Home › Protect your home, lower your premium

FORTIFIED Roof

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 13, 2026

What a FORTIFIED Roof is

IBHS describes FORTIFIED as "a voluntary construction and re-roofing Program designed to strengthen homes and commercial buildings against specific types of severe weather such as high winds, hail, hurricanes and even tornadoes." It is a standard, not an insurance policy: you hire a roofer to build to it, and an evaluator checks the work.

A FORTIFIED Roof works on any common roof cover (shingles, metal, tile, low slope). The core upgrades IBHS lists are:

- Stronger edges: a wider drip edge and a fully adhered starter strip, so wind can't get under the roof edge. - Sealed roof deck: the seams of the wood deck are sealed, so rain stays out if the shingles or panels blow off. - Better attachment: ring-shank nails "installed in an enhanced pattern" instead of common smooth nails. - Tested and rated roof covers: asphalt shingles must carry the top wind ratings (ASTM D3161 Class F or ASTM D7158 Class H); metal, tile and low-slope systems must be tested for the design pressures at your site. - Wind- and rain-resistant attic vents.

Every level of FORTIFIED starts with the roof. IBHS says "as much as 90% of all catastrophe-related insurance claims include damage to the roof," which is why a FORTIFIED Roof is required for every designation. [1][12]

Roof, Silver and Gold: what each level adds

The 2025 FORTIFIED Home Standard sets three levels. To get Silver you must first meet Roof; to get Gold you must meet both Roof and Silver.

A "continuous load path" means the roof-to-wall, story-to-story and wall-to-foundation connections are engineered to hold together in high wind. IBHS says Gold "requires an engineered continuous load path," which it describes as "a specific plan that specifies how your roof should be fixed to your walls, and how the walls should be anchored to the foundation."

An optional Hail Supplement can be added to either standard. Under the 2025 standard, asphalt shingles must be rated "Excellent" or "Good" on the IBHS hail impact rating; UL and FM ratings no longer qualify for shingles. Metal panels need a UL 2218 Class 4 rating, clay and concrete tile need FM 4473 Class 4, and low-slope roofs need UL 2218 Class 4 or an FM 4470 Class 1-SH or 1-VSH rating. [2][12][13][14]

Hurricane vs. High Wind: which standard applies to you

Your home's location decides which standard you follow. IBHS ties it to the "ultimate design wind speed" for your address from the American Society of Civil Engineers' building-load standard (ASCE 7):

- FORTIFIED Hurricane applies where the design wind speed is greater than 115 mph. Its goal is to reduce damage "primarily due to tropical storms and hurricanes." - FORTIFIED High Wind applies where the design wind speed is 115 mph or less. It targets "severe thunderstorms, straight-line wind events, and high winds at the outer edges of tornadoes."

IBHS points homeowners to the ASCE Hazard Tool to look up the wind speed for an address, and says to check local code requirements too. A FORTIFIED evaluator or roofer can tell you which standard fits your home. Grant programs can require a specific one: Oklahoma's grant, for example, requires the FORTIFIED Roof High Wind designation with the Hail Supplement.

The 2025 standard also brought the two closer together at the Roof level: IBHS says High Wind roof requirements "have been aligned with Hurricane Requirements," except that gable end vent rules still apply only to Hurricane designations. [1][2][5][13]

How certification works

1. Check that your home qualifies. IBHS lists single-family detached homes (including modular homes), duplexes, manufactured homes built after 1994 (HUD wind zone rated), and townhouses where each unit runs from foundation to roof. 2. Hire a FORTIFIED roofer and an evaluator. The roof must be installed by a certified FORTIFIED roofing contractor; the 2025 standard requires one with "an active listing in the FORTIFIED Directory." A FORTIFIED Evaluator is an independent, third-party inspector trained on the standard who documents the work as it is done. IBHS links to its directory of FORTIFIED professionals from the FORTIFIED Home site. 3. The evaluator submits the file to IBHS. IBHS reviews it and issues a designation certificate, which IBHS calls "written certification that a home or business has been built, renovated, or re-roofed according to FORTIFIED standards." For a new-roof designation, the complete file must reach IBHS within one year of finishing the work. 4. Give the certificate to your insurer. IBHS says the designation "is generally required in order to receive FORTIFIED insurance discounts."

