Article
Courtesy of ABC Action News WFTS Tampa Bay
By
Mary O'Connell
Published March 14, 2024
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WHAT IS THE PRICE OF PARADISE?
As Tampa Bay continues to attract new residents and
businesses, the impact of living in paradise comes at a cost for all of us—
from the increasing cost of housing and infrastructure to utilities and
insurance. ABC Action News is committed to helping you and your family make
the most of your money and navigate through the Price of Paradise.
TAMPA — Jack Kelly has lived in his home in South Tampa
since 1987.
His story starts when his insurance company said he needed to replace his
then 16-year-old roof to be able to be insured.
“Sign up,” he said.
“It doesn’t cost you anything.”
He later applied to the My Safe Florida Home program, and an
inspector came out to his home, telling him he wouldn’t
qualify for roof replacement or new hurricane windows, but
that the program would cover new hurricane shutters and an
extra nail into his rafter brace.
“Once you get approved and pick out one of the things the
inspector said is okay, that’s when it gets hard and you
better have help,” said Kelly.
On top of everything, Kelly said the process itself is long,
frustrating, and confusing.
“The code inspectors from the city had to come and see it
was code, and then they don’t give you any paperwork. They
only show that the permit is closed because the contractor
did the permit, so he gets that it’s closed, but I need that
document to upload to My Safe Florida, so now I have to beg
them for the permit closed from the code inspector,” said
Kelly. “And sometimes impossible. The one thing that I had
to do on one of the final steps, you had to click on this
‘click here’ button, but it wouldn’t click.” |
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Jack Kelly has lived in his home in South Tampa since
1987. His story starts when his insurance company said he needed to
replace his then 16-year-old roof to be able to be insured. “Sign
up,” he said. “It doesn’t cost you anything.”
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Kelly reached out to ABC Action News about his experience
and with concerns over how some people might not be able to navigate it
easily.
“Make sure you have a computer and computer knowledge or help,” said Kelly.
“Make sure you have a phone to take pictures or help because you’re going to
need both of them.”
The Communications Director for CFO Jimmy Patronis said in an email that the
program has been very successful, assisting homeowners with more than 99,000
home inspections and more than $383 million in grant funding obligated to
harden their homes against storms. They also added that the average
insurance premium discount reported by homeowners who participated in the
program was around $1,000.
Officials said they’d be happy to have someone from the My Safe Florida Home
team reach out to consumers who’ve run into complications directly to
assist.
In the end, Kelly said My Safe Florida is a good program but difficult to
navigate.
“I finally got through, only had a year to complete. I got through,” said
Kelly. “The year was done in November. They gave me the check on October
31st. The whole process took a year.”
The program has a FAQ page that can be a useful tool and resource for some
questions.
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