IBHS News Release
First Fortified Homes in South Carolina Under Construction;
Insurer Announces Discounts
Contact: Wendy Rose (813) 675-1045 / (813) 486-8365
wrose@ibhs.org
Date: 11/18/2005
Myrtle Beach, SC - The first Fortified…for safer living®
homes in South Carolina are under construction, and the largest domestic
property and casualty insurer in the state is offering an insurance discount on
homes built to the disaster-resistant standard.
Fortified…for safer living® is a national
new-home construction designation program of the Institute for Business &
Home Safety (IBHS), a national nonprofit initiative of the insurance industry.
Fortified techniques and construction
materials raise a home’s overall disaster resistance above the minimum
requirement of building codes. Extra attention is given to areas especially
vulnerable to disasters, including door and window openings, roof construction,
the foundation and even landscaping. Fortified home buyers and
their builders may choose from a package of affordable upgrade options based on
the home’s location. Depending on the options selected, building to the Fortified
standard adds roughly 3 to 10 percent to the total cost of a moderately priced
home.
An independent inspector, trained by IBHS, verifies that Fortified
features have been built into the home. The Fortified designation
is registered with IBHS and remains with the structure indefinitely (unless
major modifications are made).
Fortified upgrades not only offer homeowners
a home that exceeds state building codes. According to Susan Merrill,
spokesperson for South Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, "We
recognize the importance of owning a Fortified home in a
coastal area and offer a discount to policyholders whose homes are built to the
stringent Fortified standards." Homes must also meet all other
policyholder eligibility requirements.
Classic Home Building & Design, Inc. is building homes in
the Myrtle Beach subdivision of Grande Dunes to the Fortified criteria
for South Carolina. This will result in a greater resistance to high winds and
earthquakes, the state’s two greatest natural threats.
Classic Home Building is putting PGT® WinGuard®
impact-resistant windows and doors in these homes. WinGuard's heavy-duty frames
and standard laminated insulating glass offer maximum energy-efficiency and a
special silicone glazing process keeps the glass from breaking away from the
frame. Although the glass may crack on impact, a polyvinyl interlayer keeps
wind out – which is key to keeping a structure intact and protecting the home’s
contents from damage.
Though the Fortified standard can be applied
to any form of construction, Classic Home Building is using Insulated Concrete
Form (ICF) construction provided by AMVIC Building System with FormLockTM
technology. Blocks of expanded polystyrene (EPS) are filled with concrete and
form the outside walls of the house, which also makes the home energy
efficient.
The Fortified…for safer living® program
kicked off in October 2000 with three homes in west central Florida. Now the
program has expanded to more than thirty homes in six states: Florida, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana and New Jersey, with
other projects underway.
For more information on the Fortified…for safer living®
program,
Click Here.
The IBHS mission is to reduce deaths, injuries, property
damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters.
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