Save Money with Grants and Insurance Policy Discounts with FORTIFIED Roof™. FORTIFIED Roof™ is Designed to Protect Your Home Against Severe Weather Events
What is the Fortified Roofing Program?
IBHS Created the Fortified Program
IBHS delivers top-tier science and translates it into action so we can prevent avoidable suffering, strengthen our homes and businesses, inform the insurance industry, and support thriving communities.
(IBHS) is an independent, 501 (C) nonprofit scientific research and communications organization supported by property insurers, re-insurers, and affiliated companies.
What is a Fortified Roof?
- STRONGER EDGES
- SEALED ROOF DECK
- BETTER ATTACHMENT
- IMPACT-RESISTANT SHINGLES
- WIND & RAIN RESISTANT ATTIC VENTS
Fortified Program at a Glance
FORTIFIED is a voluntary construction and re-roofing program designed to strengthen homes and commercial buildings against severe weather such as high winds, hail, hurricanes, and even tornadoes.
Free access to the resilient construction standard, which is based on decades of scientific research by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
A network of contractors trained to provide the right upgrades to protect your home from the type of severe weather events it faces each year
Third-party verification that the upgraded construction materials and installation methods used on your home meet the standards required for a FORTIFIED designation certificate.
Fortified Program Benefits
What Property Owners Need to Do
- Contact your insurance agency to determine discounts in your particular locale (discounts are specific to your precise geographic location)
- Shop around for agencies for best rates
- Determine if your situation qualifies for grants or incentives
- Check state tax or federal tax incentives
- Determine if your situation qualifies for tax deductions
What Does My Contractor Need To Do?
- Complete the Remote training course appropriate for the company (roofer, evaluator or professional) and area (hurricane or high wind) and pass the FORTIFIED certification test with a score of 80 or better.
- Contact a Fortified evaluator before starting your Brava project
- Contact Brava tech services with any questions about Fortified project installations
For more information about becoming a Fortified Contractor,
visit the Fortified Program Website >>
Which Brava Products Qualify?
Brava qualifying products include Cedar Shake, Slate, and Spanish Tile.
What Benefits May Be Available In your Area?
Note: these benefits programs are being expanded / updated all the time - check with your state and insurance carrier for the most up to date information - this information is provided to help you understand how significant the benefits may be.
Nationally:
Some Insurance Carriers, Such as State Farm Already Offer National Benefits to your homeowners insurance policy.
Southern States:
Texas
- Discounts – Homes with a FORTIFIED designation may qualify for insurance discounts through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and some insurance companies. FORTIFIED can also qualify a home for many other discounts for mitigation features such as opening protection, wind-resistant construction, and a secondary water barrier.
Oklahoma
- Discounts – Many insurers in Oklahoma offer discounts for homes meeting the FORTIFIED standards—some as high as 42% off the wind and hail portion of your homeowners premium.
- Armed Forces Insurance Exchange - up to 15%
- Employers Mutual Casualty Company - up to 15%
- Foremost IC - up to 10%
- Goodville Mutual - up to 20%
- IDS Property Casualty - up to 20%
- National Security and Fire Casualty - up to 42%
- Nationwide Mutual Fire IC - up to 6%
- QBE Insurance Company - up to 14%
- Shelter Insurance Company - up to 14%
- State Farm - up to 30%
- Union Mutual Insurance Company - up to 25%
- Reference doc >>
- Armed Forces Insurance Exchange - up to 15%
Louisiana
- Discounts – Most insurers in Louisiana offer discounts when a homeowner builds or retrofits a structure to comply with the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code or installs mitigation improvements demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss from a windstorm or hurricane
American National General - up to 30%
Amica Mutual - up to 30%
Anpac Louisiana - up to 30%
Centauri National - up to 30%
Gulf States - up to 15%
Hartford - up to 24%
Occidental up to 52.5%
State Farm - up to 30%
USAA - up to 37%
- Tax Deductions – Louisiana provides a tax deduction of up to $5,000 (or 50% of the cost, whichever is lower) for retrofitting an existing residential structure to the updated codes. Some of the qualifying retrofits include a sealed roof deck, enhanced roof attachment, gable-end bracing, and opening protection—all of which are included in the FORTIFIED standards.
- 1B going to multi family for disaster recovery - Louisiana housing corporation - there is an approval process.
- Historical preservation incentives.
