interior walls. Clearly,
the information needs to be made available to the general public.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) specifically states on
its Web site that the openings of windows should be protected:
“High winds and windblown debris can easily break unprotected windows
and then enter your house. Once inside, wind and debris can cause more
damage. Protecting windows not only helps you avoid damage to your house,
it also reduces the likelihood that you or members of your family will
be hurt by broken glass and debris.”
IHPA continues to have discussions with various levels of government organizations
on the best way to educate the consumer.
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