IBHS Helps
Advance
Federal
Windstorm
Research
Funding and
Property
Mitigation
Efforts
The Insurance Institute for Business &
Home Safety (IBHS) is the insurance
industry’s only organization dedicated
entirely to property loss mitigation. As a
501(c)(3) non-profit group, the Institute
does not lobby; however, IBHS provides
extensive technical counsel and expertise
on building science research and
property mitigation issues in the public
policy arena. This work advances IBHS’
ultimate goal of helping to create safer,
stronger communities.
A good example of this technical work
is IBHS’ support of a robust national
advocacy coalition known as BuildStrong,
which has been built around IBHS
research; the coalition is advancing
federal legislation (H.R. 1878/S. 924)
providing incentives for states that enact
and enforce a modern statewide building
code.
IBHS’ work in this area also was on display
during a recent congressional hearing
about the need for more wind mitigation
research in the U.S. IBHS General Counsel
and Senior Vice President of Public Policy
Debra Ballen testified in support of the
National Windstorm Impact Reduction
Program (NWIRP), H.R. 1786, during a June
5 joint hearing of the U.S. House Science,
Space, and Technology Subcommittees
on
Research
and
Technology. IBHS and
its members long h ave
strongly
supported
windstorm research and development
of cost-effective mitigation measures to
reduce wind-related losses; this hearing
provided a high-profile opportunity
to support NWIRP, and the need for
coordinated, federally funded windstorm
research.
In her testimony, Ballen noted that
IBHS “recognizes that our research and
guidance must be corroborated and
expanded on by others in order to gain
broader acceptance in the marketplace.”
Ballen also proposed areas of research
where NWIRP should focus its efforts, all of
which closely mirror IBHS’ activities: better
understanding of windstorm events and
their effect on the built environment;
improved building codes and mitigation
tools to more effectively assess design
and mitigation improvements; and, a
review of current test methods, standards
and tools to ensure that high-wind rated
products perform as expected in actual
events.
IBHS leveraged another occasion to
advance stronger mitigation efforts at
the national, state and community-level
when it submitted comments June 21
to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in
response to its call for comments as part
of its “Study on National Catastrophes
and Insurance” – which
is part of the FIO’s
upcoming BiggertWaters
Flood
Insurance Reform
Act Report to
Congress.
In these comments, IBHS asserted that
effective mitigation can be affordable and
cost-effective to property owners. Several
examples of research conducted by IBHS
were provided, each demonstrating that
relatively inexpensive improvements to
a building, such as sealing the roof deck
and creating a continuous load path, can
greatly reduce weather-related damage.
IBHS also highlighted the importance of
strong, well-enforced building codes in
reducing property losses, and noted the
cycle of vulnerability and destruction
that is created when post-disaster
construction of homes, businesses and
public buildings occurs in areas where
there are known natural hazards, or a
pattern of historical losses. In addition,
IBHS’ first-of-its-kind “Rating
the
States” building code report was cited,
highlighting specific recommendations
for coastal states that would improve
their building code regimes.
Other IBHS priorities noted in the
comments included the importance of
validating the bases of future mitigation
incentive programs, along the lines of
the third-party quality control currently
required by IBHS’ Fortified HomeTM
program. This type of third-party
validation ensures that any structural
improvements are correctly completed
to provide a real reduction of risk.
IBHS will continue to serve as a
technical resource on building
science research and property
mitigation issues in the public
policy arena to advance the
goal of strengthening homes,
businesses and communities
against natural disasters and
other causes of loss.
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THE TESTIMONY
Disaster Safety Review | 2013
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