ST. LOUIS, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Hurricane Charley, the most powerful storm to strike Florida in more than a decade, ripped through Florida's Gulf Coast last month, causing catastrophic property losses. Initial estimates of insured losses caused by the Category 4 storm are more than $7 billion, which puts Charley fourth on the list of the nation's most costly disasters. However, thanks to Florida's tough new standards for window and door protection, Hurricane Charley, which had winds up to 160 mph, was unable to penetrate countless structures built with impact-resistant glass.
In accordance with Florida statute 627.069 regarding residential property insurance, all insurance companies that provide homeowner's insurance to residents in Florida must offer some type of discount for dwellings that have an effective windstorm protective system installed. The statute reads: "Effective January 1, 1994, a rate filing for residential property insurance must include appropriate discounts, credits, or other rate differentials, or appropriate reductions in deductibles, for properties on which fixtures [impact resistant glass or shutters] actuarially demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss in a windstorm have been installed."
"In the midst of high-wind storms, structural openings like failed doors or windows compromise a home's structure," says Nanette McElman of Solutia Inc., a professional engineer who has studied various types of protection systems since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. "When pressurized outside air rushes to find low-pressure pockets of air and expand, the force may be enough to blow off a roof and destroy the home. In fact, such winds demolished hundreds of homes in Charley's path that were not safeguarded with code approved windstorm protection systems."
Impact-resistant windows and doors made with Solutia Inc.'s (OTC Bulletin Board: SOLUQ - News) polyvinyl butyral (PVB) protective interlayer, called KeepSafe® Maximum, are code approved and provide incomparable protection against hurricane force winds. When sandwiched between two panes of glass, the .090" gauge interlayer provides extraordinary strength to the glass. On impact from hurricane force winds, the glass may crack, but the fragments tend to adhere to the protective, plastic interlayer. Keeping glass intact within the frame not only prevents the launch of flying glass shards, thus reducing the risk of personal injury, it also helps protect the building envelope.
"Until now, the benefits of impact resistant window and door systems could only be illustrated in the lab," says Val Rogers, certification and testing project manager at Weather Shield Windows & Doors, whose line of impact resistant windows and doors, LifeGuard, feature Solutia's tough PVB interlayers. "Hurricane Charley provided the ultimate test, and we are very pleased to see the level of protection this technology is able to provide in both the residential and commercial sectors."
"We are an active member of the IBHS (Institute for Business & Home Safety)," says Tim Feast, director of laminated glazing services with Solutia. IBHS, a national nonprofit research, engineering and communications organization based in Tampa, Florida, is funded by property/casualty insurers. "Like IBHS, Solutia's goal is to help home and business owners reduce residential and commercial property losses caused by extreme weather. We have found that many insurance salespeople are unaware that hurricane-resistant laminated glass window and door systems have been code-approved to meet the strict criteria of South Florida and 14 communities seaward of the Intracoastal Canal in Texas. We are working hard to educate the insurance industry and the end users ... homeowners and business owners ... about the safety benefits of impact-resistant glass, and the significant discounts available when it's installed."
Traditional protection systems such as shutters, plywood and post-applied window films failed in many instances throughout the region hit by Hurricane Charley. "The problem with these systems is that they are difficult to put in place correctly when a monster storm like Charley is looming just off the coast," says McElman. "In addition to outstanding performance, impact- resistant systems are in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
McElman concludes, "I think Hurricane Charley was a big wake up call for many people. Hopefully we'll see a lot less complacency about building safe structures as the rebuilding process begins. Installing code-approved impact- resistant glass doesn't just save you money on your insurance premiums -- it's a great way to protect your home and loved ones."
For more information about KeepSafe Maximum, call 800-787-2331 or visit their website at http://www.keepsafemax.com.
Corporate Profile
Solutia (http://www.Solutia.com) uses world-class skills in applied chemistry to create value-added solutions for customers, whose products improve the lives of consumers every day. Solutia is a world leader in performance films for laminated safety glass and after-market applications; process development and scale-up services for pharmaceutical fine chemicals; specialties such as water treatment chemicals, heat transfer fluids and aviation hydraulic fluid and an integrated family of nylon products including high-performance polymers and fibers.
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