NFIB member and Daytona Beach Shores small business owner Aileen Band joined the latest episode of NFIB’s Small Business Rundown podcast to discuss small businesses’ response and recovery following a natural disaster. Band’s small business was affected by hurricanes in 2022, the first natural disaster in Tropical Manor’s 70 years in Daytona Beach Shores.

She explained, “The initial response by the contractor was quite timely, covering the roofs and so forth and mitigating the water damage. But then we found that what was projected to be a four month restoration process, actually turned out to be four times longer, approximately one and a half years… And our insurance costs have gone up about 70% since these two hurricanes, but we are really relieved to actually be able to continue to obtain property insurance.”

Band advises fellow small business owners to plan accordingly and to review their insurance documents frequently: “But I would again say just please carefully look at your property insurance policies before your seasons of bad weather approach just to make sure you’re properly covered.”

NFIB Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle spoke on NFIB’s resources available during natural disasters and NFIB’s presence at the State Capitol advocating for our members during difficult situations. He highlights Florida’s challenging insurance market:

“Yeah, you know, in Florida, we have a lot of challenges in our insurance market. And boy, I was so struck by Aileen’s comment that she has seen a 70% increase in her insurance, yet her attitude is she’s just so grateful to have it. And just let that sink in for a minute and realize what a challenge that is to business owners.”

He continued, “We were deeply engaged in the 2023 tort reform effort that I do have to say that in the dialogue on that, the challenge that we face in rebuilding areas of this time and time again were forefront on legislators’ minds as they decided how they were going to go on this issue… Prior to the Tort Reform Act of 2023, despite all of our challenges with Mother Nature in Florida, Florida really had about 10% of all the homeowners claims in the nation. And yet Florida had 80% of the litigation surrounding homeowners’ insurance.”

Listen to the full podcast episode here.