Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is a non-profit scientific research and communications organisation supported by the property-casualty insurance industry in the United States. It was formed in 1977 under the name National Committee on Property Insurance. Its website is ibhs.org.

Research Center

In 2010 IBHS opened its Research Center in Chester County, South Carolina. The facility contains a large test chamber where full-scale buildings can be exposed to simulated hurricane-force winds, wind-driven rain, hail and wildfire embers. Much of the research focuses on roofs, because roof damage is one of the main causes of insured losses in severe weather.

Typical research areas include:

• Wind. How roof coverings, roof edges and roof deck attachment fail in high winds, and how sealing the roof deck reduces water entry if the covering is lost.
• Hail. Hail impact resistance of shingles, metal, tile and other materials, including the development of tests that use realistic ice hailstones.
• Wildfire. How embers ignite roof coverings, gutters and vents.

FORTIFIED program

IBHS runs FORTIFIED, a voluntary construction and re-roofing standard for homes and commercial buildings in high-wind and hail-prone areas. It has three levels: FORTIFIED Roof, FORTIFIED Silver and FORTIFIED Gold. Requirements for the Roof level include:

• a wider drip edge and a fully adhered starter strip at the roof edges;
• a sealed roof deck, so that water cannot enter through deck joints if the roof covering is torn off;
• ring-shank nails in an enhanced nailing pattern for the deck;
• roof coverings tested and rated for wind; for asphalt shingles, ASTM D3161 Class F or ASTM D7158 Class H.

Third-party evaluators verify the work and the home receives a designation. Some U.S. states and insurers offer incentives or premium discounts for FORTIFIED homes.

Context

IBHS research is used by building code bodies, insurers and manufacturers. Its findings complement work by other research bodies such as FM (formerly FM Global) for commercial property, and national building research institutes in other countries.