Over the years Louisiana has suffered significant property losses due to severe storms and hurricanes. In order to help homeowners prevent damage and save money on insurance premiums, a grant program has been developed incorporating parts of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety FORTIFIED Roof™ recommendations. The Louisiana Department of Insurance published a news release announcing the start of the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program (LFHP). The program will begin its first round of grants for eligible homeowners on October 2nd, 2023. Homeowners must have a policy with Louisiana’s FAIR plan, the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, to be eligible for this first round.

The first round will consist of 500 grants being awarded to eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. The grants offer up to $10,000 for homeowners to repair or replace their roofs to the FORTIFIED™ Roof standard of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). The standard is based on decades of research by IBHS and is designed to strengthen and protect homes against severe weather such as hail, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

The LFHP has secured enough funding to award around 3,000 grants, with the intended plan of awarding the first half to Citizens policyholders, and the remaining half to all eligible homeowners across the state. The first round of 500 grants will only be given to policyholders of Citizens.

Homeowners must meet eligibility requirements and will be required to pay for costs beyond the amount of the grant. Most primary residences are eligible for the program. New construction homes, condos, and mobile homes are not.

The eligibility requirements are as follows:

  • Homeowners are only eligible for their primary residence and must verify they have a homestead exemption on the property during the application process. 
  • Homeowners must provide proof of an active residential insurance policy with wind coverage. If they live in a Special Flood Hazard Area as designated by FEMA, they must also provide proof of a flood insurance policy.
  • Homes on a foundation constructed of unrestrained stacked masonry or stone (dry-stack foundation) are not eligible without an approved retrofit of the foundation.
  • Duplex and similar structures are eligible if the building is the homeowner’s primary residence and if the homeowner can verify the homestead exemption on the property.
  • Homes must be in good repair as determined by a FORTIFIED™ Evaluator. Homeowners are responsible for paying the evaluation fee, which is typically between $300 and $500.
  • Homeowners who select a Contractor and begin work on the project before receiving approval from the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program will not be eligible for a grant
  • The completed project must meet the FORTIFIED™ Roof standard in order to receive the grant funding.
  • Grant funds are paid directly to contractors. Homeowners are financially responsible for all costs beyond the full grant amount. Grant funding is limited to construction costs.
Even for policyholders who don’t receive a grant, It may be beneficial in the long run to upgrade to a FORTIFIED™ Roof, whether that benefit comes in the form of reduced premiums, or through avoiding substantial losses in the future.

The news release can be found here.

Round 5 of the program has been expanded to include an additional 1,500 applicants who registered back in September. The 1,500 homeowners have been contacted by LFHP staff through email and must complete their application by midnight, Thursday, December 26.

Homeowners interested in future grant rounds can subscribe to email updates on the Department website.

The second round of the program will occur on October 16 at noon, and will consist of 1,000 grants being awarded. The eligibility requirements remain the same. Homeowners are urged to create a profile in the LFHP system before the grant application period opens, as the first round was fully awarded in a speedy 2 minutes.

As with the first round of 500 grants, the second round is also only available to homeowners with a policy with the Louisiana FAIR plan, Citizens. After this round, the remaining 1,500 grants will be available to all eligible homeowners across the state.

The news release for round 2 can be found here.

The next round of the program is set to open on Wednesday, September 18, at 8 a.m. and will close on Friday, September 20, at 5 p.m. Homeowners must register during that period to participate.

This round will be lottery based as opposed to the prior rounds which were on a first-come, first-served basis. After registration closes, 300 applicants will be randomly selected, and 200 more will be placed on a waitlist.

This round is open to residents of the state’s Coastal Zone, which includes: Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne and Vermilion.

So far 1,300 grants have been awarded since the program started, with more rounds to come later in the year. The LFHP may adjust the eligibility requirements for future rounds, including expanding the reach to homeowners statewide.