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Audit: Fortified‑roof grants produce net savings for many recipients but gaps remain for low‑income homeowners
Summary
Legislative Auditor briefed the Senate Insurance Committee on a report finding Louisiana's Fortify Homes grant gives many homeowners net economic benefit from fortified roofs, while lawmakers and the commissioner pressed the department on discount consistency and access for lower‑income residents.
Legislative Auditor staff told the Senate Insurance Committee that Louisiana's Fortify Homes grant program (LFHP) yields net economic benefits for many participants, but legislators raised concerns about uneven insurance discounts and access barriers for lower‑income homeowners.
Auditor presentation: what it found
Ed Seiler of the Legislative Auditor's office presented the report and said the program was designed to encourage homeowners to install roofs meeting the Fortified standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). "What is the Louisiana Fortify Homes program? This is a grant ... of up to $10,000 to, a homeowner to put a fortified roof on their home and it's administered by the Louisiana Department of Insurance," Seiler said during the committee briefing. The auditor's team found recipients reported a median annual insurance premium savings of $1,250 (about 22 percent), and a median installed cost of $16,229 before the $10,000 grant. The auditors estimated the 15‑year present value of insurance premium discounts and reduced uninsured losses at $17,879 for the median participant, exceeding the program's median present‑value cost in the study.
Who benefits and where
Seiler emphasized the program has seen rapid growth since 2023 but is concentrated geographically: 82 percent of surveyed participants were in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes. The auditors found fortified roofs are more cost‑effective in coastal and near‑coastal ZIP codes where hurricane exposure is greater and insurers provide larger discounts; in inland ZIP codes the up‑front extra cost often exceeds expected insurance savings. Seiler said the median additional cost solely attributable to Fortified upgrades (beyond a code‑compliant roof replacement) was about $3,248, and the typical evaluator fee ranged $300'$600.
Legislative concerns: discount floor and access for low income homeowners
Sen. Jacky DuPlessis and other legislators pressed the Department of Insurance about cases where grant recipients reported small discounts that made repayment times long: "We're putting state money into this program but not providing a guarantee on a minimum premium discount," DuPlessis said, asking whether the state should require a floor (she mentioned 20 percent) if it funds upgrades. Commissioner Tim Temple responded that discounts are filed by insurers and noted the department posts company discount information online so applicants can check expected discounts before proceeding: "We always encourage everybody, look and see what that discount is before you... don't get in a situation where we've got the grant, we did the roof, we don't like the discount." Temple added he did not want to force a discount floor that would dissuade companies from writing business in Louisiana.
Access barriers for lower‑income homeowners
Sen. Barrow and others highlighted that the LFHP structure (a $10,000 maximum grant with homeowners responsible for overages and evaluator fees) can leave lower‑income homeowners unable to participate. Barrow described constituent cases where homeowners secured awards but could not meet short windows for evaluation, bidding and contractor payments. Commissioner Temple and the auditors said the department is piloting partnerships with nonprofits to
