NEW ORLEANS — In year one of the Louisiana Fortify Homes program, the state spent $10 million of $30 million, according to Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs for the Louisiana Dept. of Insurance, John Ford.
Ford said the state allocated another $15 million for the 2024 fiscal year.
The grant program allows every eligible home to receive up to $10,000. That means the state is on track to provide roughly 4,500 homeowners with new, stronger roofs within the first two years.
Ford said the state is about nine months into the program and 900 roofs are complete.
1,200 to 1,500 people are currently going through the process, which includes an evaluation to determine if your home qualifies before a state-approved contractor installs the roof. You can read more about the structural requirements here.
The previous application rounds were a 'mad rush,' Ford said.
The office is targeting the fall of 2024 to reopen the application again.
“We’re looking at a way moving forward to make that a little more of a fairer process so that folks kind of have every opportunity to be considered," Ford said.
The demand is high. According to Ford, 10,000 to 15,000 people have signed up to receive updates about the program.
“I think we’re going to have our hands full in terms of applications for the next several years if we hopefully receive a continued source of funding like we think we will," Ford said.
A map on the Louisiana Fortify Homes website shows pending grants in yellow and approved grants in blue.
Although the grants are open to anyone in Louisiana, the majority of the dots are in the New Orleans metro.
Ford said the goal is to make homes stronger against storms and prove to insurance companies that Louisiana takes resiliency seriously.
“With the program, we’re trying to help individuals and we’re trying to strengthen the market so that insurance consumers can benefit from that as well," Ford said.
The state also offers tax deductions for homeowners who install a fortified roof.