Mississippi
Insurance Discount up to 55%
Endorsements– One of the largest insurers of coastal residences, the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA), offers a free FORTIFIED endorsement to its policyholders. When a covered claim results in a roof replacement, the endorsement is triggered, and MWUA will pay additional funds to help offset the cost of upgrading to a FORTIFIED Roof.
Alabama
- Fortified roof Insurance Discount
Inland - 20 - 25% Discounts*
Coastal - 25-35% Discounts
- Tax Deductions
Alabama residents may deduct from gross income the lesser of 50 percent of the cost or $3,000 to retrofit their home to resist wind or flood damage. Upgrading to the FORTIFIED standard can qualify for this deduction.
- Grant
When funded, the Strengthen Alabama Homes program provides grants up to $10,000 to owners of existing homes to upgrade them to the FORTIFIED standard. No income limits or tests. Open to all homeowners with a primary residence in Alabama
Georgia
- Discounts – The Georgia Underwriting Association Mitigation Program specifies insurance discounts for FORTIFIED construction in the State and how to qualify.
Florida
Discounts – Insurers in Florida provide discounts for residential properties that use construction materials or techniques to reduce the risk of storm damage. You can use the Florida Wind Insurance Savings Calculator to estimate the insurance savings you will receive for various home features, upgrades and mitigation measures—including those required by the FORTIFIED standards. (discounts as high as 80% + depending on your property location )
- Grant program – The Hurricane Loss Mitigation Retrofit Grant funds retrofits, inspection fees, and construction upgrades designed to increase the ability of a structure to withstand hurricane-force winds.
- Homeowners can also access the Florida Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program to finance up to 100% of the costs of making a home resilient to hurricanes. Property owners repay the financing for the PACE improvements through a special assessment that is added to their property tax bill each year of an agreed-upon term.
Eastern States:
North Carolina
- Insurance Discounts
Strengthen Roof System - 6-8% discount (up to $700/yr)
Grants - Homeowners along the Outer Banks and Barrier Islands (rating territories 110 and 120) whose property is insured by the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) may be eligible for the Strengthen Your Roof program. Eligible policyholders, at any income level, can apply for a grant of up to $6,000 to help defray the costs of a FORTIFIED Roof. For more information, visit Strengthen Your Roof
- Endorsements - If you are not able to get a FORTIFIED Roof before the next storm comes, make sure your homeowners policy includes a FORTIFIED Endorsement. Offered by several carriers in North Carolina (and provided for free by NCIUA), this extra piece of insurance will pay additional funds to help offset the cost of upgrading to a FORTIFIED Roof, if yours is being replaced due to a covered loss. Cost for the endorsement varies by carrier. - Some insurers in North Carolina will Pay You to Upgrade to FORTIFIED if you have an endorsement and have significant roof damage
South Carolina
Discounts – A 2016 survey identified 17 insurers providing FORTIFIED discounts to residents of South Carolina, with some offering savings of more than 50% on the wind portion of your homeowners premium.
Tax credits – South Carolina provides an income tax credit for the costs incurred to retrofit a home to make it more resistant to hurricanes or other catastrophic windstorm events. The tax credit for any taxable year is limited to 25% of the total costs incurred or $1,000, whichever is less.
- Additionally, the State allows an income tax credit of up to $1,500 for State sales or use taxes paid on purchases of tangible personal property used to strengthen one’s legal residence.
Maryland
- Discounts – Insurers in Maryland offer discounts to homeowners who have made improvements or repairs that mitigate loss or damage from a hurricane or storm. Some of the qualifying improvements include hurricane shutters, a sealed roof deck, braced gable ends, reinforced roof-to-wall connections, tie downs, and updated exterior doors (including garage doors)—all of which are addressed in the FORTIFIED standards.
New Jersey
- Discounts – Many insurers in New Jersey offer premium discounts for homes with permanent storm shutters or impact-resistant glass (a requirement of FORTIFIED Gold and FORTIFIED Silver in hurricane areas).
New York
- Discounts – Many insurers in New York offer premium discounts for homes with permanent storm shutters or impact-resistant glass (a requirement of FORTIFIED Gold and FORTIFIED Silver in hurricane areas).
Connecticut
- Discounts – Most Connecticut insurers offer premium discounts for homes with permanent storm shutters or impact-resistant glass (a requirement of FORTIFIED Gold and FORTIFIED Silver in hurricane areas).
Rhode Island
- Waiver of Deductible – In Rhode Island, homeowners may have their hurricane deductible waived if they complete certain specified mitigation measures, specified by law, and have those measures inspected by their insurer.
Northern States
Minnesota
- Grant Program will be available beginning in 2024
