Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana families are getting something they've never had before: homes that can survive hurricanes. FORTIFIED construction standards reduce storm damage by up to 70%, and Louisiana's record adoption of the program is creating a new model for disaster-resistant communities that could stabilize the troubled insurance market.

On Aug. 8, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety CEO Roy Wright saw this transformation firsthand during tours of FORTIFIED re-roofing projects in New Orleans.

The site visit, coordinated by GAF and Rebuilding Together New Orleans, showcased homes upgraded to FORTIFIED standards, bringing together homeowners who have benefited from Louisiana's Fortify Homes grants with the experts who are making resilience accessible and affordable. Rebuilding Together New Orleans is working toward its goal to re-roof 200 homes to FORTIFIED standards by 2025, making this initiative one of the largest residential resilience projects in the post-Katrina era.

As climate change intensifies storm patterns and insurance costs continue to climb, Louisiana's embrace of FORTIFIED construction offers a potential path forward—not just for the Gulf Coast, but for vulnerable communities nationwide.

Insurance Commissioner Temple: 'What I Saw Was Progress and Hope'

Following his tour of FORTIFIED construction sites in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward,Temple offered a compelling vision of how resilient construction can transform both individual lives and entire communities.

"What I saw was progress and what I saw was hope," Temple said after visiting with homeowners receiving Louisiana Fortify Homes grants. "And what I saw was just good old Louisiana determination to continue to do the things that we need to do and we must do to maintain a vibrant and affordable insurance market."

The numbers backing Temple's optimism are substantial. A recent legislative auditor review found that grant recipients save an average of 22% on the wind portion of their homeowners insurance premiums, translating to roughly a five-year payback period for the investment. Every admitted homeowner's property insurer in Louisiana is required by law to offer FORTIFIED discounts, with rates varying by company and available on the Louisiana Department of Insurance website.

But Temple's most striking insights came from the human stories he encountered during the tour. In the Upper Ninth Ward, he met with families who have lived in their homes for decades, where the house represents not just shelter but generational wealth.

"These were families where the home is a substantial portion of their way to pass down generational wealth to the next generation," Temple said. "The home may be all of the assets that they have... It's vitally important that we protect that vulnerable community, and this is one way to do that, by making sure that that home is built in a way that it's going to withstand future catastrophic events."

The program's growth reflects Louisiana's commitment to resilience. In less than two years since the grant program launched, the state has funded over 3,600 FORTIFIED roofs through grants, while an additional 5,000-plus homeowners have chosen to install FORTIFIED roofs independently. This year, the legislature doubled the tax deduction for self-funded FORTIFIED roofs from $5,000 to $10,000 and established dedicated funding for the grant program to ensure consistent annual support.

Temple points to Alabama as the gold standard, where Commissioner Mark Fowler regularly touts how their FORTIFIED program has stabilized the property insurance market. Alabama data shows FORTIFIED homes sell for nearly 7% more than standard construction, according to a study by the Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research at the University of Alabama, while Louisiana's experience shows the broader community benefits extend far beyond individual properties.

"When a community's hit and you've got a lot of homes that are damaged and unlivable, those families move," Temple said. "The longer you stay out of your home after an event, the less likely you are to return to that community. By having a community of FORTIFIED structures, there's an added layer of protection that the community is going to survive post-event."

From 1,000 to 9,000 FORTIFIED Homes in Two Years

The explosive growth Temple referenced became clear when speaking with Fred Malik, managing director of FORTIFIED at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. Louisiana has become IBHS's fastest-growing market, with FORTIFIED designations jumping from fewer than 1,000 homes just two years ago to approaching 9,000 today.

"This is our fastest growing market, and we're excited to talk about the good things that are happening here, especially as we approach the 20th anniversary of Katrina," Malik said before Friday's site visits.

The numbers reflect both the grant program's success and broader adoption. About 4,000 designations have come through the Louisiana Department of Insurance Grant Program. In contrast, others have been funded through sources like the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and various nonprofits working to make FORTIFIED accessible.

For Malik, a former homebuilder who has run the FORTIFIED program for 16 years, the mission remains deeply personal.

"At the end of the day, it's all about the people," he said. "We are fully committed to trying to understand how we can keep people in their homes and drive down the financial loss that happens after severe weather."

The University of Alabama's Hurricane Sally study, which found 70% damage reduction, captures something more fundamental than statistics, Malik noted. 

"What that really means is that your life is not disrupted and you aren't displaced from your home," he said. "You become a place of refuge for your neighbors who are drying out and cleaning out after their roof has suffered damage."

This community resilience factor takes on special significance given Hurricane Katrina's legacy.

 "There were 1.4 million people who had to evacuate across three states—Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana," Malik said. "Forty percent of those people never returned to where they evacuated from. FORTIFIED is really an opportunity to keep communities whole and let them recover and get back to normal faster without losing critical parts of the workforce."

Maintaining Quality Through Inspection

What sets FORTIFIED apart from other resilience standards is its rigorous verification process.

"We get what we inspect, not what we expect," Malik said, quoting an old construction adage. Every FORTIFIED project requires third-party documentation by certified evaluators working alongside accredited roofing contractors, with IBHS auditing every single file.

"You really can't spot it from the curb," Malik explained about FORTIFIED construction, since finished materials cover most improvements. "So you need something that says, 'Hey, this work was done.' That's what the FORTIFIED certificate does."

Louisiana's multi-pronged approach has created what Malik calls a "holistic" environment for adoption. Beyond grants and insurance discounts, the state has updated building codes to more closely resemble FORTIFIED standards and added tax credits for homeowners who pay for upgrades themselves.

"At some point, it becomes, 'Hey, there's just too much benefit here. I can't ignore it, I'm gonna go ahead and invest in my house," Malik said.

For roofing contractors, FORTIFIED represents both opportunity and inevitable change. Training costs just $150 ($100 for the course, $50 for the exam), and major manufacturers like GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning now offer end-to-end FORTIFIED solutions.

"We are working really hard to raise awareness," Malik said. "FORTIFIED is coming. You have an opportunity to be on the front end of that train. Don't get left at the station."