Latest news with #IBHS
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
This lab is testing whether your house can stand up to a hurricane
This hurricane season, your home could take a beating from strong winds, high flooding, and maybe even hail. It's important to make sure your home is built to fight through any severe weather. Channel 9 Meteorologist Keith Monday took a tour of a facility in Richburg, South Carolina, with a goal of doing just that. What better place than a facility that can create their own hurricanes? Welcome to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. 'It's actually one of the largest wind tunnels in the United States,' said Rachel Gauthier Gauthier is the science content producer and meteorologist with IBHS, and she walked us through some of the massive test chambers on their campus used to re-create severe weather conditions. 'You wouldn't think down this country road behind some trees that there's a massive facility like this, but this IS a unique one-of-a-kind facility right here in the Carolinas,' she said. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety was formed in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida with the goal of finding ways to make homes stronger and to be able to withstand some of the worst that Mother Nature can throw at us. 'Our goal here is to test different building materials. To put them to the test, to replicate those real-life natural hazards that real homes undergo in the real world,' Gauthier said. She says they can recreate real life conditions from category 3 hurricanes with winds up to 130 mph. 'We're able to test things like shingles and siding, windows and doors. Even car ports and attachments to see how they stand up to the winds that hurricanes produce,' she said. The research done at the IBHS lab has shown them that the strength of your roof is the first line of defense when it comes to storms. Now, we all get nervous about how our homes will hold up in a storm, but Gauthier says there a few simple things we can all do to prepare our home. 'So simple things like maintaining your gutters, that's a big one we tell people. Clean out the leaves and tree debris. You want the rain that comes from a tropical system to hit your roof, flow into the gutters and away from your home. Another big one is trees do a lot of damage, we saw that last year with Helene. Trees do a lot of damage. Trim back any branches that overhang your roof. Any dying or stressed trees, get a look at those and trim those back away from your home if you can do that,' Gauthier said. 'We talk about wind-driven rain a lot that comes from tropical systems. When you have that rain blowing for an extended period of time, that rain can make its way into openings in your house, particularly around windows and doors. Sealing up those gaps and cracks can keep that water out of your house.' If you do these simple things and keep up with your home's maintenance, hopefully the next time we see a tropical system in our area, your home will be able to weather the storm. To find out more about how to make your home stronger against what Mother Nature can throw at us, click this link. If your insurance denies your claim, remember that you can appeal it. If you do and still lose, you can always hire your own adjuster. Both Carolinas require them to have licenses, so make sure you search those. Just know this: According to the homeowner advocacy group United Policyholders, you may have to pay an adjuster up to 15% of what the insurance company ends up giving you. If all else fails, you may want to file a complaint with your state's department of insurance and/or talk to a lawyer. NC: (Halfway down on the right, click 'Look Up An Insurance Agent.') SC: (VIDEO: Lawmakers consider bill to ease floodplain rules for rebuilding after Hurricane Helene)
24-05-2025
- Business
Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers
A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind analysis, released this week, reviews thousands of insurance claims linked to Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama's coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes retrofitted or built to Fortified standards, a voluntary construction code created by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS) for wind and rain mitigation saw significantly fewer and less costly claims. If every impacted house in Mobile and Baldwin counties had met Fortified standards, insurance companies could have spent 75% less in payouts, saving up to $112 million, and policyholders could have paid up to 65% less in deductibles, saving almost $35 million, according to the study. The results show "mitigation works and that we can build things that are resilient to climate change,' said Dr. Lars Powell, director of the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse School of Business, which led the study with the Alabama Department of Insurance. Across the United States, insurance markets are buckling under the pressure of more frequent and expensive climate events, and federal support is shrinking for resilience projects that could reduce that damage. Officials and researchers involved with the study say it proves Alabama's proactive approach to the challenge — mandatory, sizable insurance discounts for those who use Fortified and a grant program to help them afford it — could be a national model for increasing insurability and safety. IBHS created Fortified to strengthen buildings against storm damage based on decades of research at its facility, where it uses a giant wind tunnel to pummel model houses with rain, hail, and wind up to 130 miles per hour. 