That wasn't the case when Hurricane Andrew tore into South Florida in 1992. The magnitude of that disaster forced Florida to wake up to hurricane reality.

As they did then, Florida's policy-makers are learning a few more things from this year's quadruple thrashing. The impact of Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne will be felt in new laws, a new reputation for our state and new attitudes toward everything from providing emergency shelters to trimming trees.

Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to call the Legislature into a special session, most likely in December, to tackle hurricane issues.

``Everything is on the table as it relates to the special session,'' Bush said. The state budget, housing, building codes and insurance issues, he said, likely will be the focus.

After Andrew, a pair of legislative sessions rescued the Florida insurance market and brought laws such as the one that protects consumers from price gouging, which is making headlines today.

The post-Andrew revisions were dramatic, but necessary. The state entered the insurance businesses, with an insurer of last resort created to cover properties no commercial carrier would touch. Policy surcharges backed a catastrophe fund that now cushions the financial blow to insurers in the most expensive disasters. Lawmakers tinkered with building codes, and after Hurricane Opal raked the Panhandle in 1995, they retired the mishmash of local codes for a single, statewide document that took effect in 2001.

This year's legislative action should be much more subtle.

``It's not going to be anywhere near the sort of reforms they did after Andrew,'' said Sam Miller, executive vice president of the Florida Insurance Council. ``All that stuff has shown its merit and allowed us to pay all these claims'' this year.

The Insurance Fallout

Industry experts predict that a number of small insurers doing business in the state may be rendered insolvent or forced out of business. American Superior Insurance Co., which provides homeowners policies to about 60,000 Floridians, said it was so swamped with claims that it consented to being placed in the state's insurance rehabilitation program. State officials fear hurricane-related claims will wipe out the company.

Robert Hartwig, an economist with the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group in New York, expects more companies to be in a similar fix.

The devastating season also should make it increasingly difficult for home buyers to line up property insurance as insurers scramble to keep up with damage claims. That could continue to cause delays in closings statewide, mortgage experts said. And real estate agents said they are worried the insurance crunch could hurt Florida's energetic sales market as out-of-state buyers reconsider the risk.

Meanwhile, existing Florida policyholders, who already pay among the highest premiums in the nation, are likely to face even higher insurance bills in the near future, industry experts said.

It is likely to become increasingly difficult for the owners of property in high-risk areas to get private insurance. That will force even more people into the state-backed insurer of last resort, The Citizen's Property Insurance Co., predicted Steve Dreyer, an insurance analyst with Standard & Poor's in New York.

Residents had about $1.8 billion in reserves before the start of the hurricane season. Last week, officials estimated damage claims from the four hurricanes could equal that reserve. If it's depleted, the company may ask the state to impose a surcharge on all homeowner and commercial policies to replenish the reserves.

Lawmakers also may consider the unexpected phenomenon of the double or triple deductible on homeowners policies. Insurers consider each hurricane a separate event with a separate deductible.

After Andrew, lawmakers allowed insurers to charge higher deductibles expressed as a percentage of the home's value - usually 2 percent, but as high as 5 percent. Previously, the deductible was a flat rate, say $500 or $1,000. The owner of a $100,000 house pounded by two or even three storms could be on the hook for thousands of dollars.

Miller, from the Florida Insurance Council, said many insurers are waiving multiple deductibles because it is difficult to determine where the damage from one storm ended and damage from the next began.

If the Legislature mandates it, ``the industry may live with that,'' Miller said.

Awesome View, Awesome Risk

As environmental teams fan out to assess damage to Florida's beaches, conservationists probably will call for tougher regulations on coastal developments.

State policy that allows almost anyone with enough money to build on beaches in critical erosion zones has been criticized for decades.

At the same time, homeowners subsidize the developers and wealthy homeowners through a beach restoration program paid for by the state's documentary tax on mortgages.

``If they are allowed to build at all, it should be at their own risk,'' said Charles Lee, a lobbyist for Audubon. ``And we should require that if you build in vulnerable areas, the public is not going to bail you out, either, because the land under your building is eroding or because you built too close to the beach.''

