Florida Tops Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Annual States Ranking

Florida upped its score—achieving the top ranking in this year’s annual Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety “Rating the States” report, but with a strong codicil from the organization that, given a controversial new Florida law now in effect, “ . . . advocates of building safety will need to stay engaged in the new process to make sure that important advancements and requirements in published editions of the model codes and standards are added to future editions of the FBCR (Florida Building Code—Residential).”

To view the report, click here.   

Aside from the main ratings, a separate analysis devoted to Florida begins on page 26 of the PDF.

In continuity with prior reports published in 2012 and 2015, the “Rating the States 2018” report assesses the progress of 18 hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast in strengthening their residential building codes.

While many states have affirmed their commitment to strong building codes, in others there is a concerning lack of progress in the adoption and enforcement of updated residential building code systems, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety explained, adding that, because residential building codes represent a minimum life-safety standard for occupancy, the findings suggest that many homes remain at risk from severe hurricane events.