Disaster Safety Blog

Learn more about the risks and benefits of "green" construction

The concept of going "green" has gone mainstream - from how Americans choose household products to the ways in which they remodel their homes. Still, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recognizes many questions remain about how going "green" can change the ability of a house or business to standup against damaging natural and manmade disasters. The reality is, no matter how "green" a building may bem, if it ends up as debris in a landfill it has done little to protect the environment.

The theme for this year's IBHS Annual Conference on Property Loss Reduction is Going Green and Building Strong. The conference presenters will explore the risks and benefits of building and remodeling using green products. IBHS Senior Vice President of Research and Chief Engineer Tim Reinhold talks about these challenges and what more to expect from the conference in the Take Five section of www.climateandinsurance.org.

The IBHS conference is Dec. 1 & 2 in Palm Harbor, Fla. Register today and view the full agenda.

IBHS' Annual Conference is Less than One Month Away; Register Now

The Institute for Business & Home Safety’s Annual Conference is less than a month away. Please join us for Going Green and Building Strong, Dec. 1 & 2 at the beautiful Innisbrook Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla.

The environmental movement is changing the landscape of risk for property insurers and reinsurers as more commercial and residential buildings are built to green standards. Having a conversation with an expert can help identify the challenges that lie ahead. 

Dr. John F. Straube, a professional engineer and a leader in the field of green building science, will help identify the challenges that lie ahead as he delivers the keynote address.  The creation of energy-efficient, healthy, durable and sustainable building designs is the general theme of Dr. Straube’s research, which is often supported by advanced computer simulation, laboratory testing and full-scale natural exposure performance monitoring.

Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to learn about IBHS’ signature Fortified…for safer
living® program, roofing risks facing commercial insurers, the new International Residential Code fire sprinkler requirement, how leading reinsurers are responding to climate change and the impact of the U.S. Green building Council’s LEED program on property losses. View the agenda.

IBHS is offering a superior conference agenda this year at 2008 rates.

Members  $450

Non-Members $500

Gov’t/Academic $470

This year IBHS is also offering an additional way to save some green. If five or more registrants from the same company attend the IBHS Annual Conference, IBHS will issue a reimbursement credit to each person registered making the rate only $250 per person. Don’t wait, register today.

New to the Annual Conference, IBHS is featuring its first-ever networking dinner on the evening of Dec. 1st. Dinner guests will be chauffeured by tram to several scenic venues within the Innisbrook property to enjoy three delicious courses of Floridian flare. This opportunity is available for all conference attendees for an additional $75. Register now.

As an added benefit to conference attendees, IBHS has negotiated unbelievable rates at all four legendary golf courses located at Innisbrook, including the top-rated Copperhead which hosts the world’s finest players when the PGA Tour visits each March. Schedule a tee-time by calling 727-942-5220.

Conference attendees can also indulge in a wide array of spa services at the 14,000 square foot Indaba Spa at Innisbrook while taking advantage of 15 percent off all services including massage, body and skin care treatments, nail services and makeup artistry. Schedule a spa service by calling 727-942-5258.

Don’t miss this opportunity to become better informed about the insurance challenges that accompany the going green building trend while taking advantage of this world-class facility.

IBHS Reminds Businesses to Maintain Level of Preparedness for Possible Flu Pandemic

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today issued a reminder to businesses and nonprofit organizations to examine their ability to operate in the event of a flu pandemic. The IBHS reminder comes on the heels of President Obama’s Oct. 25 declaration of swine flu as a national emergency.

The president’s declaration will help doctors and health care providers to more quickly respond if the number of flu cases continues to rise quickly. IBHS recommends specifically that preparations should be made for possible closures or other operational impacts a pandemic could have.

“Early preparation and follow-up reviews of specific risks along with planning well in advance of any potentially disruptive emergency is essential to ensuring continuation of business operations for companies of all sizes,” said IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman. “IBHS has learned firsthand that the effects of most catastrophes can be managed using thorough, specific advance action plans that include having appropriate policies, resources and contingencies in place.”

IBHS recommends the following five steps for pandemic preparedness:

1. Determine when to curtail employee travel – domestically and internationally.
2. Develop business continuity policies that provide work-at-home options.
3. Evaluate and adapt sick-leave policies to accommodate employees with swine flu as well as those
    employees needing to care for sick relatives. Such employees might need to be on leave longer than the
    current policy allows.
4. Consider the impact a shutdown of public transportation or the loss of basic utilities would have.
5. Pre-determine the point at which the organization would need to close its doors.

