Economic Effectiveness of Implementing a Statewide Building Code: The Case of Florida
64 Pages Posted: 4 May 2017 Last revised: 2 Sep 2017
Date Written: July 25, 2017
Abstract
Hurricane Andrew revealed inadequate construction practices were utilized in Florida for decades. In response, Florida adopted a new statewide code – the 2001 Florida Building Code (FBC) which became one of the strictest in the nation. We use ten years of insured loss data to show that the FBC reduced windstorm losses by up to 72%, then use our results to conduct a benefit-cost analysis (BCA). The FBC passes the BCA by a margin of 5 dollars in reduced loss to 1 dollar of added cost, with a payback period of approximately 10 years.
Keywords: Building Code, Benefit/Cost Analysis
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