Updated resilient construction standards released for 2025
In 2024 through November 1, there were 24 confirmed weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each that have affected the U.S., according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
With these events increasingly in the foreground, The Insurance institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has released the 2025 versions of its FORTIFIED resilient construction standards for home and commercial projects.
The updates of three trademarked standards—FORTIFIED Home™, FORTIFIED Commercial™, and FORTIFIED Multifamily™—align with building codes and design standards. The purpose of the FORTIFIED series, which was first introduced in 2010, is to reduce storm damage by strengthening areas of homes, commercial buildings and multifamily properties that are vulnerable to severe weather events.
In the updated standards, the requirements for a FORTIFIED Roof™ designation in inland areas will be more consistent with those in hurricane-prone areas. All FORTIFIED roof decks will now have the tighter nailing pattern, and all roof-mounted vents will have to meet testing standards showing they prevent wind-driven rain from entering a building. These requirements will increase performance of residential and commercial structures as well as reduce the risk of damage from severe convective storms, including derechos, tornadoes and straight-line winds.
The 2025 FORTIFIED Home standard requires that roofs be installed by certified FORTIFIED roofing contractors.
Additional notable changes include a requirement that steep-roofed structures with asphalt shingles must use a product rated as “Excellent” or “Good” on the IBHS Impact-Resistant Shingle Performance Ratings to be eligible for the hail supplement to a FORTIFIED designation. This requirement, which is optional, provides property owners with confidence their roof can withstand hail up to two inches in diameter. Prior versions of the FORTIFIED standard allowed the use of asphalt shingles with a UL 2218 Class 4 impact rating, if they had not been tested by IBHS. The IBHS protocol uses manufactured hail to test shingles under more realistic conditions than traditional testing.
Standards integrate latest building science
Many of this year’s other updates relate to changes in American Society of Civil Engineers’ ASCE 7, which FORTIFIED and most building codes use to set minimum design load requirements. The 2025 FORTIFIED standards also incorporate clarifying language or amendments issued through FORTIFIED technical bulletins since the current versions were released.
“Our FORTIFIED team works to integrate the latest research conducted by IBHS and other industry experts, like ASCE, into our building standards,” said Chuck Miccolis, managing director of commercial lines at IBHS, in a prepared statement. “Staying on the leading edge and making the best mitigation strategies available to property owners and contractors across the country is key to our mission to reduce avoidable losses caused by severe weather.”
Contractors seeking a FORTIFIED Home designation can begin implementing the new standard on January 1, 2025, and compliance will be required by November 1, 2025. The transition period allows contractors and evaluators, who document compliance on each FORTIFIED project, to prepare for the new requirements. Because of the lead time involved in projects, developers seeking a FORTIFIED Commercial or FORTIFIED Multifamily designation will be required to meet the updated standard if their application is dated after January 1, 2025.
As of this month, approximately 70,000 properties across 31 states have been built or re-roofed using FORTIFIED, including 15,000 buildings this year so far.
