Protecting Your Home Reduces Risk and Can Lower Insurance Costs

Alabama

• Discounts – Most insurers in Alabama offer significant discounts for homes meeting the FORTIFIED standards. Savings can range from 20% to 55% of the wind portion of your homeowners premium (depending on the level of FORTIFIED and whether your home is on the coast or more inland).
• Endorsements – For homes without a FORTIFIED designation, most Alabama insurers offer a FORTIFIED endorsement to homeowners policies. When the roof of a home with the endorsement is damaged and being replaced by the insurance company, it will pay additional funds to help offset the cost of upgrading to a FORTIFIED Roof.
• Grant program – When funded, Strengthen Alabama Homes provides grants up to $10,000 to owners of existing homes when they re-roof to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. There are no income restrictions for this grant program, and it is open to anyone with a primary residence in Alabama.
• Tax Deduction – Alabama residents may deduct from gross income the lesser of 50 percent of the cost or $3,000 to retrofit or upgrade their home to resist wind or flood damage, and the FORTIFIED standards can qualify. Consult a tax advisor for more information.

Georgia

• Discounts – The Georgia Underwriting Association Mitigation Program specifies insurance discounts for FORTIFIED construction in the State and how to qualify.

Mississippi

• Discounts – Many insurers in Mississippi offer discounts for homes meeting the FORTIFIED standards—some as high as 55% off the wind portion of a homeowners premium.
• 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.

North Carolina

• Discounts – Homeowners in the Wilmington area are eligible for discounts on their homeowners insurance if their home meets the FORTIFIED standards.
• Endorsements – The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) offers a free FORTIFIED endorsement to its policyholders. When a covered claim results in a roof replacement, the endorsement is triggered, and NCIUA will pay additional funds to help offset the cost of upgrading to a FORTIFIED Roof.
• Grant program – NCIUA also administers Strengthen Your Roof, a grant program that can help offset the cost of upgrading to a FORTIFIED Roof.

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.

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.

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).

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.
• 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.

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. Click here for more details.
• 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.

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).

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.

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.