IBHS Celebrates Professionals Committed to Protecting Homes from Severe Weather

Richburg, S.C., April 29, 2021 – Today, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) announces the recipients of its Sixth Annual FORTIFIED Awards recognizing companies committed to providing services that help customers strengthen their homes against the forces of severe weather.

This year’s honorees are at the forefront of the FORTIFIED program’s exponential growth, with their dedication to resilient construction and roofing resulting in more than 25,000 homes being designated as FORTIFIED. The program’s continued success has helped establish FORTIFIED Home™ as the recognized national standard for stronger, more resilient construction.

“At IBHS, we believe every family deserves a home to come back to after a storm” explains FORTIFIED Managing Director Fred Malik. “By providing various FORTIFIED services, our award winners have helped make that possible for thousands of families, this year alone. The FORTIFIED Awards give us an opportunity to acknowledge the important role each winner plays in the program.”

Based on decades of IBHS research on how to strengthen homes to perform better during severe weather, the FORTIFIED Home program has three key components. The foundation is the FORTIFIED construction standard. This set of voluntary, beyond-code construction improvements enhances a building’s resistance to the effects of high wind and heavy rain. The second key component of the program are the FORTIFIED-trained builders and roofing contractors who put science into action by following the standard as they build or reroof homes. The program’s third component is a verification and audit process that ensures each home conforms to the FORTIFIED standard. Independent, certified FORTIFIED Home evaluators document that key upgrades were completed according to the standard and IBHS auditors review the documentation before issuing a designation.

“Homes with a FORTIFIED designation performed exceptionally well during last year’s record-breaking hurricane season, meaning many coastal families were able to avoid the displacement and financial loss so often resulting from storm damage,” continued Malik. “That success is only possible because companies, like our award-recipients, share the importance of resilient construction and the benefits of the FORTIFIED program with homeowners in their communities every day.”

IBHS is proud to recognize the following builders, roofers and certified FORTIFIED evaluators who put FORTIFIED into action for thousands of families nationwide:

FORTIFIED Pioneer Award Recipients

• Rapid Roofing
• Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa

FORTIFIED Volume Awards (Roofers & Homebuilders)

Crystal Award Recipients (500–999 designations)

• D.R. Horton, Inc. – Mobile/Baldwin County

Spotlight Award Recipients (100–499 designations)

• Truland Homes
• DSLD – Alabama
• Ben Murphy Company
• Foster Contracting
• All Weather Roofing
• JDL Homebuilders Inc.
• 4U Roofing
• Apex Roofing
• SunnBuilders
• Roof Doctors
• Pelican Roofing
• Taylor Made Services
• Lemongrass Construction

FORTIFIED Volume Awards (Certified Home Evaluators) 

Diamond Award Recipients (2500–4999 designations)

• Bethel Engineering, Inc.

Crown Award Recipients (1000–2499 designations)

• Knockout Home Inspections
• Inspections on Demand, Inc.

Crystal Award Recipients (500–999 designations)

• Derek Najdowski (Fortified Inspections LLC)

Spotlight Award Recipients (100–499 designations)

• Disaster Smart Consulting, Inc.
• Golden Rule Home Services LLC
• Affordable Home Inspections, LLC
• Coastal Trim & Accessories
• Gulf Coast Home Inspections Inc.
• Coastal Design Group, LLC