Ibhs Fortified Homes Hurricane; Bronze, Silver and Gold:An incremental, holistic approach to reducing residential property losses in hurricane prone areas

摘要

In 2010, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) released guidance in the FORTIFIED Home Hurricane Program for retrofitting existing residential structures to resist high winds and wind-driven water intrusion associated with tropical storms and hurricanes. This program utilizes engineering principles, and draws on more than 20 years of experience in hurricane damage investigations, to develop retrofits designed to reduce losses by improving the performance of vulnerable systems, not just selected components. The program seeks to reduce damage, property losses and displacement of homeowners by making improvements to the roof, reducing water intrusion through attic ventilation systems, strengthening of gable end construction, protecting openings and strengthening of critical elements of the continuous load path from the roof to the foundation. A key aspect of the program is that it uses an incremental approach to retrofitting, which allows homeowners to strengthen their home in steps where the most common failure points are addressed first. Each incremental step thereafter builds upon the strengthening already completed. The expected performance of the home improves with each step and begins to approach, and for some elements to exceed, that of new homes built to the latest building codes and standards. The program requires an initial inspection and assessment of the home to identify what retrofits, if any, are required to achieve each FORTIFIED Hurricane Designation level: Bronze, Silver or Gold. Once required retrofits have been completed, the program includes verification protocols to ensure retrofits meet established criteria. This paper describes the FORTIFIED Home Hurricane program, the basis for the levels developed, and the expected benefits in reducing hurricane loss vulnerability.