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State insurance regulator, IBHS push for modernized mitigation credits and digital 18-02 inspection data
Summary
Florida's insurance regulator said he will revise the statutory mitigation credit process and the paper-based 18-02 inspection form; the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) urged adding Fortified verification as an option to bridge public grants and private insurability.
Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Mike Yowarski told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee the agency is updating the windstorm mitigation credit program and the paper 18-02 inspection form used to document mitigation work. Commissioner Yowarski said the office completed a recent, legislatively funded study and will begin rulemaking to revise credits that determine discounts for homeowners who harden properties against wind.
Yowarski described the mitigation credit structure as a matrix intended to assess the whole-home envelope rather than single components. “You’ve got to look at the home as an envelope,” he said, arguing that piecemeal upgrades can leave a single weak point that causes catastrophic loss. He said rule updates will likely recognize additional roof types — notably some metal roofs — and aim to be actuarially sound so credits do not cause cross-subsidization of risk in the insurance pool.
Michael Newman, general counsel for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), urged the committee to include IBHS’s Fortified verification option in the 18-02 form. Newman said Fortified adds independent verification and periodic re‑designation that insurers can rely on when offering discounts. “To improve the insurability of Florida homeowners the State has an opportunity to build better bridges between its public investments in mitigation and the property insurance industry,” he said.
Why it matters: The mitigation credit matrix and inspection documentation determine how much homeowners can reduce premiums after investing in hardening measures. Committee members and presenters said the current 18-02 is paper-based, data-poor and limits the state’s ability to link mitigation grants to persistent, verifiable credits.
Key details and clarifications - 18-02 form and data: Commissioner Yowarski said the 18-02 is currently a paper form and that the office is moving toward digitizing the inspection record so data can be captured and used for program administration and consumer guidance. - Study and rulemaking: Yowarski said the office completed a legislatively funded, roughly 900‑page study and will begin rulemaking to update the Windstorm Mitigation Credit Program; the insurer accountability law requires a study and a periodic (five-year) review. - Credit design: The office intends to maintain actuarial soundness, avoid over-crediting, and better recognize roof types and other whole-envelope improvements. Newman and Yowarski both emphasized that insurers need (1) evidence mitigation works, and (2) verification that it was completed.
Discussion and next steps Committee members pressed for more consumer-facing information on potential premium savings and a digital portal showing parcel‑level mitigation status, expected savings and program options. Commissioner Yowarski supported a data-driven portal tied to the 18-02 modernization effort.
Ending Both state regulators and IBHS recommended tighter links among grant programs, inspection verification and insurance credits so that public mitigation investment more reliably translates into private-market insurability.
