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Prepare Now: Ensure Your Home is Hurricane Ready

As the annual hurricane season kicks off, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is strongly urging homeowners, both coastal and inland, to take immediate action to protect their residences. With recent extreme weather events underscoring the importance of preparedness, it's crucial to employ the IBHS Hurricane Ready guidance to bolster your home against possible storm damage.

Inland flooding and high winds can impact homes far beyond coastal areas. The destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Helene last year, which traveled a staggering 500 miles through the Southeast, was a dire reminder of the havoc storms can wreak. The 2024 hurricane season also demonstrated that tropical storms can lead to unprecedented tornado activity, revealing that the risk extends well beyond coastline vulnerabilities. "Storms don't just impact the coastline – high winds, heavy rain, and flooding can cause significant damage far inland," insists Sarah Dillingham, a senior meteorologist at IBHS.

Taking Proactive Measures

Preparation is a twofold process: ensuring safety during the storm and enabling quick recovery afterward. The IBHS emphasizes that taking steps now can dramatically increase your home's resilience. Roofing, for instance, is your first line of defense. Severe storms can compromise roofing integrity, leading to catastrophic structural damage and water entry. Homeowners are encouraged to have their roofs inspected, and repairs carried out if necessary.

When it’s time to replace your roof, consider using the FORTIFIED Roof standard. This initiative is grounded in decades of research that identifies vulnerabilities in homes and effective strategies to avert damage from severe weather, including hurricanes and tornadoes. A study by the Center for Risk and Insurance Research highlighted that homes adhering to the FORTIFIED standards were 70% less likely to file insurance claims compared to those constructed to standard codes following Hurricane Sally in 2020.

To assist homeowners, IBHS has launched Roofing Roadmaps, a handy online tool designed to set realistic performance expectations for roof systems.

Garage Resilience and More

The garage door also plays a pivotal role in a home’s structural integrity. High winds can force garage doors inward, causing a pressure imbalance that may lead to substantial damage throughout the structure. IBHS advises that garage doors rated for at least 130 mph winds must be preferred to significantly lower the risk of damage. When correctly installed, reinforced components, including tracks and hinges, help garage doors withstand strong winds, thereby protecting the entire home. An analysis following past storms revealed that 90% of homes that survived destructive forces with intact garage doors had minimal or no roof damage.

However, heavy preparation doesn't have to be expensive or labor-intensive. Even on a budget, homeowners can undertake preventive measures just before a storm hits:

• - Prevent water entry: Seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors to prevent rain and wind intrusion.
• - Trim trees: Remove overhanging branches and any dead trees that could pose threats during storms. Notably, studies show that nearly 46% of claims post-Hurricane Sally were due to falling trees.
• - Clear the yard: Keep your outdoor space free of debris that could become hazardous when winds pick up. Items such as patio furniture and grills should be stored inside when adverse weather approaches.
• - Secure power sources: Whether maintaining an existing generator or acquiring a new one, ensure you can keep essential appliances functioning during outages.
• - Document belongings: Use video to create a geotagged inventory of your possessions, stored securely online for easy access after storms. This documentation is invaluable for filing insurance claims.

For more detailed actions and preventive measures to safeguard your home, visit ibhs.org/hurricaneready.

About the IBHS

The mission of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is to conduct impartial scientific research aimed at identifying and encouraging effective practices that enhance the resilience of homes, businesses, and communities against natural disasters. Learn more about their initiatives by visiting IBHS.org.

About FORTIFIED

FORTIFIED is a voluntary program rooted in research by the IBHS, focused on construction and re-roofing strategies to strengthen structures against extreme weather events. Discover more about this crucial program at fortifiedhome.org.