Without the evaluator's verification, IBHS says, you "will not be able to receive a FORTIFIED designation or qualify for any financial benefits," even if the roof was built to the standard. [1][2][13]

Renewal every five years

The 2025 standard says: "FORTIFIED designations are valid for 5 years." To keep the designation, a certified evaluator does a re-designation inspection. If the roof cover is in good condition and nothing major has changed, IBHS says "the inspection is likely the only step that will be required."

- On time: from one year before to one year after the expiration date on your certificate. The new certificate runs five years from the old expiration date. - Early: more than one year before expiration. The new certificate runs five years from its approval date, so you lose some of the old term. - Late: after the one-year grace period but within five years of expiration, with an extra processing fee (the IBHS FAQ lists $50). - More than five years expired: no renewal; the home needs a full new FORTIFIED evaluation.

The expiration date is in the bottom right corner of the certificate. IBHS warns that a gap between certificates "could affect your insurance premiums," and notes many insurers that give discounts require renewal every five years. [1][2]

What it costs

The FORTIFIED standards are free to download, but the upgrades and the inspection cost money. IBHS's own figures: "When re-roofing a 2,000-square-foot home, the cost increase is typically between $1,000 and $3,000," and building a new FORTIFIED Gold home "can add 1%–3% to the total budget." Actual costs depend on your home's design and your local building code.

On top of that you pay the evaluator. Evaluator fees are set by each evaluator; the Alabama, Louisiana and Oklahoma grant programs all make the homeowner pay the evaluation fee and say grants don't cover it. Alabama's program also warns that hidden problems found when the old roof comes off, like rotten decking, are the homeowner's cost. [1][3][4][5][15]

State grant programs (checked Oct. 13, 2026)

These programs pay part of the cost of a FORTIFIED Roof. In each one the money goes to the contractor (not to you), you pay anything above the grant, and you pay the evaluator. Status changes often, so check the program's own site before you plan around a date.

More detail and phone numbers:

- Alabama: applicants pick an approved evaluator, then three approved contractors bid. Questions: 1-800-433-3966. Full guide: Strengthen Alabama Homes. - Louisiana: you must not hire a contractor or start work before you are selected; homeowners who fortify first are not eligible. You must also disclose any homeowner claims from the past 5 years. - North Carolina: NCIUA grant line 1-877-472-6862 (Strengthen Your Coastal Roof) or 1-844-627-6637 (Strengthen Your Roof). The NC Department of Insurance announced the $20 million coastal expansion in July 2025. - South Carolina: SC Safe Home help line 803-737-6087. - Oklahoma: questions to okready@oid.ok.gov or 844-323-9657. OID announced the 500th certified home on Sept. 1, 2026, and said on Sept. 30, 2026 that more than 600 homes had completed the program. - Mississippi: the wind pool is putting up $2 million for 2026. A separate $15 million state appropriation can't be spent until the Legislature fixes a drafting error, which the department expects in early 2027. Questions: 1-800-562-2957 or smh@mid.ms.gov.

No Georgia FORTIFIED grant program turned up on an official site; we left it out. [3][4][5][8][9][10][11][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Insurance discounts: where the law requires them

IBHS's own answer to "do insurers give FORTIFIED discounts?" is "Sometimes yes," and it says those discounts are on the wind part of your premium. In four states we verified, the law requires them:

