State Insurance Department Plan To Offer Grants To Encourage Oklahomans To Install Storm-Resistant Roofs

The Oklahoma Insurance Department will offer a grant program to encourage people to install storm-resistant roofs. The grants, offered for fortified roof installations, can offset the 10-15% extra cost and will be offered starting in 2025.

The program will require specific steps for the installation, by roofers certified to be part of the program, with an independent inspection before and after the job.

The fortified roof has a waterproof layer under the shingles that helps prevent water leaks even if the shingles are blown off. "In the event the shingles come off, your decking would not be completely exposed to weather, and you wouldn't have water coming inside your home,” said Jarod Lane, with A-Best Roofing, which is a certified Fortified installer.

The upgraded roof can qualify for the state grant and an insurance discount.

In addition to wind resistance, using certain shingles can offer hail resistance as well.

"The fortified wind and hail takes that same technique and puts an impact-resistant shingle on top so it's less likely to get damaged in a hail storm,” said Lane.

The state grants will come from a fund within the State Insurance Department, with a $10 million annual maximum, with the Department estimating the typical grant would be $3,000. 

State Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said the Oklahoma program is modeled after Alabama's program, which was created after repeated losses from hurricanes.