On Friday, the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) celebrated a major milestone. More than 15,000 homes have received the FORTIFIED Roof designations statewide.

NCIUA also known as the Coastal Property Insurance Pool, is a nonprofit association of insurance companies authorized to write essential property insurance coverage in North Carolina.

The Association was created by law to act as a market of last resort to provide adequate property insurance to property owners of insurable property in the coastal areas of North Carolina.

Developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), FORTIFIED is a voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing program that strengthens homes against high winds and heavy rain.

Since adopting FORTIFIED as its resilience standard in 2016, NCIUA has invested more than $100 million to upgrade homes to meet the standard.

“While we can’t control storms, leaders and homeowners are working to lessen their impact,” said IBHS’s CEO Roy Wright, highlighting the proactive measures. “NCUIA and North Carolina’s financial support to help homeowners reduce storm damage is a forward-thinking investment that will enable communities to recover faster from hurricanes.”

FORTIFIED Roof upgrades include stronger roof deck attachment, sealed roof decks and locked-down edges.

A third-party evaluator documents and verifies that each installation meets the standard, ensuring quality and consistency.

NCIUA was among the first in the nation to offer FORTIFIED grants and policy endorsements and now operates three initiatives to help policyholders upgrade their roof:

1. Strengthen Your Roof offers eligible policyholders in the Outer Banks and Barrier Islands grants of up to $10,000 toward a FORTIFIED Roof installation.
2. Strengthen Your Coastal Roof, in partnership with the State of North Carolina, provides grants of up to $6,000 for eligible policyholders in 18 coastal counties outside the Outer Banks and Barrier Islands.
3. Stronger Roof Endorsements are included at no cost in NCIUA Homeowners and Dwelling policies. This endorsement provides up to $5,000 in extra coverage for FORTIFIED upgrades when a roof is being replaced due to covered damage from a claim.

“We are committed to strengthening North Carolina’s coast and building a stronger, storm-ready North Carolina. The NCIUA has invested over $100 million to help policyholders reduce their risk of storm damage, protecting homes and increasing the likelihood that families can return to their homes as soon as possible after the next storm,” said Gina Hardy, CEO of NCIUA. “Now, with over 15,000 FORTIFIED homes along the coast, we are minimizing the economic impact of storms and empowering communities to recover faster and more fully.”

An analysis by the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University of storm losses from Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, Dorian and Isaias found that homes with FORTIFIED roofs were 34 percent less likely to file a claim, and when claims were filed, the damage was 22 percent less severe than homes built to standard construction.