Want to fortify your roof against hurricanes? Louisiana grant program begins on Oct. 2

Starting Oct. 2, the roughly 132,000 people who have homeowners policies through Louisiana's insurer of last resort will be eligible to apply for $10,000 grants to strengthen their roofs, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced Wednesday.

The hope is that the "fortified" roofs will lower the current risk being assumed by Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., while also encouraging private insurers to take on more policies from Citizens.

Donelon's office has been struggling to trim Citizens' rolls, which swelled after a series of hurricanes hit the state in 2020 and 2021, followed by the collapse of about a dozen insurance companies that wrote business in Louisiana. While there have been no new company failures in recent months, many insurers have been reluctant to take on new business in Louisiana.

Only 500 grants will be given away in the first round of funding, Insurance Department officials said. They expect that nearly every grant will be for the maximum amount of $10,000, because strengthening a typical roof usually costs more than that.

In total, the Legislature has set aside $30 million for the program this year, meaning it could benefit about 3,000 policyholders.

Half of the money will be set aside for Citizens policy holders, according to a Donelon spokesperson. Not surprisingly, Citizens customers are clustered in Louisiana's coastal communities, and especially in heavily populated areas of southeastern Louisiana. More than half live in one of three parishes: Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany.

The second half will go to non-Citizens policyholders in later rounds. The department's first priority is to get people off Citizens' rolls, and reducing their risk seemed like a good way to accomplish that, the spokesperson said.

Those who intend to apply on Oct. 2 need to create an electronic profile with the Department of Insurance ahead of time, officials said. They can do so at www.ldi.la.gov/fortifyhomes. The application window will open at noon on Oct. 2, and department officials expect the grants will go quickly.

Those who are approved for grants through the program, officially known as the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, do not receive the money directly. The money is paid directly to the contractor who does the work; contractors must be approved and trained in the program to participate.

A roof need not be replaced completely to be fortified, Donelon said, but the process is involved and it's simpler to do when a roof is being replaced. The process aims to make roofs more windproof by using stronger "ring-shank" nails, and more waterproof by requiring that the roof decking be covered with an impermeable material before shingles are added.

Certified builders install the roofs, and their work is verified by a third party. At the end of the process, homeowners receive a certificate that insurers accept in exchange for a discount.

There are a host of rules governing eligibility for the program which are available at www.ldi.la.gov/fortifyhomes.

The program is based on a similar one pioneered by the state of Alabama a decade ago that has been credited with reducing insurance rates in coastal counties. There, more than 35,000 homes have been built or upgraded to the "fortified" standard.

The idea is that "if your shingles blow off, the water won't penetrate," Donelon said.