Most roofing companies answer this with some version of “many carriers offer a discount.” In Alabama the legislature wrote it into the insurance code, so your carrier does not get to decide whether to offer it.
Key Takeaways
- Alabama Code section 27-31D-2 requires insurers writing wind coverage to discount a certified FORTIFIED home. It’s a requirement, not a courtesy.
- The law doesn’t set the amount. It comes from rates each carrier files and applies to the wind portion of your premium.
- Section 27-31D-2.1 requires insurers to offer an endorsement upgrading your home to the FORTIFIED standard when damage means the roof has to be replaced.
- The discount attaches to the certificate, not to the roof.
Your carrier has to give you the discount
Alabama Code section 27-31D-2 requires insurers writing wind coverage in this state to provide a premium discount or an insurance rate reduction for a home retrofitted to the FORTIFIED standard. It’s been in force since May 2009.
Insurers can go further at their own discretion, adjusting your deductible or applying other credits on top of the discount.
The law sets the requirement, not the number
The size of the discount comes out of each insurer’s own rating plan, which has to be filed with the state and actuarially justified. Different carriers land on different numbers. The adjustment applies to the wind coverage portion of your premium rather than the whole policy, unless your insurer doesn’t separate wind out in its rate filing.
So a roofer who quotes you a percentage is guessing at something they can’t know. Your agent can give you the real figure for your policy. Ask before you commit to the work.
If a storm already took your roof
Alabama Code section 27-31D-2.1 requires insurers to offer an endorsement that upgrades a non-FORTIFIED home to the FORTIFIED standard when the insured suffers damage requiring the roof to be replaced.
A roof lost to a storm can go back on as a FORTIFIED roof instead of a like-for-like replacement. Whether the endorsement is on your policy is a question for your agent. A forced replacement is the cheapest opportunity anybody gets to upgrade a roof, because the deck is coming off regardless.
Ask while the work is still being scoped. Once the shingles are on, the moment has passed.
The certificate is what triggers it
A FORTIFIED roof has to be built to the IBHS standard, photographed at each required stage as it goes on, then verified by a Certified FORTIFIED Evaluator who’s independent of the contractor. Once it passes, IBHS issues the certificate, and that document is what you hand your agent.
This is where jobs come unstuck. If the stage photography isn’t done properly while the roof is going on, the evidence ends up under the shingles and the evaluator can’t verify what they can’t see. We document as we go, because there’s no going back for it later.
Stacking the grant with the discount
The Strengthen Alabama Homes grant pays 100% of the cost of mitigation up to $10,000 to re-roof an owner-occupied single-family primary residence to the FORTIFIED standard, with no income limit. The award may not cover the whole job, and you’re responsible for anything above $10,000.
For a homeowner in a participating county the actual cost looks different from the initial sticker price. A grant covers much of the cost of the roof, and a required discount comes off the wind portion of the premium every year afterward. Mobile and Baldwin counties have been in the program since 2015, and Jefferson, Tuscaloosa and Escambia counties were added in 2025.
Application windows open on a published schedule and funds go first-come. Get your number before a round opens.
Questions for your agent
Ask what discount your policy gives for a certified FORTIFIED roof on the wind portion. Ask whether you have, or can add, the endorsement that upgrades your roof to FORTIFIED if it has to be replaced after damage. And ask what documentation they need from you once the certificate is issued.
Then have somebody tell you what the roof itself would take. Call (251) 725-0036 or book a free roof inspection. We build and certify FORTIFIED roofs across Mobile County, Baldwin County and the Birmingham metro, and you can find us at 3710 Halls Mill Rd in Mobile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need the certificate to get the discount?
Yes. The discount attaches to a certified FORTIFIED home, not to a roof somebody says was built strong. The roof has to be documented at each stage and verified by an independent Certified FORTIFIED Evaluator before IBHS issues the certificate.
Can I get the grant and the discount?
They’re separate programs and they don’t cancel each other out. The Strengthen Alabama Homes grant helps pay for the work, and the discount required under section 27-31D-2 applies afterward because the house is certified.
What if my carrier says they don’t offer it?
Section 27-31D-2 applies to any insurer writing wind coverage in Alabama. Ask your agent to show you how the FORTIFIED adjustment appears in their filed rates for your policy.
Reviewed by Jacob Weaver, Operations Manager, roofing industry experience since 1988.