Hurricane Sally Case Study

Hurricane Sally provided the first real-world test of IBHS FORTIFIED homes at scale, involving more than 40,000 insured properties in coastal Alabama. The analysis found that homes built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED Roof or Gold standards suffered less damage than conventional construction—showing

• 55–74% fewer claims,

• 14–40% lower claim severity, and

• 51–72% lower loss ratios, depending on the comparison method.

When tree-fall claims were removed, and homes were matched geographically to control for wind and rain exposure, FORTIFIED homes showed even stronger performance. The study concluded that widespread adoption of FORTIFIED construction could have reduced overall hurricane losses by 66–75%, saving tens of millions for insurers and homeowners while improving resilience in future storms.