Home Fortification Grants: What States Offer Incentives for Stronger Homes

The IBHS Fortified Home Program

• 💡 The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) has developed a Fortified Home program aimed at significantly reducing damage claims.
• 🔑 Key improvements include using 8D ring shank nails for roof decking, which doubles uplift strength.
• 🛠️ Underlayment is secured with a specific pattern of button cap nails and is twice as thick as standard installations.
• 💧 Flashing tape is applied over plywood cracks to prevent water intrusion, especially during heavy rain.

Cost and Benefits of Fortification

• 💰 Fortifying a 2,000 sq ft home during re-roofing can cost an extra $1,000 to $3,000.
• 📈 Taped roofs, specifically, can prevent significant water damage for an additional $500.
• 📊 Research shows fortified roofs held up 50% better in a 2020 Alabama hurricane.
• 💸 If 25,000 conventional homes in Alabama had been fortified, policyholders could have saved nearly $35 million in deductibles, and insurers up to $112 million.

State Incentives for Home Hardening

• 🌟 States like Oklahoma and Alabama offer homeowners grants of up to $10,000 to build stronger homes.
• 💰 These states also provide significant premium discounts for fortified homes: up to 42% in Oklahoma and up to 60% in Alabama.

Texas's Missed Opportunity

• ⚠️ A bill to create a similar grant program in Texas, despite bipartisan support, died in a Senate committee.
• 🏠 The Insurance Council of Texas stated that such a program could have been a game-changer for Texas homeowners facing rising premiums and non-renewals.
• ⏳ Texas missed the chance to lead, and homeowners will have to wait two years for the legislature to reconvene to address this issue.