'We are having record breaking year after record breaking year of disasters and insured losses, and we have been searching for meaningful ways to reduce the severity and the frequency of those losses,' said Fred Malik, managing director of the Fortified program. The three levels of designations — Fortified Roof, Silver and Gold — employ methods like improving roof fasteners, using impact-rated doors and windows, and more securely anchoring walls to their foundation. The program requires third-party verification of work. About 80,000 homes across 32 states now have Fortified designations, with over 53,000 in Alabama. The state began looking for ways to improve storm outcomes after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 jolted the state's insurance market. 'Ivan was absolutely devastating,' said Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler. 'Our market was going crazy, insurers were leaving.' It became the only state to implement mandatory minimum insurance discounts for Fortified homes, currently as much as half off the wind portion of homeowners' premiums. It also launched the Strengthen Alabama Homes incentive program, offering grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners retrofitting their houses to Fortified standards. The state has doled out $86 million for 8,700 Fortified retrofits since 2015. Fowler credits the initiative with also catalyzing demand for new Fortified construction and incentivizing contractors and inspectors to learn the standards. 'It worked like gangbusters,' he said. 'We've seen the market substantially stabilized." Hurricane Sally offered researchers their first chance to assess the program's benefits in a real storm. 'It really was a prototypical storm that anybody who lives on the hurricane coast is liable to see in any given year,' said Malik. They collected insurance data on more than 40,000 houses in the affected area — a total insured value of $17 billion. Fortified construction reduced claim frequency by 55% to 74%, depending on the designation level, and loss severity by 14% to 40%. Despite representing almost one-quarter of the policies studied, Fortified homes accounted for only 9% of claims. They even fared better than houses built to similar codes but without the official designation, likely due to the program's more stringent verification requirements. 'It really does start to bring home that there is value for everybody involved,' said Malik. 'There's value for the insurers, there's value for the homeowner.' Fortified doesn't address all types of hurricane losses. Nearly half the claims in the study were from fallen trees, which require separate mitigation strategies. The enhanced standards do add cost: between 0.5% to 3% more for new construction, and 6% to 16% for retrofits. But the longterm benefits have spurred even disaster recovery nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, Team Rubicon and SBP to use Fortified, often with the philanthropic support of insurers like Travelers and Allstate. 'Helping disaster-impacted homeowners build back smarter with storm-resilient construction and IBHS Fortified standards helps break the cycle of disaster and loss,' said Thomas Corley, chief operating officer at the New Orleans-based nonprofit SBP, which has built 671 homes to Fortified standards in nine states. The potential insurance discounts also help recovering families by lowering their monthly expenses and boosting confidence that they can keep affording their homes. 'For low-income families, this could mean the difference between upward mobility or years of financial instability after a disaster,' said Corley. Alabama is expanding its grant program to three new counties this year. Fowler said he hopes the results encourage more insurance companies to offer wind protection on coastal homes, and that adoption will spread to less hurricane-prone areas still susceptible to severe weather. The approach has caught the attention of other states seeking resilience solutions. Fowler spoke before a California legislative committee last month in support of the California Safe Homes Act, a proposed bill that would fund grants for fire-safe roofing and defensible space to protect from wildfires. 'Natural disasters like windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires will come no matter what we do,' he told the committee. 'That means you must find ways to build stronger before the event so you will have less damage after the event. It's actually a pretty simple concept.'
