Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

What Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety does

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific research and communications organization founded in 1979 and headquartered at a 100-acre research facility in Richburg, South Carolina. The organization is funded solely by property insurers and reinsurers through membership dues, supplemented by FORTIFIED and Wildfire Prepared designation fees, and serves the property insurance industry by translating empirical building-performance science into deployable construction standards. Its core technical asset is the Richburg research center, which subjects full-scale structures to realistic wind, wind-driven rain, hail, and controlled-burn conditions, and pairs that experimental data with post-disaster field investigations (notably 250+ property assessments following the 2025 Los Angeles County fires) and peer-reviewed research.

IBHS's product portfolio is organized around two flagship certification programs and an array of supporting research and guidance products. The FORTIFIED family — FORTIFIED Home (Bronze, Silver, Gold), FORTIFIED Commercial, and FORTIFIED Multifamily — defines voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing standards; the program has surpassed 100,000 designations across 31 states and is delivered through a direct designation channel reinforced by a strategic alliance with GAF, whose Master Elite contractors produced one-third of 2025 designations. The Wildfire Prepared program offers three tiers (Home, Home Plus, Neighborhood) expanded in April 2026 from 4 to 14 states covering approximately 4.8 million eligible homes. Supporting products include the IBHS Impact Resistance Test Protocol and Impact-Resistant Shingle Performance Ratings, the Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program Framework (co-published with APCIA), Thunderstorm Ready and Winter Ready guidance programs, Rating the States, the State of the Risk report series, the Disaster Discussions podcast, and member-only online learning.

The operating model combines scientific R&D with program delivery. IBHS serves four primary customer segments: property insurers and reinsurers (members underwriting FORTIFIED/Wildfire Prepared outcomes), homeowners in high-risk areas seeking premium discounts of 10-20% and reduced loss exposure, builders/contractors gaining differentiated certified construction capabilities, and local governments and fire services deploying community wildfire mitigation (via toolkits co-developed with APCIA and partnerships with NFPA, CAL FIRE, and SC Safe Home). Quantified outcomes from peer-reviewed studies — including 55-73% fewer claims for FORTIFIED Homes after Hurricane Sally, 95% water-intrusion reduction from sealed roof decks, and a $4-$11 recovery-cost saving per $1 of mitigation investment — anchor the value proposition and inform insurance underwriting, building codes, and public grant programs such as South Carolina's SC Safe Home and Strengthen Alabama Homes.

Name

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

Legal name

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

Website

https://ibhs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is a nonprofit, insurer-funded research organization that operates a 100-acre structural testing facility and runs the FORTIFIED and Wildfire Prepared construction-certification programs serving homeowners, builders, contractors, and property insurers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Property Risk Research and Disaster Resilience Certification

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Planning & Risk Assessments (BPABANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Natural Disaster Preparedness & Recovery (Storm/Flood/Wildfire) (BPABANAI), Code Compliance, Permitting & Inspections (Rebuild) (HSAPAOAK), Fire Safety, Life Safety & Code Compliance (EDALAEAI)

Keywords

• Disaster resilience research
• Property risk mitigation
• Building performance testing
• Construction certification standards
• Wildfire preparedness programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues from insurers and reinsurers: IBHS is funded solely by property insurers and reinsurers through membership dues. The organization conducts objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses, and communities against natural disasters.
2. FORTIFIED and Wildfire Prepared designation fees: Fees charged for designation applications and certifications through the FORTIFIED Home and Wildfire Prepared programs. These programs verify property compliance with resilience standards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IBHS conducts objective scientific research on property damage from natural disasters and translates the findings into voluntary construction certification programs and resilience standards. Its core offerings are the FORTIFIED family (Home, Commercial, Multifamily) of beyond-code construction and re-roofing designations and the Wildfire Prepared designation program (Home, Home Plus, Neighborhood), supported by proprietary testing protocols and the 100-acre Richburg research center. Revenue is generated through insurer/reinsurer membership dues, certification and designation fees, training, and toolkits for communities and contractors.

