Fortify your home to save on insurance

Insurance companies are offering discounts on homes built or retrofitted to certain tornado-resilient standards since a law went into effect April 1 requiring them, according to the Oklahoma Insurance Department.

Numerous companies have notified the department of their premium rate discount, Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said.

“Homeowners will see the advantage of having a stronger home with more affordable insurance rates, higher resale value and can withstand up to an EF2 tornado,” he said.

The law, passed last year, requires insurance companies’ savings to be passed on to consumers. Homeowners who retrofit or build a new home to certain specified standards are entitled to a discount because of the more resilient construction.

The recalculated premiums are based on insurance companies’ own actuarial analysis.

The law does not mandate building codes or standards. It uses the Fortified construction standards set by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety in Tampa, Florida. For more information on the standards, go to disastersafety.org/ fortified.

Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity brought the program to Oklahoma in a big way last year by starting to build all of its homes to the higher standards.

The Fortified Homes program can retrofit an existing home or be built into a new one. It offers three tiers, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

At the Bronze level, a home’s roof and vents are engineered to minimize the effects of rain and high winds. The Silver level addresses the windows and doors as well as the roof.

The Gold Standard adds straps, brackets and other specialized hardware to connect floor, walls and roof together to create one system, keeping the whole structure intact under stress from high winds, hail and hurricanes.

Seventeen insurance companies notified the Insurance Department that they are offering a discount. Others will also be offering the discount because the two advisory organizations to which they subscribe, the American Association of Insurance Services and the Insurance Services Office, have filed discounts with the department, Doak said.

The 17 companies are:

• Trinity Universal.

• Travelers Commercial.

• The Travelers Home and Marine.

• State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.

• QBE Insurance Corp.

• Pharmacists Mutual.

• National Security Fire & Casualty Co.

• Nationwide Mutual Fire.

• Metropolitan Property and Casualty.

• Insurance Services Office.

• IDS Property Casualty.

• Goodville Mutual Casualty Co.

• Employers Mutual Casualty Co.

• Economy Premier Assurance Co.

• Armed Forces Insurance Exchange.

• Amica Mutual.

• American Association of Insurance Services.

To find out if your insurance company offers the tornado-resilient discount, call your agent.