FORTIFIED Roof vs Silver vs Gold in Louisiana: What Each Level Requires

By Acadiana Roof Restoration LLC | Scott, LA | Veteran-Owned | Louisiana's First 5-Star Roof Maxx Dealer | FORTIFIED Certified

The Louisiana Department of Insurance says insurers must implement the state's new FORTIFIED premium discounts no later than January 1, 2027. That makes a practical question urgent for anyone shopping for a new roof: is FORTIFIED Roof enough, or is Silver or Gold worth planning for? The answer depends on what your house needs, not on which badge sounds best.

The Three Levels in Plain English

Each level includes everything in the level below it. The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) describes FORTIFIED Roof as stronger connections that hold the roof to the house. FORTIFIED Silver adds protection for vulnerable components that are often overlooked. FORTIFIED Gold requires the home's entire structure to be tied together. All three are designations from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), and all three depend on an independent Evaluator documenting the work. Our designation certificate guide explains who issues the paperwork.

What FORTIFIED Roof Requires

This is the level a re-roof can deliver on its own. According to the LSU AgCenter, it includes a sealed roof deck, more nails in the plywood decking using ring-shank nails, locked-down roof edges with a drip edge nailed at tighter spacing, wind-uplift resistance, roof and attic vents, and a system to manage wind-driven rain. Our FORTIFIED roofing page and guide to what a FORTIFIED roof is cover the roofing work itself.

What Silver Adds

Silver includes all of the Roof requirements and then goes beyond the roof. The LSU AgCenter lists impact protection for windows and doors, an impact- and pressure-rated garage door, gable end bracing, anchored attached structures such as porches and carports, chimney bracing, and reinforced soffits. Most of that is not roofing work. Before you choose Silver, ask who will handle the windows, doors, and garage door, and what happens if the Evaluator cannot document them.

What Gold Adds

Gold includes Roof and Silver and adds a continuous load path, according to IBHS: an engineered chain of connections that ties the roof to the walls, the walls together from story to story, and the walls to the foundation. That is structural work, a different scale of project than a re-roof. Ask an Evaluator whether your specific home can qualify before you plan around it.

What the Levels Are Worth to Insurers

The LDI publishes hurricane-portion benchmark discounts by zone. In the South zone they are 29 percent for FORTIFIED Roof, 43 percent for Silver, and 49 percent for Gold. The Central and North zones are lower, and zones are set by parish, so check the LDI benchmark page for yours. These discounts apply only to the hurricane portion of the premium, not the whole policy. A bigger percentage is not automatically a better deal, because Silver and Gold cost more to build. Our Regulation 136 guide and FORTIFIED insurance discount page show how the pieces fit.

How to Choose a Level

  1. Ask your insurance agent how the FORTIFIED discount will apply to the hurricane portion of your own policy.
  2. Ask an Evaluator what your house would need for Roof, Silver, and Gold.
  3. Get separate line-item bids for each level you are considering.
  4. Confirm your installer holds the IBHS credential, as our certified contractor guide explains, and put delivery of the designation certificate in the contract.
  5. Decide before the roof goes on, because the Evaluator documents the construction while it happens.

Get a Free Roof Assessment

We will tell you plainly what a FORTIFIED Roof designation would involve at your address and what else the house may need for the higher levels. Our roof inspection service documents your roof's condition in photos and writing, and our FORTIFIED contractor page shows our credentials. Lafayette 337-999-ROOF (337-999-7663). Baton Rouge 225-385-ROOF (225-385-7663).

Acadiana Roof Restoration LLC | Scott, LA | aroofrestore.com
FORTIFIED Certified | Louisiana's First 5-Star Roof Maxx Dealer | BBB A+ | Veteran-Owned | Serving Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and surrounding parishes