Product overview

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) offers a unified portfolio of scientific research-based programs and services focused on disaster-resistant construction standards and property resilience. The core offerings include the FORTIFIED™ family of products (FORTIFIED Home™, FORTIFIED Commercial™, FORTIFIED Multifamily™) — voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing programs with three progressive designation levels — and the Wildfire Prepared program with Home, Home Plus, and Neighborhood designations now expanded to 14 states. Supporting these certification programs are guidance products including Thunderstorm Ready (Residential and Business), Winter Ready Home, and the Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program Framework. IBHS also provides research tools such as the IBHS Impact Resistance Test Protocol for Asphalt Shingles and Impact-Resistant Shingle Performance Ratings, along with educational content through the Disaster Discussions Podcast and Online Learning platform. The Rating the States report and State of the Risk report series provide additional research publications for the property insurance industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FORTIFIED Home: A voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing program designed to strengthen homes against severe weather including hurricanes, high winds, and tornadoes. Offers three progressive levels of protection for single-family homes.
• FORTIFIED Commercial
• FORTIFIED Multifamily
• Wildfire Prepared Home

Products and services

• FORTIFIED Home A voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing program that strengthens homes against severe weather including hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and wind-driven rain. Offers three progressive levels of protection (Bronze, Silver, Gold) for new and existing single-family buildings.
• FORTIFIED Commercial

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% reduction in claim frequency for FORTIFIED Roof homes during Hurricane Sally
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Habitat for Humanity of TuscaloosaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Partnership to install FORTIFIED Roof systems for income-eligible homeowners in West Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Hale, and Greene counties). GAF donates materials and Alliance Roofing provides installation labor.
• Strengthen Alabama HomesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Program administered with Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa providing storm-resilient roofing to eligible homeowners. Part of broader Alabama resilience initiative.
• American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026IBHS and APCIA released a Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program Framework providing practical guidance, standards, assessment resources, and community engagement strategies to help communities implement coordinated wildfire mitigation programs.
• KB HomeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026KB Home partnership created first 'Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood' (Stone Canyon in Cameron Park - 24 homes) and second development (Dixon Trail in Escondido - 64 homes). Developments built in high fire hazard severity zones meeting IBHS fire protection standards.
• South Carolina (SC Safe Home Grant Program)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 February 2026South Carolina's SC Safe Home Grant Program partners with IBHS and FORTIFIED Roof Program to provide grants for hurricane mitigation upgrades including roof retrofits and structural reinforcements. Program offers dual designations and potential insurance benefits.
• PaliBuildsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026PaliBuilds partnered with IBHS to promote disaster-resilient construction standards as lenders and insurers increasingly incorporate resilience requirements. Platform uses AI for contractor bidding and proposal comparison for post-disaster home rebuilding.
• Global Emergency Relief, Recovery & Reconstruction (GER3)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025IBHS and GER3 collaborated to implement wildfire resilience retrofits and designations for over 50 homes in Altadena, California following the Eaton Fire. Program offered risk assessments and home upgrades at no cost to improve community safety and insurance accessibility.
• Headwaters EconomicsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Study by IBHS and Headwaters Economics found that building wildfire-resistant homes in Altadena, California is feasible with additional cost of less than 3% of total construction costs. Report emphasizes safety benefits and insurance advantages.
• GAFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2025GAF, North America's largest roofing manufacturer, established an alliance with IBHS to expand access to FORTIFIED Roofing Program. GAF deploys its CARE (Center for Advancement of Roofing Excellence) training program to train Master Elite contractors on FORTIFIED installation methods. GAF provides compliant products including WeatherWatch, StormGuard, QuickStart, FeltBuster, TigerPaw, Deck-Armor, and Timberline shingles.
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2024NFPA and IBHS signed Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate collaborative efforts to reduce wildfire risk. Organizations will jointly educate stakeholders on latest wildfire guidance and importance of parcel and community-level mitigation.
• CAL FIREcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBHS post-event investigation data combined with CAL FIRE's Damage Inspection Program (DINS) data documenting broad damage across more than 30,000 structures in the 2025 LA County Fires to provide comprehensive analysis of structure loss factors.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/disastersafety
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IBHS_org
• Facebookfacebook.com/disasterprep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-business-&-home-safety
• Instagraminstagram.com/ibhs_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety