The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety [IBHS] recently honored 29 FORTIFIED service providers and three supporting organizations for their contributions to the rapidly growing adoption of the FORTIFIED Home program.

"FORTIFIED service providers are the heart and soul of resiliency across the nation," said IBHS President and CEO Roy Wright. "Every home built or reroofed to the FORTIFIED standard helps a family stay in their home and a community to thrive."

The FORTIFIED Home program, developed by IBHS and based on decades of field studies and lab research, is a voluntary, beyond-code construction and reroofing method that strengthens homes against severe weather.

"FORTIFIED has helped 50,000 families better protect their homes from severe weather," said FORTIFIED Managing Director Fred Malik. "Every year, we're reminded it only takes one storm to devastate a community, and these dedicated award recipients are ensuring we make our country stronger for generations to come."

The FORTIFIED Volume Awards recognize builders, roofing contractors and evaluators for achieving significant levels of designations. Bethel Engineering Inc. received the Diamond Volume Award, the highest level in the program, for evaluating more than 2,500 homes to confirm they meet the rigorous FORTIFIED standard. Two companies, Knockout Home Inspections and D.R. Horton, Inc., were honored with the Crown Volume Award for 1,000 to 2,499 designations.

Other FORTIFIED Volume Award recipients include: 

Crystal Volume Award (500 to 999 Designations)

• Disaster Smart Consulting, Inc. 
• Fortified Inspections
• Pilot  
• Truland Homes  

Spotlight Volume Award for evaluators (100 to 499 Designations)

• Appelman-Obdam LLC 
• Carolina Adjusting Service
• Coastal Design Group, LLC 
• Coastal Trim & Accessories
• Ellis Home Inspections  
• Gulf Coast Home Inspections Inc. 
• H&H Adjusters INC
• HMS Contractors, Inc.  
• The Inspection Specialist   
• JDL Homebuilders Inc. 
• NC Fortified
• Property Loss Consultants LTD
• Superior Home Inspections, LLC  

Spotlight Volume Award for roofing contractors (100 to 499 Designations) 

• 4U Roofing  
• All Weather Roofing
• Ben Murphy Company    
• Coastal Roofing & Siding, Inc.
• DSLD - Alabama  
• Foster Contracting
• Gallop Roofing & Remodeling  
• Glisson Construction Company  
• Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham  
• Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa  
• Harzo Inc.   
• Lemongrass Custom Homes  
• SunnBuilders    
• Taylor Made Services 

FORTIFIED Pioneer Awards were presented to the Home Builders Association – Greater New Orleans, Arcane Inspections and 21st Century Inspections for introducing and promoting FORTIFIED construction and re-roofing in the Louisiana market.

For the first time, IBHS presented Resiliency Champion Awards, recognizing organizations driving FORTIFIED in their respective markets over a period of five years or more. These nonprofit or governmental groups are responsible for thousands of designations.

This year's recipients included Strengthen Alabama Home (SAH) and Smart Home America (SHA). An innovative grant program created by the Alabama Department of Insurance in 2011, Strengthen Alabama Homes provides select homeowners with up to $10,000 when they install a FORTIFIED Roof. The program has made 5,000 FORTIFIED homes possible, 10% of the nationwide total. Smart Home America played an integral role in promoting FORTIFIED in Alabama and has exported lessons learned to other states while advancing the program across the country.

The presentation of the annual FORTIFIED Volume Awards followed an event marking 50,000 FORTIFIED designations. Officials from Alabama and other Gulf states joined IBHS to recognize the significant milestone in Dauphin Island, Alabama, where one in four homes in the community is now FORTIFIED.