Florida Building Insurers Now Demanding Inspections Within 45 Days, or Else

Insurers of high-rise buildings along the South Florida coast are beginning to give building owners notice to make sure their properties are safe, or they could lose coverage.

Buildings at least 40-years-old will need to provide proof that they're safe, within a 45-day period, or they could lose coverage. This comes after last week's collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which is just north of Miami Beach.

Isidro "Izzy" Guillama, who's CEO of the Miami-based ProCom Insurance Underwriters company specializing in condominium insurance, said an insurance company can cancel policies if buildings don't comply.

"Everybody has moved very quickly because they have a lot of liability, and a lot of risk," Guillama said in the Miami Herald. "They're looking at any building that is showing more than 40 years of age, and they're asking for the recertification of the building."

That would be a 40-year recertification of any building, like the Champlain Towers South that collapsed in Surfside, or the Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach.

The Crestview Towers were ordered to be evacuated immediately and closed by midnight, according to orders Friday evening by the North Miami Beach city manager after the Crestview condo association revealed 40-year recertification inspection that showed major repairs were needed for "unsafe" structure.

North Miami Beach city manager Arthur H. Sorey III issued a statement that said the evacuation was for "an abundance of caution" to protect the residents.

"In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined," Sorey said.

The building is located at 2075 NE 164th Street in North Miami Beach. It was evacuated as a precaution. The North Miami Beach Police Department is assisting residents in evacuating, and the American Red Cross is helping them find temporary shelter.

"Nothing is more important than the safety and lives of our residents, and we will not rest until we ensure this building is 100% safe," Sorey said.

This comes a little more than a week after the collapse Champlain Towers South condo in nearby Surfside.

The news in North Miami beach hit Friday afternoon just as it was announced that the new death toll from the Surfside collapse rose to 22, with 126 people still unaccounted for.

These recent inspections and changes are because of the Surfside collapse, and the counties of Miami-Dade and Broward are the only ones that require these 40-year inspections. Should lots of policies be dropped, it could cause a ripple effect in the state's insurance market, as nearly half the state is covered by some sort of home owners' association or condo policy.

More than 50,000 communities in the Sunshine State, in fact.

"This is a game changer and the conversation has completely changed in a week," said Travis Moore, a lobbyist for the state's Community Associations Institute.

Guillama said that with rising sea levels and its associated flooding, lots of insurance companies are now hesitant to write policies because "the high volume of water that is coming in that could affect the foundation of a building."