But changes may be difficult in a state where the governor and Republican majorities in the Legislature embrace private property rights with fervor.

``I'm inclined to fall on the side of property rights,'' said state Rep. Allan Bense, a Panama City Republican and the next speaker of the House. ``If you built your building and it was destroyed, I'm one of those folks who are going to say you should be allowed to build it back.''

State Sen. Victor Crist, R- Tampa, said he has been inundated with complaints from residents who spent days - even weeks - without power. He wants the Legislature to consider requiring new developments to bury power lines, and to encourage communities to ask residents whether they would support burying existing systems.

Some governments in the Tampa Bay area have implemented or are considering impact fees for hurricane-related expenses. But use of those fees is tightly restricted, officials said.

Pasco County has pushed the issue about as far as it can, according to Jim Duncan, a land-use consultant based in Austin, Texas. He has studied impact fees in Florida counties.

Pasco Approved Impact Fee

Pasco passed a hurricane impact fee Sept. 21.

The fee was set at $241 and will be levied only on new development. It applies to mobile homes, coastal homes and anyone in an evacuation zone for a Category 3 hurricane.

Most of the revenue would go to build shelters, although a small amount could be used for improvements to hurricane evacuation routes.

``It's a source of income that has value if used properly,'' said Michele Baker, Pasco's emergency management director. ``But it cannot be the fixer of all ills.''

No other local governments have discussed using impact fees to pay for storm damage or preparation.

Hillsborough County officials completed an assessment of current fees during the summer, but commissioners have put off active consideration.

In June, Polk County officials set impact fees at $2,705 for an average-size house. In early August, they created a committee to study the fee structure and its fairness.

Duncan, the consultant, said impact fees are a bad way to finance storm-related projects.

``Impact fees are to provide infrastructure for new growth,'' he said. ``Hurricanes take away what you've already got.''

Impact fees are a complicated tool that localities began experimenting with in the 1970s. Since then, case law has accumulated and parameters for using the fees is pretty clear, said Susan Finch, Hillsborough's impact fee manager.

Fees must be used where they're collected and can go only to capital costs brought on by people moving to the area, Finch said. Fees can't go to maintenance or operational expenses.

``It's a pretty restrictive revenue source, and it's all tied to growth,'' Finch said.

Pinellas County has had no discussions about a hurricane impact fee, but County Administrator Steve Spratt said it was an ``interesting concept'' that might be worth considering.

Pinellas has a shelter capacity of about 75,000 but can evacuate as many as 400,000 residents.

``There are always resources that can be sought for shelter improvements,'' Spratt said. ``That's just something that we'd have to talk to the board [of county commission] about.''

Give Me Shelter

Next hurricane season, those who are evacuated may find fewer shelters. But they may be stronger, with space for pets, addressing a common reason many would not relocate.

Evacuations for four hurricanes and a tropical storm during the past two months have given managers of emergency agencies a chance to see how people react in real life, rather than in a training exercise or abstract survey.

Knowing that, planners can better predict how much shelter space is needed.

Medical workers staffing special-needs shelters for those with health problems were stretched. They were often at shelters for several days at a time.

Those workers come from the state Department of Health, which has a limited pool of resources. A possibility is for the Legislature to find a way to hire private health companies to fill out the ranks.

The state also could put more money into reinforcing buildings to conform to shelter standards.

During Hurricane Charley, a civic center in DeSoto County that was providing shelter for hundreds collapsed.

Most counties won't use buildings with large roof spans that don't meet American Red Cross shelter standards, but not every county has enough certifiable space for shelters.''

If the result is fewer shelters, it could be based on Pinellas County's experience.

Space for about 18,000 evacuees was opened to people fleeing Jeanne; just 3,000 people showed up. Some schools housed only about 100 people. During Charley, the expected evacuation for Pinellas involved 104,000 people, but just 3,400 went to public shelters.

Authorities believe most people chose to stay with friends and relatives, or in hotels.

Still The Sunshine State

Real estate experts say the quadruple punch isn't likely to deal a permanent blow to Florida's vacation home market.

The industry may take a hit in the short term, but snowbirds from the Midwest and Northeast will continue to fly south, real estate experts said.

``It still gets cold in Detroit, you can count on that,'' said Marvin Rose, who tracks Bay area real estate trends as president of Rose Residential Report.

Rose said he won't be surprised if vacation home sales in the state slump this fall, but even the hardest hit markets such as Pensacola and West Palm Beach will rebound within the year.

``I think we'll continue to get our share as long as the sun keeps shining in the winter,'' Rose said.

Rose notes that except for the Pinellas County beach communities, the vacation home market constitutes less than 10 percent of sales. He said he doubts the super-hot market for coastal real estate will suffer long-term setbacks: ``It will take more than a hurricane to slow it down.''

Snowbirds accustomed to vacationing in Florida won't automatically trade Florida beaches for the deserts of Arizona and Nevada, said Joseph Narkiewicz, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

``If you want a home here, because of the beaches and the Florida environment, you're still going to buy here,'' he said.

Florida is closer than the Southwest to northern homes, and second-home buyers aren't going to stop looking to buy in Florida, especially if they have friends and family here, Narkiewicz said.

Developer JMC Communities of St. Petersburg expects snowbirds to keep coming.

The developer last week announced plans for Sandpearl Resort, a $150 million complex on Clearwater Beach, with a 250-room boutique hotel and 117 condos starting at $400,000-plus.

Property Tax Pressure

Lawmakers also could tackle tax-related issues at a special session.

County property appraisers want Bush and the Legislature to craft a measure that would enable owners of hurricane- ravaged homes to pay property taxes based on the damaged value.

State law permits re-evaluations only after the new year. Damage that occurs during the year can't be recognized on the tax rolls unless lawmakers intervene.

Some appraisers also will push for broadening the popular Save Our Homes tax break because reconstruction of some houses could trigger a provision that eliminates its protection.

Under the relief plan enacted in 1995, property tax increases on primary residences must be kept below 3 percent a year.

The measure allows for repairs as a result of ``misfortune'' and ``calamity,'' but homeowners lose eligibility for the tax relief when changes, additions or improvements cause the value of their homes to grow more than 125 percent above the pre-storm value.

Older coastal homes could fall into that category because new building codes would govern rebuilding. Coastal property values have climbed so rapidly appraisers suspect the value of many of the rebuilt homes will exceed the limit.

No details have been discussed, but the Florida Property Appraisers Association has contemplated seeking an increase in the limit.

A New Mind-Set

Lawmakers are expected to learn that the state's projected sales tax revenue could increase by $1 billion over previous estimates because of greater spending during reconstruction.

How to spend that added revenue could generate ferocious debate.

Legislative leaders insist they will proceed cautiously.

``We're taking a look at what the substantial issues are - what meets the acid test for a special session,'' said state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, incoming president of the chamber. ``The issues we'd take up in the Senate would likely be limited to those that require an extreme sense of urgency, not something that is convenient to take up because we're here.

``Nothing good comes from overreacting and not operating in a thoughtful and deliberative fashion. Special sessions seem to be a little bit of a pressure-cooker environment.''

State Rep. Leslie Waters, R- Seminole, agreed that many hurricane issues should carry over to the regular March-April legislative session. Waters is heading a House hurricane preparedness work group that will report to the full chamber or perhaps a select committee.

``A lot of things we have to look at with a clear eye,'' she said, from big-picture issues like the state budget to whether utility crews should be allowed to trim tree branches away from power lines without homeowners' permission.

``There used to be an attitude, `Don't touch my tree.' Maybe now it's, `Take my tree. I love my power,' '' Waters said.

``I think our mind-set is a little different now.''

Tribune reporters Neil Johnson, Gary Haber, Ted Byrd, Carlos Moncada, Randy Diamond, Will Rodgers, Dave Simanoff and David Wasson contributed to this report. Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382.