New Report from IBHS Evaluates Building Codes in 18 Coastal States

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recently released a new report which provides an analysis of residential building codes in the eighteen hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast (including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island).  “Rating the States: An Assessment of Residential Building Codes and Enforcement Systems for Life Safety and Property Protection in Hurricane Prone Regions” is a state-by-state assessment of individual state performance in developing and promulgating a residential building code system, including the use of modern building codes, coupled with strong enforcement related activities to enhance the protection of homes and families.

The report combines IBHS’ engineering expertise and regulatory research to examine the three main elements of a state’s building code system:

1. code adoption and enforcement,
2. code official training and certification, and
3. licensing requirements for construction trades.

The full report contains:

• information about the value of codes,
• the report’s results in brief,
• an overview of the building code process,
• information about the vulnerability of hurricane-prone states,
• the methodology used to produce the report,
• a state-by-state analysis (Appendix A),
• the specific criteria used to evaluate the states (Appendix B), and
• the codes currently in effect in each state (Appendix C).

To access an overview of the analysis of the individual states, please visit:

IBHS Building Code Ratings (Atlantic and Gulf Coast States)

To access the full report, please visit:

IBHS: Rating the States: An Assessment of Residential Building Codes and Enforcement Systems for Life Safety and Property Protection in Hurricane Prone Regions (31 DEC 11)

Background information:

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety