In response to the massive amount of destruction Hurricane Ian wrought, Florida officials are lifting some restrictions on licensing to try and help people recover from the storm faster. However, this may cause more harm than good.

As an advocate for the roofing industry, Trent Cotney, a partner at Adams and Reese, said the lifting of restrictions for Division 1 contractors could create problems down the road for Florida, a state already feeling the pains of an insurance market in crisis mode.

“My concern is you’re going to have a bunch of general contractors, residential contractors pretending they know how to do roofing, and you’re going to end up with a lot of claims after the fact,” said Cotney.

Cotney discusses how roofing contractors can market themselves as experts and what they should know about Florida’s licensing process, and provides an update on the working conditions facing contractors.

Listen to the full episode here, or download the podcast from our Spotify and Apple Podcasts pages.

For additional content related to Hurricane Ian, view our previous video about Florida’s licensing laws and hear from Florida-based Kelly Roofing President Ken Kelly on what contractors should know when helping rebuild following a severe storm.