If wind mitigation and stronger homes are the paths to reducing insurance claims and bringing down insurance premiums in hurricane-prone areas, as a growing number of industry experts believe, then homeowners, builders and insurers may want to take a look at some homes rising in the Florida Panhandle.
They’re not the pricey, igloo-shaped “windproof” homes found in some beach areas, but are designed to be affordable – with gables and a roomy front porch like most conventional homes. The houses have been built with reinforced concrete walls, heavier roof decking, more fasteners per foot, impact-resistant