September 28,
2006
FORTIFY
FLORIDA TO SHOW HOMEOWNERS HOW TO
HURRICANE-HARDEN THEIR HOMES
Pensacola
Prepares! to feature free hurricane home
improvement workshops
TALLAHASSEE
– Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom
Gallagher today released an agenda for
“Fortify Florida:
Pensacola
Prepares!” that offers homeowners
several opportunities to learn ways they can
hurricane-harden their homes and find out if
they are eligible for reduced insurance
rates.
The event, set
for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September
30, at the Pensacola Civic Center, is free
to the public. It features more than 50
exhibitors and eight workshops to help
homeowners learn about construction measures
that make homes safer against hurricanes,
and for which they may be eligible for
insurance premium discounts.
“We want
Panhandle residents to arrive with questions
and leave with answers about how their homes
can be safer against hurricanes,” said
Gallagher, who oversees the Florida
Department of Financial Services. “This expo
brings together under one roof the experts
and resources Floridians need to take charge
of their hurricane home safety.”
“Fortify
Florida” expos are being coordinated as a
partnership of the Florida Department of
Financial Services, the Office of Insurance
Regulation and the Executive Office of the
Governor.
The
Pensacola Prepares! event is
being co-hosted by Gulf Power Corporation,
the Escambia County Commission and WEAR-TV.
Attendees can
also apply for the new My Safe Florida Home
program administered by the Florida
Department of Financial Services (DFS) to
protect Floridians and assist them in making
their homes safer against hurricanes. DFS
staff will be available to assist expo
participants who want to apply for My Safe
Florida Home free inspections. In addition,
many vendors have donated items related to
hurricane safety and home improvement,
including NOAA weather radios, emergency
kits, hurricane preparation items and gift
certificates.
In addition to
presentations about the My Safe Florida Home
program, workshops will be conducted on ways
to improve your home’s hurricane safety by
the Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for
Emergencies (BRACE), Gulf Power Corporation,
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the
American Red Cross, the University of
Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural
Sciences (IFAS), the Wayne-Dalton
Corporation and Home Depot.
Representatives
for several insurance companies will also be
on hand to talk to their policyholders and
determine whether they are eligible for
premium discounts available for specific
construction measures shown to reduce
hurricane damage.
The third
“Fortify Florida” expo is scheduled for Palm
Beach County on Saturday, October 14, at the
Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic
University. For more information on these
events and to learn the steps you can take
to make your home more hurricane-resistant,
visit the My Safe Florida Home website at
www.mysafefloridahome.com.
The agenda of
the event workshops follows:
FORTIFY
FLORIDA:
Pensacola
Prepares!
Is your
home hurricane-ready?
10 a.m. - 4
p.m., September 30, 2006
Pensacola Civic Center
Agenda
