Let’s face it: The truth is hurricane-prone areas are eye-candy to insurance providers because the potential for business is high. However, insurance is not an easy or pleasant topic for many consumers, and when money is tight, one of the first items to be cut from the budget is insurance coverage.
Insurance providers are willing to offer a reasonable insurance premium package if there are moves taken by the policy holder to add additional protection especially for property. These include hurricane shutters and storm windows.
They have what is called “wind mitigation discounts” which is used to discount premiums so the homeowner can enjoy huge savings. In addition to these discounts, insurance providers are also authorized to offer more discounts if they see the home to be wind resistant.
A home is wind resistant when:

  • You have a reinforced garage door, front door and windows. These are the vulnerable spots of a structure and once compromised, the structure is at risk of further damage. Sometimes, all that is needed are braces but you should consult with a professional
  • Your roof has hurricane clips that hold it down when there are strong winds
  • Your house is tied down with additional bolts to the base or foundation
  • Improving roof deck strength and other similar permanent attachments
  • Reinforcing the wall to roof connections

While these changes may cost you initially, in all cases, they are one-time investments. If done right, you will not have further major problems and get to improve the value of the property by a considerable percentage.
According to insurance experts, any opening protection refers to all exterior openings from windows, garage doors, and even skylights. As the weakest points, these openings are assigned impact ratios by insurance companies. In short, they have whittled it down to exact measurements. For instance, they consider a door impact resistant only if it can withstand the impact of debris weighing over 9 pounds traveling at a speed of 34 miles per hour. Window shutters also have similar impact approval ratings although insurance companies generally defer to the certifications or name of the shutter company to verify the quality of the storm shutters. The same applies to all glass structures: they must have their stamped certifications to prove their ratings.
Interestingly, many insurance companies will not be happy to see horizontal braces on doors and windows. To them, these types of protection do not qualify as impact protection so you cannot expect to get a discount for installing these.