While dark colors are very popular right now, I don't know if I would go that direction in FL. When you say you want to make it more "contemporary" what do you mean by that? Are you interested in a dark or medium color, or just a different color? What color are your neighbors' houses? People frequently want their house to be a different color than their neighbors'.

Think I’m wanting to mix stucco and Hardie while using wider planks more of a block look - and play off the architecture of the home.

What do you think of these

Hardie is not the only product on the market that is cement. I would consider doing some or all board and batten siding on the home.

https://allurausa.com/blog/board-and-batten-fiber-cement-siding

Here are some examples of houses along the West Coast. I like an all-white home near the coat.

Thanks 👍

Insurance companies are not in the business of donating money to homeowners for home improvement projects. Not sure why anyone would expect an insurance company to pay for upgrades.

They hardl pay for an these days your right. my inten is to ’harden’ the home in effort to prevent future damage so willl be paying out of pocket like most of our damage but hopefully less in the future.

Following.....