Mike Silvers, CPRC, Owner, Silvers Systems Inc. and FRSA Technical Director
Florida’s roofs have never been more important than they are today. They are the first line of protection from hurricanes and severe thunderstorms. By reducing water intrusion during hurricanes, their performance impacts more than just eliminating leaks. As industry professionals know, advantages include:
■ Keeping water out of a building interior, which has a dramatic impact on the cost of damage claims that insurers must pay out post-storm and thereby the cost of homeowner’s insurance premiums.
■ Reducing the disruption for homeowners, tenants and businesses by allowing them to continue to occupy their buildings.
■ Allowing people to remain in their buildings reduces the overall local and statewide economic impact caused by post-storm disruption.
Fortunately for Florida’s citizens, the roofing industry has a homegrown 104-year-old trade organization that has demonstrated a willingness and ability to help in this critical endeavor. Through FRSA, Florida’s roofing contractors have worked with our Legislators to facilitate meaningful changes that benefit our citizens. By promoting sound ideas and helping to move others along, we have helped to improve the overall resilience of Florida’s building inventory. Even when some of these changes have created hardship for our industry, we have risen to the occasion.
Prior to and since the inception of the Florida Building Code, FRSA has championed positions that improve the effectiveness of the code. We have submitted hundreds of code modifications and advocated for others that have made Florida’s roofing code the most robust in the country, if not the world.
Recently, we were instrumental in changes to Florida Statute 627.7011, titled Homeowners’ policies that provides homeowners an option to keep their current roof by having it inspected by an authorized inspector. Florida law states an insurer cannot refuse coverage or non-renewal of a homeowner’s policy based solely on a roof’s age if the roof is less than 15 years old. For roofs 15 years or older, a licensed inspector must determine if the roof has at least three to five years of remaining usable life to maintain coverage. Roofing contractors were included in the list of “Authorized Inspectors.” Despite this change, premature roof replacements have reportedly been forced on homeowners as well as other building owners who have met that requirement. These wasteful actions can impose many problems, such as:
■ Incentivizing the purchase of cheap roof systems with short life spans that add to the ongoing cost of maintaining a resilient roof. Why should a building owner buy a better, longer-lasting roof or properly maintain it if they are going to be forced to replace it before the end of its lifespan?
■ Requiring higher condominium reserves that are partially at the heart of today’s condominium issues. Premature roof replacement adds to the need for additional reserves by reducing the effectiveness and longevity of existing roof systems. They have similar impacts on owner cost for other buildings as well.
■ Producing an enormous amount of unnecessary debris that adds to Florida’s disposal issues and our ever-growing landfills or, should I say, land mounds.
Two other important initiatives that have been supported by FRSA recently can improve the roof structures on buildings built prior to the adoption of the FBC in 2002. These changes can improve the connections that hold a roof structure to the walls of the building. Failure of these connections can lead to catastrophic damage to the building and its contents. The changes include:
■ Expanding the type of buildings where code hurricane mitigation requirements apply. Originally, they only applied to certain site-built single-family structures. Now they apply to additional existing structures with a sawn lumber, wood plank or wood structural panel roof deck. This brought in many other types of buildings, including apartments, retail and manufacturing.
■ Allowing roofing contractors to evaluate and address the roof-to-wall connections during a roof replacement. This was accomplished by a change in the definition of a roofing contractor in Florida statutes. This is a logical change since a roof replacement (reroofing) permit triggers the need for the evaluation and, in Florida, only licensed roofing contractors can normally perform reroofing work.
So, we have clearly made strides in allowing those who know the most about roofing to have some impact in finding ways to improve their performance. However, a crucial part of the puzzle that will allow roofing contractors to be a part of the solution is still missing.
The existing OIR 1802 form – and a new proposed OIR 1802 (2025) form – that many insurers use to calculate discounts for homeowners’ policies require qualified inspectors to answer nine questions. Eight of the nine questions deal directly with items that fall under the scope of a roofing contractor's license. The ninth question partially involves roofing because skylights are included in the opening protection section. There is no one better qualified to answer those eight questions than a roofing contractor. Amazingly, there isn’t a way for us to directly lend our expertise to verifying the roofing questions on the form, unless requested by an insurer – not by the owner who paid for a roof replacement. Our customers expect those who can legally perform this work to provide them with a clear method of demonstrating that the work they have paid for will provide them with all the premium discounts they are entitled to receive. We need to find a way to correct this oversight, hopefully, before the new form is published.
Moving forward, our next step will be to attempt to maintain the progress made on these items by including the ability for roofing contractors to complete this very important form. More broadly, we will continue our efforts to bring all segments of our industry together to improve a building's ability to resist the impacts of Florida’s challenging environment.
Mike Silvers, CPRC is Owner of Silvers Systems Inc. and is consulting with FRSA as Director of Technical Services. Mike is an FRSA Past President, Life Member and Campanella Award recipient who brings over 50 years of industry knowledge and experience to FRSA’s team.
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