Do you have a FORTIFIED Gold home? If you are receiving a pretty significant homeowner’s insurance discount, chances are you do. One way to check is calling a FORTIFIED evaluator and asking if your address has an FEH # – if there’s an FEH# associated with the address, there’s a certificate assigned to the property.
If you already knew your house has a Gold FORTIFIED certificate, did you know your property’s certificate is only valid for 5 years before expiring? After that certificate expires, you have to have it renewed or more commonly referred to as “re-designated.” If you don’t get it renewed when it expires, your homeowner’s insurance might skyrocket. Even worse, if you wait too long, your property may risk losing the ability to reinstate the certificate.
Your certificate has an expiration date (currently March of the year your home was finished being built.) You must renew your certificate before March of the following year to maintain your certificate’s validity. If you fail to renew your certificate after the year of expiration, this can be a very costly mistake.
Let’s break this down (using Knockout’s prices):
Gold FORTIFIED Certificate – $1,000
Gold FORTIFIED Homeowner’s Insurance Discount- up to 55%
Gold FORTIFIED Renewal/Re-Designation – $150
Gold FORTIFIED Renewal/Re-Designation (after the expiration date) – $500
Alright, by now you see that renewing the certificate is extremely important. Now it’s time to talk about how to renew your certificate.
After 5 years, call an evaluator! You don’t have to use your initial evaluator. You can always go to https://fortifiedhome.org/directory/ to find a FORTIFIED evaluator who can renew that certificate for you. After that, it’s all up to your evaluator and their team to schedule a time to re-evaluate the home’s exterior, collect documentation, and submit a renewal application to IBHS. Once it’s proven there have been no exterior changes, additions, or repairs made to the home, a new certificate will be issued. You might notice the certificate has changed slightly with the words “Existing” written across it. That indicates the certificate has been renewed without having to replace the roof of the home. Watch the video below to learn everything you need to know about renewing your FORTIFIED certificate.
If you have a Gold FORTIFIED home, we encourage you to keep up with that expiration date and renew it when it comes time. If you have no clue where to start, call Knockout and we can help you!