More than $25 million in low-interest disaster loans have been approved through the U.S. Small Business Administration for homeowners and businesses in Southwest Florida who suffered damage from Hurricane Irma.
They are among the $1 billion in disaster loans authorized statewide for businesses and residents affected by Irma, which struck Florida on Sept. 10.
A total of 815 borrowers have been approved for SBA disaster loans in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, the SBA said. Most are home loans.
Another 44,000 applications are in the pipeline from the three-county region, the SBA said. Most of those are either still being reviewed, were submitted but are waiting for additional documents, or were placed on hold by the applicants. The bulk of the applicants are seeking home loans and were referred through FEMA.
Economic-injury deadline in June
The deadline to file applications for physical property damage has passed, but small businesses and nonprofits can still apply for economic injury disaster loans until June 11. Those loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. Loan amounts can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3.305 percent for small businesses and 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years.
Meanwhile, insurers have received 25,899 claims from property owners in Southwest Florida for damage from Irma, according to the latest report from the state Office of Insurance Regulation.
More than 80 percent of those claims have been closed, although a sizable number were not paid by the insurers. One industry executive said that, in most cases where money did not change hands, the damages failed to meet policyholders’ deductibles.
In Sarasota, 10,735 property owners had filed claims in the latest OIR report. Some 4,415 have been paid and 4,262 were closed without being paid.
Manatee reported 8,044 claims, with 3,877 paid and 2,876 closed without payment.
A total of 7,120 claims came from Charlotte, with 3,141 paid and 2,693 closed with no payment.
Statewide, some 865,974 owners of residential and commercial properties have filed Irma-related claims, with losses estimated at $6.55 billion, OIR said in a report dated Dec. 15.
As in previous updates, homeowners account for two-thirds of the claims. Another 11 percent come from other residential dwellings, and 6 percent were filed by owners of manufactured homes, OIR said.
Analysts have estimated total U.S. damage from Irma at $25 billion to $65 billion.
The Florida claims do not include flood damage, which is not covered by homeowners’ insurance. One analyst projected flood losses could hit $38 billion and said that most of those damaged homes may not have flood coverage.
Full-service Bank of Tampa branch
The Bank of Tampa, which opened a loan production office in Sarasota last summer, expects to convert it to a full-service branch in April.
Regulators have signed off on the office, said Charlie Murphy, who joined the bank in July as executive vice president, market president in Sarasota County.
The Bank of Tampa is renovating the first floor space previously occupied at 1858 Ringing Blvd. by The Bank of Commerce, which Murphy founded and led before it was sold early this year to Centennial Bank.
The bank just hired John Stump as its senior vice president, market director, for the Sarasota office. He has more than 20 years of banking experience, previously as vice president-commercial bank at Regions Bank in the Sarasota area.
“John is a seasoned banking executive, whose knowledge of the Sarasota market will be invaluable as we execute on our expansion to Sarasota while delivering The Bank of Tampa’s brand of banking throughout the county,” Murphy said.
The bank will employ six or seven people when it opens as a full-service branch, he added.
Bank of Tampa, founded in 1984 and privately owned, reports $1.5 billion in assets with 11 offices. Analyst BauerFinancial rated it at four stars, or “excellent,” based on third-quarter financial data.
Contact John Hielscher at 361-4875, fax to 361-4880 or email john.hielscher@heraldtribune.com.