As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
- (1) CATASTROPHE SAVINGS ACCOUNT. A regular savings account or money market account established by an insurance policyholder who is a state income taxpayer for residential property in this state to cover: (i) an insurance deductible under an insurance policy for one residential property owned by a taxpayer which covers hurricane, rising floodwaters, or other catastrophic windstorm event damage or by an individual to cover self-insured losses for the taxpayer’s residential property from a hurricane, rising floodwaters, or other catastrophic windstorm event; (ii) the annual cost of a FORTIFIED endorsement to supplement an insurance policy; or (iii) the cost of mitigation actions that would reduce the risk of hurricane, rising floodwaters, or other catastrophic windstorm event damage, including, but not limited to, costs associated with reroofing and obtaining evaluation services to qualify for a FORTIFIED designation, collectively, “qualified catastrophe expenses.” The account must be labeled as a catastrophe savings account in order to qualify as a catastrophe savings account as defined in this article. A taxpayer may establish only one catastrophe savings account and shall specify that the purpose of the account is to cover the qualified catastrophe expenses.
- (2) WINDSTORM EVENT. Windstorms, cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds, and hail, and similar perils not normally among those covered under most property casualty insurance policies but obtainable through the purchase of wind, wind and hail, storm, or windstorm coverage, or all.
(Act 2012-413, p. 1123, §1; Act 2026-100, §1.)