When I received a letter from my mortgage company requesting a $1400 cushion for my escrow, I got busy. I contacted 
www.MySafeFlorida.org, specifically My SafeFloridaHome — and had a mitigation inspector come to my house — a free inspection. He handed me his report which I promptly sent to my homeowner’s insurance company. Today, I got a call from them, and they have now reduced my yearly insurance premium to the tune of $1300. I will now let the lender know that a cushion may not be necessary, thank you very much, or there’s your cushion — the mighty rebate might go to the mortgage company.
Stop the bleeding! Contact www.MySafeFlorida.org; and if your home is eligible, as was mine, you may be entitled to a $5000 grant towards hurricane shutters so that you can have that neighborhood cookout to get rid of your plywood. Also, this grant might allow your getting the garage door replaced with one that is “to code” as well as getting your roof rafters and roof nails secured “to code.”
To apply: http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/
My hurricane history:
- Slept through Hurricane Donna in Hialeah, Florida, as a small child (1960);
- Slept through Hurricane David, who just glazed the coast (1979);
- Lost my entire house in Perrine, Florida, during Hurricane Andrew (1992); (Later that year, I met Brian Norcross in Pollo Tropical in Coconut Grove, and like the gentleman that he is and his mouth full of chicken, rice and beans, he stood to shake my hand as I thanked him for all his much-appreciated hard work during Andrew!)
- Boogied North in my Isuzu pick-up truck with my precious belongings in the back as the bed-cover flapped in the breeze during both Hurricanes Floyd (1999) and Irene (1999);
- Tried to barbeque leftover lasagna during Hurricane Katrina until I gave up and drove North (2005);
- Slept through a couple of hours of Hurricane Wilma, (which my mother still cannot believe and still talks about) — I gave up a little more quickly than during Katrina, and I flew North in my Nissan (2005).
You think I would have learned SOMETHING by now! This year, I will not get caught with my “shutters” down!