What is FORTIFIED?
FORTIFIED is a voluntary, beyond-code construction standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). It significantly reduces structural damage during hurricanes, high winds, tornadoes, and hail. Properties built or retrofitted to the FORTIFIED standard are third-party verified by a certified FORTIFIED Evaluator.
What FORTIFIED programs are available?
FORTIFIED is organized into three programs based on property type: FORTIFIED Home, FORTIFIED Multifamily, and FORTIFIED Commercial. Each has three tiers: FORTIFIED Roof, FORTIFIED Silver, and FORTIFIED Gold. Technical specifications vary by property type and location-based weather risk.
How does a property earn a FORTIFIED designation?
Property owners work with a certified FORTIFIED Evaluator who documents and verifies that construction materials and methods meet the required standard. Third-party verification is a core feature of the program. It is what distinguishes a FORTIFIED designation from code-minimum construction with similar features but no documentation or accountability.
What are the benefits of FORTIFIED?
Insurance incentives. States including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma, and North Carolina have legislated insurance discounts and tax incentives for FORTIFIED construction. Insurance savings range from 20% to 55% off the wind portion of a premium, depending on the state and designation level.
Proven storm performance. A 2025 peer-reviewed study by the University of Alabama's Center for Risk and Insurance Research, commissioned by the Alabama Department of Insurance, analyzed over 40,000 insured properties in coastal Alabama following Hurricane Sally. It found that FORTIFIED Roof homes had 73% fewer claims and 72% lower total losses than conventional construction. Insurers would have saved over $105 million if all homes in the storm's path had been built to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. Read the full study.
Home value. A study by the Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research found that a FORTIFIED designation increases home resale value by nearly 7%. Find the study here.
Multifamily ROI. A separate ACIIR study found that the return on investment for building FORTIFIED Multifamily structures ranges from 8% to 72%. Find the study here.
Debris reduction. Fairhope, Alabama, adopted the Coastal Construction Code Supplement before Hurricane Sally hit. Construction and demolition debris, the kind generated when structures fail, made up just 3% of total debris collected after the storm, $243,000 out of $8.1 million in total cleanup costs.
How can communities enforce FORTIFIED requirements locally?
The Construction Code Supplement bridges the gap between existing International Codes and FORTIFIED standards. Written in ordinance format, it can be adopted directly alongside local building codes. Two versions are available: the Coastal Construction Code Supplement for hurricane-prone areas and the Construction Code Supplement for inland communities facing high wind, hail, and tornadoes.
If a community adopts the Code Supplement, do all properties have to get a FORTIFIED designation?
No. The Code Supplement adds FORTIFIED technical requirements to local code but does not require a voluntary FORTIFIED designation. Property owners who want to access specific incentives, such as insurance discounts or tax deductions, typically need a designation to qualify.
What are some examples of FORTIFIED performing in real events?
A 2025 peer-reviewed study confirmed that FORTIFIED Roof homes in coastal Alabama had 73% fewer insurance claims during Hurricane Sally than conventionally built homes. In Lockport, Louisiana, a FORTIFIED multifamily development sat half a mile from an apartment complex destroyed by Hurricane Ida. The FORTIFIED buildings reopened three weeks after the storm. Families displaced from the destroyed complex moved in. In Prattville, Alabama, a home re-roofed to the FORTIFIED standard through Habitat for Humanity and the Strengthen Alabama Homes grant program was in the direct path of an EF-3 tornado. It sustained shingle loss and a damaged soffit.