FORTIFIED roof designations will expire after 15 years

FORTIFIED roofs with asphalt shingles — built with beyond-code methods to protect homes against extreme weather — will lose their designation from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) 15 years after installation, according to a late-September announcement. 

What’s happening: The previous standards required FORTIFIED roofs to be inspected every five years to keep their designation and receive potential insurance discounts. But the new IBHS guidance requires a full re-roof once it expires to renew the roof’s designation.

• FORTIFIED standards, once limited to storm-prone regions, are now moving inland, with several new states implementing grant programs and insurance discounts for homeowners, as Homepros previously reported. 
• “It does not establish asphalt shingle service life, determine whether an individual roof is fit for continued use or requires roof replacement at a particular age for any purpose other than FORTIFIED eligibility,” IBHS clarified in a release about the change. 

Why it matters: Southern states stretching from Oklahoma to North Carolina offer steep insurance discounts — some as high as 55 percent — which will expire, potentially discouraging homeowners from purchasing a more expensive FORTIFIED roof. 

• This year, the program surpassed 100,000 FORTIFIED-designated roofs. 
• It was first implemented in 2011 in Alabama, so early adopters in the coastal state will now see their FORTIFIED roofs expire. 

What they’re saying: “This change is based on a growing body of IBHS research, testing, and post-event field observations showing that asphalt shingle roof-cover performance can change as shingles age and weather,” Fred Malik, managing director at FORTIFIED, told Homepros in an email statement.

• “These findings indicate that the probability of asphalt shingle roof-cover damage or loss can be expected to increase over time,” he added. 

Zoom in: The update comes after the IBHS released new research from its Aging Farm, which tests how shingles respond to extreme weather after years of exposure. 

• According to the research, most shingles start to degrade significantly between years five and 10.
• The designation will not impact metal or tile roofs.

Of note: IBHS and its research are backed by the insurance industry. Its members represent 76 percent of the residential property insurance sector, according to its website. 

Looking ahead: States like Texas and Louisiana have recently proposed or awarded large sums of money for FORTIFIED programs. September’s guidance may impact how legislators and homeowners alike think about the future of such grants.