IBHS has created a self-assessment tool for business owners and managers to help them rate their readiness for a flu pandemic by answering nine basic questions.

This tool was adapted from the IBHS Open for Business® planning and preparedness program and its suite of free resources. For more information visit the IBHS Web site at: www.DisasterSafety.org.

People are talking...

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) took a major step forward yesterday in its long march toward making homes, businesses, and agricultural buildings safer from natural disasters.

The official groundbreaking for the IBHS Research Center means engineers are just that much closer to being able to subject full-scale buildings to the forces of Mother Nature. Their work will eventually lead to a greater public understanding of what it takes to hold houses and commercial buildings together in high winds, prevent them from being destroyed by wildfires, and enable them to stand up to damaging hail storms. The ultimate goal is to create more resilient communities that will survive natural disasters with fewer economic and personal losses.

Check out what other's are saying about IBHS and its efforts:

WSOCT-TV - Ground Broken On Chester Co. Facility That Will Test Strength Of Houses

WMBF-TV - More Fortified Homes Being Built in Grand Strand 

WCNC-TV - Construction Begins on Chester Research Facility

WPDE-TV - Building Hurricane-resistant Homes

St. Petersburg Times - Tampa Institute Builds Cluster of Hurricane-resistant Buildings 

South Carolina Radio Network - Unique Weather Testing Facility Planned for Chester County

Carolina Live - Groundbreaking held for disaster lab

IBHS breaks ground for state-of-the-art research facility

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today officially broke ground for its disaster safety Research Center in Chester County, S.C.
 
Unique in all the world, this lab will have the ability to subject full-sized, 2,000 square foot, one- and  two-story homes, light commercial construction and agricultural buildings to a variety of hazards, including realistic Category 3 hurricanes, wind-blown fire (mimicking wildfire embers), and hailstorms.

IBHS has installed a Web camera at the construction site, which takes photos every 15 minutes and provides time lapse capabilities to see the progress of the facility’s construction over time. View the latest photos.

 The primary purpose of this $40 million multi-peril research facility – funded entirely by property insurance companies, reinsurers and brokers – is to identify effective methods of minimizing risk and loss to homes, businesses, and communities resulting from natural disasters.

“When finished next year, this research facility will effectively represent a quantum leap forward for building science,” notes Julie Rochman, IBHS President and CEO. “IBHS will be able to meticulously recreate a variety of natural catastrophes in a very controlled, repeatable environment. This will allow us to identify and evaluate various building material and construction techniques and systems in ways that have only been dreamed of by scientists, public policymakers and industry for many years.”

Rochman said that construction of this research center is extremely complex, yet the assembled team of professionals is on track to complete construction by spring 2010. “Keeping high winds, water, fire and hail out of homes and businesses is our goal as an organization – managing high winds, water, fire and hail in a laboratory setting presents a whole different set of challenges. We are proud to be associated with Odell Associates (architect), Walter P. Moore (structural engineers), United Engineering Group (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), and Holder Construction (general contractor) for this historic undertaking.”

In addition, Rochman stated, all of IBHS research will be made publicly available, so that consumers and builders will know which products and systems provide the best protection against wind, water, fire and hail. This will be done both by creation of written reports, and via high-speed, high-definition video of the tests that will be shared with media and on the Web.

IBHS has been a leader in using building science to develop real-world approaches to reduce the risks posed by natural disasters and other perils. Events in recent years, including tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires, have given IBHS researchers opportunities for field work, during which they have learned much about how to better engineer structures against certain risks. There remain, however, knowledge gaps that can be filled only with testing in controlled environments, which the new research center will provide.

Founding insurance companies and organizations that have made this new facility possible through their financial contributions include:

Alfa Insurance, Allstate Insurance Company, American Agricultural Insurance Company, American Family Insurance, American Insurance Association, Amica Insurance, Andover Companies, AAA-The Auto Club Group, AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, Auto-Owners Insurance Company, Bankers Insurance Group, COUNTRY Financial, Enumclaw Insurance Group, Erie Insurance, Farm Bureau Mutual Group, Farmers Insurance Group, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Group, Gen Re, Guy Carpenter, The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, HomeWise, Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club, IPCRe Limited, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, The Main Street America Group, MetLife Auto & Home, Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, Munich Re, Munich Re America, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Nationwide Insurance, Norfolk & Dedham Group, OneBeacon Insurance Group, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Quincy Mutual, RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation, South Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, South Carolina Wind & Hail Underwriting Association, State Farm Insurance Companies, Swiss Re, Travelers, USAA, Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance.