- Alabama. The Alabama Department of Insurance says Act 2015-313 "requires all insurers in Alabama to provide residential and commercial policy holders with discounts" once a home is built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED. Its Bulletin 2016-07 set benchmark discounts of 35% to 60% on the hurricane portion of the premium and 20% to 35% on the other wind portion (announced Dec. 23, 2016; ask the department whether newer figures apply). The Strengthen Alabama Homes program adds that admitted insurers "must honor the certificate and give the discount," while surplus lines insurers are not required to. See surplus lines insurance for what that difference means. - Louisiana. La. R.S. 22:1483(C) says insurers that file rating plans "shall provide an actuarially justified discount, credit, rate differential, adjustment in deductible, or any other adjustment" for homes built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED. The home must be certified after inspection by an IBHS-certified inspector, you must keep the certificate and show it to the insurer, and the credit applies only to policies with wind coverage. The Louisiana Department of Insurance publishes a list of FORTIFIED discounts by company. New in 2026: under the department's Regulation 136 (Bulletin 2026-04, April 29, 2026), insurers must give FORTIFIED discounts on the hurricane portion of the premium, based on the department's benchmark table, on all new or renewed residential policies issued on or after Jan. 1, 2027. The benchmarks are 16% (Roof), 20% (Silver) and 24% (Gold) in the North zone; 27%, 35% and 42% in the Central zone; and 29%, 43% and 49% in the South zone (the parishes in the Louisiana Coastal Zone). - Georgia. Since March 1, 2025, Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 33-32-11, from HB 279 of 2024) says "insurers shall provide a premium discount or insurance rate reduction" for homes certified by an IBHS-certified evaluator as built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED standards. It sets no percentage: each insurer files an "actuarially justified rating plan," and the discount applies only to policies with wind coverage. See our Georgia page. - Mississippi (coastal counties). Miss. Code Ann. 83-75-3 has required insurers, since July 1, 2013, to give "a premium discount or insurance rate reduction" to owners who retrofit a home to one of IBHS's tiered mitigation levels (or another approved program) in Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Stone and Pearl River counties. Elsewhere in Mississippi the retrofit rule covers commercial property only (since July 1, 2021). For FORTIFIED, an IBHS-certified evaluator must certify the home; you must keep the certification records, and the discount applies only to policies with wind coverage. A companion section (83-75-1) covers new homes built to these standards in the same five counties.

Elsewhere, discounts depend on the company. Oklahoma's insurance department says FORTIFIED discounts "are determined directly by the carrier and may not be offered by all companies." IBHS also lists Oklahoma and South Carolina among states with incentives (discounts, grants or tax credits) specifically for FORTIFIED. In other states, including Florida, IBHS says FORTIFIED "is not specifically named," but the upgrades it requires (such as hurricane shutters or impact-resistant shingles) can earn discounts for those features. Our wind mitigation inspection guide covers how those features get documented. Ask your agent, and check that the discount shows on your declarations page.

South Carolina law doesn't name FORTIFIED, but it requires insurers' rating plans for coastal property to include discounts and credits (or surcharges) based on factors such as storm shutters, roof tie-downs and construction standards (S.C. Code 38-73-1095). Insurers must also tell you, with every new policy and renewal, what discounts they give for wind-resistant construction (S.C. Code 38-75-755). [1][3][4][5][7][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

FORTIFIED roof endorsements

A FORTIFIED endorsement is an add-on to your homeowners policy that helps pay to rebuild your roof to the FORTIFIED standard after a covered claim. IBHS says insurers are known to offer them in Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Mississippi. What they pay varies: "Some endorsements cover material, labor, and certification costs up to a specified limit, while others cover just the cost of the independent third-party FORTIFIED Evaluator."

IBHS names three residual-market plans that provide one at no cost: the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association, the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, and the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association. If you have the endorsement and your roof is damaged, IBHS says to tell your adjuster first, then find a FORTIFIED roofer or evaluator. [1][7]

What FORTIFIED doesn't do

IBHS is direct about the limits. FORTIFIED addresses wind and wind-driven rain (and hail with the supplement). It does not prevent all damage: "we do expect some FORTIFIED homes to experience damage during extreme weather," and parts of a house such as siding aren't covered by the standard. And a FORTIFIED home is not a reason to stay put in a storm; IBHS says you should still evacuate or shelter when told to.

FORTIFIED also has nothing to do with flooding or storm surge. For flood risk and flood insurance, see our sister site FloodHawk. [1][2]

Questions people ask