After Florida adopted a statewide building code in 2001, regulators instructed insurers to offer the discounts. A 2002 study done by the Department of Community Affairs analyzed the effectiveness of various mitigation measures such as roof straps or certain types of nails. Insurers used this study, plus their own underwriting guidelines, on factors such as the age of a home and its location, to set the discounts they wanted to provide to their policyholders. The wide disparity in discounts often mystifies homeowners.

DOOR PROTECTION

For instance, Kim Chaney, Citizens' product development manager, said the insurer would consider impact-resistant windows as offering the same protection as shutters if a home's doors were protected as well. That's because research shows that keeping the wind out is the best protection for a home.

Without all doors protected, Citizens offers no discount for the stronger glass.

The insurance department, with the go-ahead of the Florida Cabinet and the insurance industry, also is developing a standard form that insurers can include with each policy to better explain how mitigation discounts are applied and calculated.

McCarty said all insurers are expected to follow the discount standards if they're adopted. Regulators will monitor how well they comply through consumer complaints and the insurance department's own investigations.

INSURANCE DISCOUNTS

Most insurers reserve the largest discounts for new construction that meets the 2001 Florida building code, ranging as high as 47 percent. Other discounts for wind mitigation measures vary greatly, and only are applied to the wind portion policy. Homeowners can look up what their insurer is offering at https://apps.fldfs.com/WindMitigation/

The site also contains an explanation about how the discounts are applied. Homeowners who believe mitigation credits aren't applied properly to their insurance premiums can contact the Division of Consumer Services at 800-342-2762.

Here is a sampling of the discounts offered by several

insurers:

Company Device Discount Citizens Property Built after 2001 Up to 45% Citizens Property Shutters up to 33% Citizens Property Hip roof up to 23% Citizens Property Roof straps/clips up to 18% Citizens Property Impact-res. glass 0%* State Farm Built after 2001 up to 39% State Farm Shutters up to 17% State Farm Hip roof up to 41% State Farm Roof straps/clips up to 39% State Farm Impact-res. glass up to 17% USAA Built after 2001 up to 47% USAA Shutters up to 21% USAA Hip Roof up to 25% USAA Roof straps/clips up to 32% USAA Impact-res. glass 0% Gulfstream** Built after 2001 up to 46% Gulfstream Shutters up to 46% Gulfstream Hip roof up to 46% Gulfstream Roof straps/clips up to 46% Gulfstream Impact-res. glass up to 46% * According to website. Citizens says it will offer a discount if doors are protected

** Gulfstream was formed in 2004 to take policies out of Citizens

MiamiHerald.com: Click on today's Extras for information on the insurance crisis, plus find out what your insurer is offering