Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) News

How to Lower Home Insurance Premiums and Wildfire Risks

Homeowners in the US got new guidance to help them defend against increasingly frequent wildfires and associated rising insurance premiums. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, a research nonprofit funded by insurers, announced it has developed the first …

How Homes Are Being Built, Raised to Withstand Extreme Weather

Breezy Point is beautiful in the summertime, a quaint neighborhood sitting on a slim peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic just south of New York City. In a storm, though, that dreamy setting can become a nightmare. Breezy Point …

Alabama Condo Complex Earns IBHS’ First-Ever Hurricane Gold Designation

Local developers in coastal Alabama that utilized Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) FORTIFIED Commercial construction standards in the design of a coastal condominium complex have earned the first-ever FORTIFIED Commercial–Hurricane Gold. The new Colonial Inn Condominiums in …

New Alabama State Park Buildings Utilize IBHS Commercial Resiliency Standards

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has utilized construction standards from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) FORTIFIED Commercial in the creation of new buildings at Alabama’s Gulf State Park to make them more resilient …

Hurricane-Proof Home Building Available But Pricey, Slow to Be Adopted

In a private waterfront resort on the northern tip of Key Largo, nestled between tropical forest and the Caribbean, Eric Soulavy is marketing luxury for the age of climate change: Coastal homes that are all but hurricane proof. The Florida-based …

IBHS, Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association Partner on Roof Aging Farm

The Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association (AIUA) has partnered with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) to develop a roof aging farm in Foley, Ala. This longer-term research project was designed to help determine how different roofing materials …

IBHS in Florida Announces Leadership Changes, Focus for 2018

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), headquartered in Tampa, Fla., has promoted Anne D. Cope, Ph.D., P.E., to senior vice president of Research and chief engineer. Cope has assumed leadership of IBHS’ multimillion-dollar research agenda to make …

Alabama Establishes New Mitigation Discounts for IBHS Fortified Structures

The Alabama Department of Insurance (ALDOI) has established new wind mitigation discounts for property insurance for Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Fortified residential and commercial structures in Alabama. Under Bulletin 2016-07, discounts range from 35 percent to …

Model Home Fortified Against High Winds to Be Built in Tulsa

An insurer-backed property safety research organization announced it is helping to build a model home in Oklahoma that will be designed to withstand high winds and hail. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) said the first FORTIFIED …

Texas, Louisiana Improve Building Code Rankings; More Work Needed

Texas doesn’t have the worst score in a recent ranking of state building code systems but it’s pretty close to the bottom, according to a national organization committed to improving the ability of properties throughout the nation to withstand catastrophic …