The Hill
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers
A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind analysis, released this week, reviews thousands of insurance claims linked to Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama's coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes retrofitted or built to Fortified standards, a voluntary construction code created by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS) for wind and rain mitigation saw significantly fewer and less costly claims. If every impacted house in Mobile and Baldwin counties had met Fortified standards, insurance companies could have spent 75% less in payouts, saving up to $112 million, and policyholders could have paid up to 65% less in deductibles, saving almost $35 million, according to the study. The results show 'mitigation works and that we can build things that are resilient to climate change,' said Dr. Lars Powell, director of the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse School of Business, which led the study with the Alabama Department of Insurance. Across the United States, insurance markets are buckling under the pressure of more frequent and expensive climate events, and federal support is shrinking for resilience projects that could reduce that damage. Officials and researchers involved with the study say it proves Alabama's proactive approach to the challenge — mandatory, sizable insurance discounts for those who use Fortified and a grant program to help them afford it — could be a national model for increasing insurability and safety. IBHS created Fortified to strengthen buildings against storm damage based on decades of research at its facility, where it uses a giant wind tunnel to pummel model houses with rain, hail, and wind up to 130 miles per hour. 'We are having record breaking year after record breaking year of disasters and insured losses, and we have been searching for meaningful ways to reduce the severity and the frequency of those losses,' said Fred Malik, managing director of the Fortified program. The three levels of designations — Fortified Roof, Silver and Gold — employ methods like improving roof fasteners, using impact-rated doors and windows, and more securely anchoring walls to their foundation. The program requires third-party verification of work. About 80,000 homes across 32 states now have Fortified designations, with over 53,000 in Alabama. The state began looking for ways to improve storm outcomes after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 jolted the state's insurance market. 'Ivan was absolutely devastating,' said Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler. 'Our market was going crazy, insurers were leaving.' It became the only state to implement mandatory minimum insurance discounts for Fortified homes, currently as much as half off the wind portion of homeowners' premiums. It also launched the Strengthen Alabama Homes incentive program, offering grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners retrofitting their houses to Fortified standards. The state has doled out $86 million for 8,700 Fortified retrofits since 2015. Fowler credits the initiative with also catalyzing demand for new Fortified construction and incentivizing contractors and inspectors to learn the standards. 'It worked like gangbusters,' he said. 'We've seen the market substantially stabilized.' Hurricane Sally offered researchers their first chance to assess the program's benefits in a real storm. 'It really was a prototypical storm that anybody who lives on the hurricane coast is liable to see in any given year,' said Malik. They collected insurance data on more than 40,000 houses in the affected area — a total insured value of $17 billion. Fortified construction reduced claim frequency by 55% to 74%, depending on the designation level, and loss severity by 14% to 40%. Despite representing almost one-quarter of the policies studied, Fortified homes accounted for only 9% of claims. They even fared better than houses built to similar codes but without the official designation, likely due to the program's more stringent verification requirements. 'It really does start to bring home that there is value for everybody involved,' said Malik. 'There's value for the insurers, there's value for the homeowner.' Fortified doesn't address all types of hurricane losses. Nearly half the claims in the study were from fallen trees, which require separate mitigation strategies. The enhanced standards do add cost: between 0.5% to 3% more for new construction, and 6% to 16% for retrofits. But the longterm benefits have spurred even disaster recovery nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, Team Rubicon and SBP to use Fortified, often with the philanthropic support of insurers like Travelers and Allstate. 'Helping disaster-impacted homeowners build back smarter with storm-resilient construction and IBHS Fortified standards helps break the cycle of disaster and loss,' said Thomas Corley, chief operating officer at the New Orleans-based nonprofit SBP, which has built 671 homes to Fortified standards in nine states. The potential insurance discounts also help recovering families by lowering their monthly expenses and boosting confidence that they can keep affording their homes. 'For low-income families, this could mean the difference between upward mobility or years of financial instability after a disaster,' said Corley. Alabama is expanding its grant program to three new counties this year. Fowler said he hopes the results encourage more insurance companies to offer wind protection on coastal homes, and that adoption will spread to less hurricane-prone areas still susceptible to severe weather. The approach has caught the attention of other states seeking resilience solutions. Fowler spoke before a California legislative committee last month in support of the California Safe Homes Act, a proposed bill that would fund grants for fire-safe roofing and defensible space to protect from wildfires. 'Natural disasters like windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires will come no matter what we do,' he told the committee. 'That means you must find ways to build stronger before the event so you will have less damage after the event. It's actually a pretty simple concept.' ———— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers
