The growth surrounding FORTIFIED homes nationwide over the past few years is undeniable, and is likely about to get a big boost. Earlier this year, GAF and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) announced an alliance to expand access to roofing contractors and homeowners alike.

FORTIFIED Homes Gaining Momentum

Roofing contractors and roofing manufacturers play a critical role in making sure that homeowners live in strong, safe and durable homes. Earlier this year, GAF and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) announced an alliance to expand access to improved standards through its large contractor network.

Using decades of research, IBHS established the FORTIFIED program as a voluntary construction and reroofing standard to better protect properties in storm-prone regions. After consecutive years of record storm seasons, there are now more than 80,000 FORTIFIED homes in the United States, and each and every one has a FORTIFIED roof.

“Our research has really defined or identified the key thing that really need to be taken care of and across the board, the most important system that needs attention is the roof,” explained Fred Malik, managing director of the FORTIFIED program. 

Roofing contractors need to be aware of the standards and ready to answer the demand from homeowners, which is where the partnership with GAF and its large contractor network come into play.

“Weather continues to be a focal point and our team is training on how (insurance) carriers are navigating that,” said Mike Thomas, GAF’s director of external learning & development, storm restoration. “FORTIFIED is something that carriers and homeowners have bought into, and we want to support our contractors to thrive in that space as it continues to blossom.”

Watch the full conversation here.