North Carolina Increases Home Insurance Discounts for Stormproofing

North Carolina coastal homeowners will soon be entitled to bigger breaks on their insurance premiums for taking steps to protect their homes against storms.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has ordered a schedule of mitigation credits that will be effective May 1, 2011 on policies written in the voluntary market and the state-backed Beach Plan within the 18 coastal counties.

The dollar credits on wind and hail coverages range from about $50 to more than $450, depending on the house, its location and the fortification level, type of roof and shutters.

The largest credits are for homes that are built in compliance with the Institute for Business and Home Safety Fortified category. IBHS has three additional levels for which a home can be certified for mitigation credits: gold, silver and bronze.

In addition to IBHS standards, there will be credits for homes built or retrofitted with certain mitigation features including engineered window shutters, a hip roof or a combination of both.