Richburg, S.C., December 8, 2022 – Ahead of holiday guests’ arrival, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) encourages homeowners to take simple actions to get Winter Weather Ready to reduce the possibility of costly damage and lengthy repairs during the most wonderful – and busiest – time of the year.
Tuscaloosa, AL, October 12, 2022 – The Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research (ACIIR) at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business today released a report analyzing the return on investment for resilient construction of multifamily properties. The study, which measured the economic value of using FORTIFIED Multifamily™, a voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing method developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), found the return can be as high as 72 percent.
RICHBURG, S.C., Oct. 5, 2022 – Disaster Discussions, a new podcast from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), launched today providing a platform to explore the intersection of severe weather and the built environment. Monthly episodes will connect audiences to science, insurance and resilient construction experts to share their insights on the latest severe weather and wildfire research.
Commercial Wildfire Loss Training [Members Only] Duration: 1.5 hours (Approx. 20-25 minutes per module) Pre-requisite: Back to the Basics: Wildfire training This four-part training will give you the knowledge and skills to identify, evaluate, and understand how commercial building components perform during a wildfire. What you will learn: How the building and the space…
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 22, 2022 – In invited testimony to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) President and CEO Roy Wright urged lawmakers toward a comprehensive approach for wildfire mitigation, including actions to retrofit homes to limit the impact of wildfire, strongly enforced codes for buildings and defensible space, and consistent public communications about the mitigation actions that matter most.
Research Attached decks are a vulnerable component of a building in wildfire-prone areas. Once ignited, decks can expose a building’s cladding (siding), exterior wall components such as windows and doors, and the under-eave area to flames and radiant heat. This exposure can result in severe damage or destruction of the building. In a wildfire, decks…
Research The wind performance of asphalt shingles and its change with age and weathering is one of the most challenging research problems currently facing the building science community. A new research study of asphalt shingle performance in Southwest Louisiana during Hurricane Laura (2020) describes how shingle age plays a role in damage and how other…
Research Stone ballasted roof systems are used on a variety of low-slope commercial buildings to protect the roof from inclement weather. While these systems are known to perform well against hail, they can fail during high winds, which can cause significant damage to the building and neighboring structures. IBHS performed wind tests at different parapet…
Back to the Basics: Thunderstorms [Members Only] Duration: 45min This module provides basic meteorological explanations of the types of severe convective storms, explores their threats and identifies the damage they cause to communities and the built environment. Having a better understanding of these severe weather events is key to preventing avoidable suffering and supporting thriving…
Richburg, S.C., July 28, 2022 – The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and Headwaters Economics today released a study examining the cost of building more wildfire-resistant homes in California, which found vulnerable areas of the home can be mitigated for less than $3,000 during new construction. This analysis, Construction Costs for a Wildfire Resilient Home: California Edition, fills a gap in understanding wildfire-resistant construction costs and demonstrates the affordability of three wildfire resistant options as communities in California and across the West face a growing threat of home-ignition due to wildfire events.
