What is Windstorm Mitigation?
Windstorm mitigation is especially important to homeowners. Mitigate means to make something less serious or less severe. So windstorm mitigation is simply lessening or minimizing the effects of windstorms on our homes.
Having features on your home to protect against hurricanes and other windstorms can lower your insurance premiums. Things like impact-resistant doors and windows, storm shutters, hurricane straps, or clips connecting your roof trusses to the walls are all examples of mitigation features.
Here are some others that you might not think of automatically:
- How the roof decking is nailed to the trusses
- Waterproof materials to keep water from leaking into the attic
- Approved roof coverings (shingles, tiles, metal)
- The shape of your roof
Some of these can be added to your home now, but others may have to wait until you reroof your house. Newer homes may already have some of these features due to updated building codes. In that case, credits are usually applied automatically for those features.