A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind analysis, released this week, reviews thousands of insurance claims linked to Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama's coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes retrofitted or built to Fortified standards, a voluntary construction code created by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS) for wind and rain mitigation saw significantly fewer and less costly claims. If every impacted house in Mobile and Baldwin counties had met Fortified standards, insurance companies could have spent 75% less in payouts, saving up to $112 million, and policyholders could have paid up to 65% less in deductibles, saving almost $35 million, according to the study. The results show "mitigation works and that we can build things that are resilient to climate change,' said Dr. Lars Powell, director of the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse School of Business, which led the study with the Alabama Department of Insurance. Across the United States, insurance markets are buckling under the pressure of more frequent and expensive climate events, and federal support is shrinking for resilience projects that could reduce that damage. Officials and researchers involved with the study say it proves Alabama's proactive approach to the challenge — mandatory, sizable insurance discounts for those who use Fortified and a grant program to help them afford it — could be a national model for increasing insurability and safety. IBHS created Fortified to strengthen buildings against storm damage based on decades of research at its facility, where it uses a giant wind tunnel to pummel model houses with rain, hail, and wind up to 130 miles per hour. 'We are having record breaking year after record breaking year of disasters and insured losses, and we have been searching for meaningful ways to reduce the severity and the frequency of those losses,' said Fred Malik, managing director of the Fortified program. The three levels of designations — Fortified Roof, Silver and Gold — employ methods like improving roof fasteners, using impact-rated doors and windows, and more securely anchoring walls to their foundation. The program requires third-party verification of work. About 80,000 homes across 32 states now have Fortified designations, with over 53,000 in Alabama. The state began looking for ways to improve storm outcomes after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 jolted the state's insurance market. 'Ivan was absolutely devastating,' said Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler. 'Our market was going crazy, insurers were leaving.' It became the only state to implement mandatory minimum insurance discounts for Fortified homes, currently as much as half off the wind portion of homeowners' premiums. It also launched the Strengthen Alabama Homes incentive program, offering grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners retrofitting their houses to Fortified standards. The state has doled out $86 million for 8,700 Fortified retrofits since 2015. Fowler credits the initiative with also catalyzing demand for new Fortified construction and incentivizing contractors and inspectors to learn the standards. 'It worked like gangbusters,' he said. 'We've seen the market substantially stabilized." Hurricane Sally offered researchers their first chance to assess the program's benefits in a real storm. 'It really was a prototypical storm that anybody who lives on the hurricane coast is liable to see in any given year,' said Malik. They collected insurance data on more than 40,000 houses in the affected area — a total insured value of $17 billion. Fortified construction reduced claim frequency by 55% to 74%, depending on the designation level, and loss severity by 14% to 40%. Despite representing almost one-quarter of the policies studied, Fortified homes accounted for only 9% of claims. They even fared better than houses built to similar codes but without the official designation, likely due to the program's more stringent verification requirements. 'It really does start to bring home that there is value for everybody involved,' said Malik. 'There's value for the insurers, there's value for the homeowner.' Fortified doesn't address all types of hurricane losses. Nearly half the claims in the study were from fallen trees, which require separate mitigation strategies. The enhanced standards do add cost: between 0.5% to 3% more for new construction, and 6% to 16% for retrofits. But the longterm benefits have spurred even disaster recovery nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, Team Rubicon and SBP to use Fortified, often with the philanthropic support of insurers like Travelers and Allstate. 'Helping disaster-impacted homeowners build back smarter with storm-resilient construction and IBHS Fortified standards helps break the cycle of disaster and loss,' said Thomas Corley, chief operating officer at the New Orleans-based nonprofit SBP, which has built 671 homes to Fortified standards in nine states. The potential insurance discounts also help recovering families by lowering their monthly expenses and boosting confidence that they can keep affording their homes. 'For low-income families, this could mean the difference between upward mobility or years of financial instability after a disaster,' said Corley. Alabama is expanding its grant program to three new counties this year. Fowler said he hopes the results encourage more insurance companies to offer wind protection on coastal homes, and that adoption will spread to less hurricane-prone areas still susceptible to severe weather. The approach has caught the attention of other states seeking resilience solutions. Fowler spoke before a California legislative committee last month in support of the California Safe Homes Act, a proposed bill that would fund grants for fire-safe roofing and defensible space to protect from wildfires. 'Natural disasters like windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires will come no matter what we do,' he told the committee. 'That means you must find ways to build stronger before the event so you will have less damage after the event. It's actually a pretty simple concept.' ———— Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers
A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind analysis , released this week, reviews thousands of insurance claims linked to Hurricane Sally , which struck Alabama's coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes retrofitted or built to Fortified standards, a voluntary construction code created by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS) for wind and rain mitigation saw significantly fewer and less costly claims.
