NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana regulators are exploring new benchmarks for insurance discounts tied to fortified roofs, a move that could standardize incentives already offered by many insurers as officials look for ways to stabilize the state’s property insurance market.
Insurance companies operating in Louisiana already offer premium discounts for homes that receive the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s FORTIFIED Roof certification, which is designed to help structures better withstand hurricane-force winds. However, the size of those discounts varies widely by insurer.
Benchmark Insurance Discounts
According to reporting by the LSU Manship School News Service, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple is now working with a national group of insurance regulators to establish benchmark discount levels for fortified roofs. The benchmarks would create baseline expectations for insurers, which would be required to meet those targets unless they can demonstrate through actuarial analysis that doing so would be financially unsustainable.
“With over 11,000 Fortified roofs in Louisiana and two years-worth of insurer experience with rating for those roofs in our state, now is an appropriate time for the LDI to establish benchmark discounts for homeowners insurance companies operating in our market,” Temple said. “These benchmarks are being thoughtfully developed to help consumers receive the discounts they deserve for fortifying their homes while making sure insurers know the benchmarks reflect how much Fortified roofs actually mitigate their exposure to risk across Louisiana.”
Temple previously said regulators were considering discounts in the 20% to 30% range on the wind portion of homeowners policies, though the final targets are still under review.
The effort follows several years of voluntary discounts offered by major insurers. State Farm, which maintains offices in the New Orleans area and is Louisiana’s largest homeowners insurer, offers discounts ranging from roughly 19% to 35% on the wind portion of a homeowners policy depending on the property and location.
The policy discussions come as Louisiana continues expanding its fortified roof grant program, which provides $10,000 grants to homeowners to offset the additional cost of installing reinforced roof systems designed to reduce storm damage.
Demand for the program has grown rapidly. Louisiana surpassed 10,000 fortified roofs statewide in 2025, including thousands installed through the state’s grant program launched in 2023, with additional grant rounds typically attracting far more applicants than the roughly 1,000 awards available each cycle.
