Written by Big Easy Windows
This article is general information, not insurance or financial advice. Grant terms are set by the Louisiana Department of Insurance, insurance discounts are set through your insurance company, and both can change. Confirm current terms with those sources before you make decisions.
Key Takeaways
- The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program grants up to $10,000 to upgrade a roof to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. The program is built around the roof, not windows.
- Windows enter the picture at the next level. The 2025 FORTIFIED Home standard’s Silver designation for hurricanes requires every glazed opening to be impact-rated or covered by a qualified impact-rated protection system.
- Silver builds on Roof, and Gold builds on both. For Gold, window and door pressure ratings must also meet the design pressures in the standard.
- Louisiana law requires insurers that file rates with the state to offer an actuarially justified discount or credit for FORTIFIED construction, and LDI’s published list of discounts by company covers FORTIFIED Roof only. Ask your agent whether your carrier credits Silver or Gold.
- Big Easy Windows installs impact-rated windows across Slidell and the Northshore. Call (504) 384-8165.
Does the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program Pay for Windows?
Quick Answer: The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program is a roof grant. The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) describes it as helping homeowners strengthen their roofs to better withstand hurricane-force winds, with grants of up to $10,000 to bring a roof up to the FORTIFIED Roof standard set by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). The program page doesn’t describe grant money for windows. Windows matter for Slidell homeowners in a different way: they’re central to the higher FORTIFIED Silver designation, which starts where a FORTIFIED Roof leaves off.
So if you’re asking about the Fortify Homes Program and windows, there are really 2 questions. What does the grant cover, and what would your windows need to do if you ever want more than a FORTIFIED Roof designation? This guide takes them in order.
What Does the Fortify Homes Grant Cover?
According to LDI’s program page, the completed roofing project must meet the FORTIFIED Roof standard for the grant to be issued, and grant funding is limited to construction costs. The page also says the program doesn’t pay homeowners who fortify a roof without first receiving a grant, so starting the work early can cost you eligibility.
LDI lists eligibility requirements that include:
- Only primary residences qualify, and homeowners should be ready to verify a homestead exemption.
- The home needs an active residential insurance policy with wind coverage, plus a flood policy if it’s in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area.
- New construction, condominiums, and mobile homes aren’t eligible.
- Roof patching and partial repairs aren’t eligible. Where a roof covering is replaced, the entire contiguous roof covering has to be replaced.
Grants are awarded in rounds through a lottery registration, and LDI posts a parish eligibility map for the program. Rounds and eligible areas have changed over time, so check LDI’s Fortify Homes page for the current round before you count on a grant.
Where Do Windows Fit in a FORTIFIED Designation?
IBHS’s 2025 FORTIFIED Home standard has 3 designation levels. FORTIFIED Roof comes first. To earn FORTIFIED Silver, a home must first meet the Roof requirements, and FORTIFIED Gold requires both Roof and Silver.
FORTIFIED Silver and Opening Protection
The standard describes Silver as recognition that a home has taken steps, beyond the roof, to reduce other common amplifiers of damage from wind pressure and wind-borne debris. For a hurricane designation, all glazed openings must be protected from impact in one of 2 ways:
- Option 1: the window and door assemblies themselves are impact-rated.
- Option 2: the openings have qualified impact-rated opening protection systems, such as rated shutters.
Entry doors follow the same 2 options, and garage doors must be pressure-rated, with any garage door windows protected from impact as well. The standard notes that for Silver, opening protection systems over windows and doors may be sufficient.
FORTIFIED Gold and Pressure Ratings
Gold asks more of the windows. According to the 2025 standard, a home seeking Gold must also have window and door assemblies whose pressure ratings meet or exceed the design pressures listed in the standard’s tables. Shutters over older windows may satisfy impact protection for Silver, but Gold looks at the rated strength of the window units themselves.
That’s the practical link between Fortify Homes and window planning. A homeowner who fortifies the roof through the grant and later wants Silver or Gold will be looking at the openings next. Our comparison of impact windows vs hurricane shutters covers the 2 paths, and impact-resistant windows explains the always-on option.
Who Certifies a FORTIFIED Home?
Under the 2025 standard, the documentation for a designation must be gathered by and submitted to IBHS by a certified FORTIFIED Home Evaluator, with a narrow exception for certain invited roofing companies on roof work. LDI’s program page adds that FORTIFIED Roof certificates are good for 5 years, and homeowners need to retain an evaluator to reinspect the home to renew the certification.
For windows, that means documentation matters as much as the product. Keep the product approval papers for every impact-rated window or protection system you install, with photos of the labels. An evaluator will need to verify what’s on the house.
How Does FORTIFIED Affect Insurance in Louisiana?
La. R.S. 22:1483 requires insurers that file rates with the state to provide an actuarially justified discount or credit to homeowners who build or retrofit to IBHS’s FORTIFIED standards. LDI has proposed Regulation 136 on FORTIFIED premium discounts; ask LDI for its current status. LDI’s program page says a FORTIFIED Roof certificate can be shared with your insurer for a premium discount and passed to a new owner when the house is sold.
What any discount means on your own policy depends on your company and your coverage. The discount list LDI publishes by company covers FORTIFIED Roof, so a Silver or Gold credit isn’t a given. Ask your agent whether your carrier credits those levels before you plan around a number. Our post on whether impact windows lower home insurance in Louisiana covers the questions to ask about opening protection specifically.
What Should Slidell Homeowners Check First?
Slidell’s exposure is well documented. The National Hurricane Center’s report on Hurricane Katrina found that rising water in Lake Pontchartrain pushed several feet of water into communities along the northeastern shore from Slidell to Mandeville, with a storm surge of 12 to 16 feet in those areas. That history is why wind and flood questions come up together here.
Before you apply for a grant or plan opening protection, work through this list:
- Your paperwork. Confirm your homestead exemption and that your insurance includes wind coverage. If your home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the program also requires a flood policy.
- The current round. Check LDI’s eligibility map and round announcements before starting any roof work.
- Your permit office. Window and shutter work inside Slidell goes through the city’s Building Safety office, while unincorporated addresses go through the parish. Our guide to window permits in St. Tammany Parish covers both.
- The rules for your address. Wind-borne debris requirements follow the design wind speed for your location. Our guide to wind-borne debris window rules explains what that means for openings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a Fortify Homes grant for impact windows?
LDI describes the program as a roof grant, with the completed project required to meet the FORTIFIED Roof standard. Its program page doesn’t describe grant funds for windows. Confirm any change directly with LDI.
Do I need impact windows for FORTIFIED Silver?
Not necessarily. The 2025 standard allows impact-rated window assemblies or qualified impact-rated opening protection systems for a hurricane designation. Gold adds pressure rating requirements for the window and door assemblies.
Will FORTIFIED Silver lower my insurance?
Not automatically. Louisiana law requires rate-filing insurers to offer an actuarially justified discount or credit for FORTIFIED construction, but LDI’s published discount list covers FORTIFIED Roof only. Ask your agent whether your carrier credits Silver or Gold on your policy.
How much do impact windows cost for a Silver upgrade?
It depends on the number and size of openings and the products chosen. Our breakdown of hurricane impact window cost in New Orleans covers the cost drivers.
Plan Your Openings With FORTIFIED in Mind
If you’re thinking past the roof, ask any window company for a quote that names the impact rating for every opening, plus copies of the product approval documents an evaluator will need. Big Easy Windows installs impact-rated windows. See hurricane and storm windows in Slidell and window replacement in Slidell.
Big Easy Windows serves Slidell and the rest of the Northshore. Visit our Slidell service area page, request an estimate online, or call (504) 384-8165.
