A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message
to insurers and homeowners n
ationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money.
The first-of-its-kind analysis, released this week, reviews thousands of insur
ance claims linked to Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama’s coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes ret
rofitted or built to Fort
ified standards, a voluntary construction code created by the nonprofit Insur
ance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS) for wind and rain mitigation saw sig
nificantly fewer and less costly claims.
If every impacted house in Mobile and Baldwin counties had met Fortified sta
ndards, insurance companies could have spent 75% less in payouts, saving up to
$112 million, and policyholders could have paid up to 65% less in deducti
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bles, saving almost $35 million, according to the study.
The results show “mitigation works and that we can build things that are resilient to climate change,” said Dr. Lars Powell, director of
the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alab
ama’s Culverhouse School of Business, which led the study
with the Alabama Department of Insurance.
Across the United
States, insurance markets are buckling under the pressure of more frequent and expensive climate events, and federal support is shrinking for resilience projects that could red
ce that damage. Officials and researchers involved with the study say it proves Alabama’s proactive approach to the challenge — manda