With a flashlight in hand and sweat dripping down his face, Ashley Van der Meulen climbed over storage boxes in a scorching hot attic in Metairie methodically checking off a list of questions. What kind of nails are used to fasten down the roof? How far apart are they spaced? Is there a secondary moisture barrier? Van der Meulen is one of two dozen surveyors licensed by the state to conduct wind mitigation inspections – a service that, in some instances, has saved homeowners thousands of dollars on their property insurance.
The inspection, which costs around $300 and takes roughly an hour, identifies aspects of a home’s construction that help reduce losses in the event of a windstorm that an insurer may have overlooked when writing the policy. The end product is a survey form that policyholders can submit to their insurers for potential discounts. “The insurance company has never been to your home,” said Andrew “Trey” Pellegrin, a surveyor with Southern Wind Mitigation. “They assume it’s made out of paper and tape.” “We show them that it’s built to a higher standard,” he said.
Wind mitigation inspections began in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, when the state Legislature passed a law that required admitted insurers to provide discounts to policyholders who upgraded their homes to better withstand hurricanes. For the last decade and a half, the program has largely flown under the radar. But with homeowners facing skyrocketing insurance rates, it’s garnering renewed attention. Among those encouraging residents to get a wind mitigation inspection is the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.
Dan Mills, the group’s chief executive officer, said he got $1,600 shaved off his $8,000 policy with Louisiana Citizens for his home in the Tall Timbers neighborhood as a result of the inspection. “Your bang for the buck on wind mitigation is going to be there,” Mills said. “I recommend everybody get a wind mitigation survey.” Each insurer approaches the discounts differently, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll save money. Jefferson Parish Council member Jennifer Van Vrancken’s insurer, for example, told her she had already been credited for discounts identified by the inspection. She asked for a list of those discounts, but never received them.
Surveyors said they’d like insurers to be more transparent about the kind of discounts they offer. That way homeowners can measure the benefits of upgrading their home. The standard form that surveyors fill out to verify completed storm mitigation measures includes 13 questions, with each question tied to a potential discount. Some insurers, however, only offer discounts for some of the measures. Louisiana Citizens, for example, has its own form, with only seven questions. Pellegrin said the insurer that seems to offer the best discounts is USAA. Still, he said he’d like to get his hands on a “cheat sheet,” showing which insurers offer which discounts.
The wind mitigation discounts are particularly useful for homes that aren’t eligible for a fortified designation, which requires a more rigorous inspection and offers its own discounts. That includes Patty Willhite’s Uptown New Orleans home, which has rafters that are too far apart to qualify for a fortified roof. She put on a new roof, and after turning in her wind mitigation inspection form, saved $1,000 on her $7,000 policy.
Out of the attic and back in the air-conditioning in Metairie, Van der Meulen, owner of Compass Inspection Services, examined a window, as the homeowner, Gavin Langston, looked on. Langston, who works at Fidelity Bank, said they recommend wind mitigation inspections to clients who experience sharp increases in their insurance costs. So, when his own insurance went up 34% last year, he figured, why not try it out for himself. Even if a policyholder doesn’t qualify for discounts, the inspections, which are good for up to five years, can help a homeowner understand the kind of improvements they can make to their home to lower their risk.
“It gives them the benefit of knowing, okay, I’ll need to do at least these two or three things if I want to get a discount in the future,” said Chip Fornaris, a surveyor with J Monroe Home Inspections. In an effort to expand the use of wind mitigation inspections, the Home Builders Association has convened a task force to figure out ways to grow the ranks of inspectors and upgrade the standard form. Mills said the discounts will hopefully offer relief to policyholders in the short-term. And in the long-term, he hopes it will lead to a more resilient housing stock, that may encourage more insurers to return.