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Public Policy Overview

Since 1980, billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have cost the U.S. more than $2.9 trillion. In 2024 alone, there were 27 separate billion-dollar disasters, underscoring the urgent need for stronger, more resilient homes and communities.  

Breaking this cycle requires investment from all sectors – government, business, philanthropy, private industry, and households –  to reduce avoidable suffering and protect communities. 

At IBHS, we advance science-informed public policies that create homes and businesses that ate both survivable and insurable. 

Did you know? Every $1 spent on climate preparedness saves communities $13 in damage, recovery costs, and economic impact, according to an economic study by Allstate, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 

Public Policy at IBHS

IBHS translates building science into action by identifying mitigation strategies, educating policymakers, and promoting investments that make homes, businesses, and communities more survivable and insurable. 

IBHS’s Strategy 2026: Turning Science into Solutions outlines our 3-year plan and commitment to use research about severe weather and wildfire to drive science-based policies that improve survivability and insurability. Our public policy team works with decision-makers at the federal, state, and local levels to: 

  • Advocate for public investments in resilient housing and retrofits. 
  • Educate state insurance regulators on science-based resilient construction. 
  • Support the adoption and enforcement of modern building codes. 
  • Encourage philanthropic and private investments in resilience. 

What is Public Policy? Public Policy is the set of laws, regulations, and actions governments use to address challenges and achieve shared goals. It establishes expectations, promotes safety, and ensures compliance. Effective policies are research-based, regularly updated, and designed to create lasting impact. 

 

Learn more about IBHS’s public policy efforts:  

IBHS’s Disaster Discussions Podcast 

Explore this episode: From Science to Solutions: Advancing Resilience Through Public Policy and Investments.  


Wind Policy & FORTIFIED  

Building codes set the minimum requirements for how buildings are designed and constructed. IBHS research following disasters like Hurricane Ian shows a clear conclusion: enforced building codes work. They reduce avoidable losses and make homes and communities safer and more resilient.  

Based on decades of research, IBHS’s FORTIFIED™ program is a set of voluntary, beyond-code construction methods that increase a building’s resistance to the effects of high winds, hail, hurricanes and even tornadoes. 

 A 2025 study by the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama showed during Hurricane Sally (2020), FORTIFIED homes outperformed even those built to code near identical to FORTIFIED requirements, highlighting the added storm protection the program and its third-party verification offers to homeowners. 

 

Wildfire Policy & Wildfire Prepared Home  

Between 1980 and 2024, the U.S. experiences 23 separate billion-dollar wildfire disasters— seven since 2018. (This excludes the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which caused an estimated $28–$54 billion in property damages.)  

The Wildfire Prepared Home™ program, developed by IBHS, empowers homeowners to take science-based steps to reduce wildfire risk. It follows a systems-based approach, addressing multiple vulnerabilities rather than a single action. Homeowners who meet the requirements receive a designation certificate, confirming their reduced risk. 

 

Benefits & The Economic Case for Resilience  

Resilient construction breaks the costly cycle of build–damage–rebuild in disaster-prone areas. Programs like FORTIFIED™ and Wildfire Prepared Home™ deliver: 

  • Economic benefits for homeowners and businesses 
  • More stable insurance markets 
  • Stronger, safer, more resilient communities 

RECENT PUBLIC POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS  

See the full list 

  • New FORTIFIED Roof state grant programs in Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maine Minnesota, Mississippi, and Oklahoma totaling more than $100 million in combined state funding will help communities strengthen resilience to severe weather. 
  • New FORTIFIED Multifamily affordable housing incentives are available through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta, and Federal Home Loan Bank Cincinnati.   
  • Wildfire resilience in New Mexico: Beginning in 2025, the state’s Forestry Division will launch a grant program to help homeowners earn a Wildfire Prepared designation. The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance is also developing a grant program for New Mexico FAIR Plan policyholders. 

 

CONTACTS: GET INVOLVED WITH IBHS PUBLIC POLICY EFFORTS