Video profiles homes that survived Hurricane Ike

Readers of this blog may be familiar with the story of how Hurricane Ike tested homes in Texas that were built to the Institute for Business & Home Safety's Fortified...for safer living® standards. But words alone cannot describe just how well these homes performed, it's something that must be seen to be fully appreciated. The Weather Channel takes viewers to Audubon Village on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas to get an upclose view of these houses and the builders responsible for producing the state's first disaster-resistant community.

Article details best practices for building in storm surge-prone areas

 A new article details how 10 homes that remained standing in Texas with little damage after Hurricane Ike, amid the rubble left behind on the Bolivar Peninsula, serve as valuable reminders of how making the right choices for construction techniques and interior finishes in coastal zones can pay off.  Read "The Long Recovery Road" in Walls & Ceilings.

About 200 homes once graced the narrow coastlines of the Bolivar Peninsula, but fewer than a dozen were left after the powerful hurricane blew through in September 2008. Of those, only nine houses were move-in ready after the power, stairs and decks were restored. The tenth home sustained roof damage at the gable end that required additional repairs.

These homes were built to the Institute for Business & Home Safety’s Fortified … for safer living standard. This code-plus new construction program is designed to improve a home’s ability to withstand natural disasters common in the area where it’s being built. In this case, that meant designing for the high-intensity hurricane conditions that are known to batter barrier islands.

Self-assessment tool helps businesses cope with swine flu threat

 The swine flu outbreak is an example of how a health-related issue can leave a small business struggling to continue normal operations with a skeleton staff. The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has created a self-assessment tool to help businesses evaluate their ability to operate in the event of a flu pandemic.

With the federal government declaring Swine Flu a public-health emergency, IBHS says it would be wise to prepare now for the possibility of closures or other impacts a pandemic could have on operations.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal and HealthPlanNews.com are among the news outlets relying on IBHS information.

“Evaluating specific risks and planning well beforehand for a variety of potential emergencies that could disrupt day-to-day business is critical, no matter how big or small a company may be,” saide IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman. “Fortunately, most catastrophes can be managed with advance, effective preparation – and that means having a well-thought out action plan with specific, appropriate policies, resources and contingencies.”

The Top 5 IBHS pandemic preparedness steps include:

1. Determine when to curtail employee travel, domestically and internationally.
2. Develop business continuity policies that provide work-at-home options.
3. Address sick leave policies, since people with swine flu or those attending to relatives may need to be on leave longer that the current policy allows.
4. Consider the impact a shutdown of public transportation or the loss of basic utilities would have.
5. Determine at what point the organization would need to close its doors.

Learn how to keep your company Open for Business.

Hurricane Ike was an eye-opening experience for builders

When Hurricane Ike swept through the Texas Gulf Coast last September , the storm threw a knockout punch to the Bolivar Peninsula. Much of the coastal town of Gilchrist was devastated.

Still standing, however, were nearly all of the homes built in Audubon Village, a community less than two miles east of Rollover Pass in Gilchrist. Here is an excerpt of a story that appeared this weekend in the AMERICAN-STATESMAN.

The reason: They were built to standards set by the Institute for Business & Home Safety's Fortified...for safer living® program, which specifies design, construction and landscaping guidelines that increase a home's resistance to hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Homes in Beachtown, a 260-acre community on Galveston Island's East End, also came through Hurricane Ike mostly unscathed. Those homes, too, were built to Fortified...for safer living® standards.

It was an eye-opening experience for residents, government officials and building industry professionals. And if there is a silver lining to the hurricane devastation, it's that there is a new interest in storm-resistant home construction along the Texas Gulf Coast, says Jim Hayes, senior partner of Crown Team Texas, the Beaumont-based developer of Audubon Village.

"We were the first in the state to adopt the program," Hayes says. "We wanted to do something that makes sense. These homes are built to be stronger and better."

Catch up on what you missed at this year's IBHS annual conference

Another successful IBHS Annual Conference on Property Loss Reduction is behind us, but there is still a chance to take advantage of the valuable information presented by speakers such as Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Check out news coverage of Sink's presentation that included information about the state of the My Safe Florida Home program.

Many of the conference PowerPoint presentations have been posted, including one from California State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan, who delivered Thursday's keynote address. Presentations from the workshops also are available.

Thank you to the participants who joined us in Tampa, Fla., for the conference. We look forward to seeing you next year.