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State adds $20 million in federal funds to fortified roof program
The Center Square − Louisiana is adding $20 million in federal disaster recovery money to its fortified roof program, bringing the state’s planned…
By Nolan Mckendry · 2026-09-22T03:45:17.126Z
The Center Square − Louisiana is adding $20 million in federal disaster recovery money to its fortified roof program, bringing the state’s planned investment this year to $100 million as officials try to reduce hurricane losses and the cost of homeowners insurance.
Gov. Jeff Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple announced the expanded funding Monday for the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, which provides homeowners grants of up to $10,000 to retrofit roofs to withstand hurricane force winds.
The latest announcement builds on $80 million that state officials had already lined up earlier this year: $50 million from surplus assessments originally collected to pay Hurricane Katrina and Rita bond debt and another $30 million authorized by lawmakers.
The additional $20 million will come from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster recovery funds and will be directed toward homeowners along the coast.
The $50 million transfer was authorized through legislation Landry signed in May.
“The overall goal is to reduce the financial barriers for families that are seeking to fortify their homes,” Landry said Monday.
The influx represents a significant expansion of a program that has struggled to keep pace with homeowner demand.
Landry said more than 5,500 homeowners have received grants since the program began and roughly 48,000 Louisiana residents have registered for them.
The Legislature created the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program in 2022. Eligible homeowners can receive up to $10,000 toward roofs constructed to standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, which include stronger roof deck attachment, sealed roof decks and other measures intended to prevent wind and water damage.
At the maximum $10,000 grant amount, $100 million would be equivalent to as many as 10,000 grants if all of the money were available solely for homeowner awards.
The program has grown quickly. A March 2025 Louisiana Legislative Auditor report found that the state had allocated $45 million to Fortify Homes during fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Louisiana had just 313 FORTIFIED certifications at the beginning of 2023, but that figure had climbed to 5,413 by February 2025. Most of that growth at the time — about 64% — came from homeowners who obtained fortified certifications without a state grant.
The Department of Insurance said in May that another lottery would make 3,000 grants available. The department currently says lottery registration is closed and additional grant rounds will be announced later.
State officials have increasingly treated roof mitigation as part of a broader strategy for repairing Louisiana’s troubled property insurance market. The theory is that stronger homes produce fewer and less expensive claims after hurricanes, eventually reducing insurers’ losses and reinsurance costs and making Louisiana more attractive to companies.
Landry said Monday that the state’s insurance market is improving after lawmakers enacted dozens of insurance related changes during his administration.
“More insurers are coming to the state, competition’s increasing, and rates are stabilizing,” Landry said. “With this $100 million investment, we will ensure stronger roofs and lower insurance prices.”
State data show signs of improvement, although homeowners have not uniformly seen lower premiums.
The Department of Insurance reported in February that overall insurance rates across all lines declined an average of 0.4% during 2025. Private passenger auto rates fell an average of 5.8%. Homeowners rates, however, continued to increase overall, though at a slower pace than in previous years and with more insurers filing rate reductions.
Results have remained uneven among homeowners carriers in 2026. Through April, Cajun Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange finalized a 10% decrease affecting about 23,800 policyholders, while USAA finalized a 9.2% increase affecting more than 76,000 policyholders, according to the Department of Insurance.
Three additional companies had been licensed to write homeowners coverage in Louisiana during the first four months of the year, bringing the number of newly licensed homeowners insurers since 2024 to 17.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article fc20ed9e e471 4f79 b4dd f71309a3216c.html .