Virtual Training Brings FORTIFIED to New Markets

New Online Learning System Helps Contractors Across the Country Grow Their Business with Resilient Roofing

Richburg, S.C., July 20, 2020 – The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today launched its first-ever virtual training courses for FORTIFIED Home™, the national standard for resilient construction, which is based on decades of IBHS field and laboratory research. Roofing contractors now have more flexibility to learn how to apply IBHS research to their work and install a stronger FORTIFIED Roof™ to prevent avoidable damage caused by severe weather. FORTIFIED Wise™ University virtual training is available on demand and covers the benefits of FORTIFIED and upgrades that have been shown to strengthen a home’s resistance to wind, rain and hail.

“In the past five years, the U.S. has been hit by more than 50 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, so demand for stronger homes is on the rise,” explains Fred Malik, managing director of the FORTIFIED program at IBHS. “Our research shows a significant amount of this damage can be minimized, or prevented altogether, by making a series of minor changes to the way we build homes and install roofs. The new FORTIFIED virtual training platform allows roofing contractors across the country to use our science to grow their business by helping customers protect their homes against severe weather.”

The inaugural FORITIFIED Wise University courses cover the FORTIFIED Roof designation and are geared toward roofing contractors who seek to learn the differences between a typical code-compliant roof and an upgraded FORTIFIED Roof, as well as the required installation techniques. Participants will learn how FORTIFIED can benefit homeowners, particularly in parts of the country that experience severe storms, including hurricanes, tornadoes, high wind and hail. The innovative training is delivered in eleven modules making it more flexible for contractors who find it hard to break away from jobs for daylong training sessions. Once coursework is completed, participants have the option to take an exam to become a FORTIFIED Wise–Roofing Contractor and be listed in the FORTIFIED Professional directory used by potential customers to find contractors.

“It is absolutely critical to provide top-tier protection for a home’s roof,” says Malik. “When a roof fails, we almost always see a cascade of damage, and that can impact the integrity of the entire structure. FORTIFIED Roof requires multiple layers of defenses that work in tandem specifically to minimize this risk.”

 

Roofing contractors can begin training today at FORTIFIEDWise.com.

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