Home › Wind pool FORTIFIED discount
Wind pool guide · Updated September 2026The Mississippi wind pool (MWUA) takes 20% off your wind premium for a FORTIFIED Roof. And if a storm claim replaces half or more of your roof, your policy already includes up to $2,000 toward upgrading it to FORTIFIED.
The MWUA sells wind and hail cover in Mississippi’s six coastal counties, for homes where private insurers won’t. Local reporting calls it “usually a last resort”. Your regular homeowners policy covers everything else, and the wind pool covers wind.
That’s why a FORTIFIED roof matters more here than inland. The wind premium is the expensive part of a Coast policy, and it’s the part the discount comes off.
Rates went up 16% from 1 January 2026, the first rise since the late 2000s, according to WDAM and Insurance Business. A fixed percentage discount is worth more every time the base rate climbs.
Phase one of the Strengthen Mississippi Homes grant is open only to people insured by the wind pool for three consecutive policy years. Mississippi has about 2,000 FORTIFIED homes, against nearly 60,000 in Alabama, and the programme starts on the Coast.
Source: Mississippi Insurance Department FAQ, September 2026.
| Designation | What it covers | Wind premium credit |
|---|---|---|
| FORTIFIED Roof | Sealed deck, ring-shank nails, reinforced edges | 20% |
| FORTIFIED Silver | Roof, plus protected windows, doors and gable ends | 25% |
| FORTIFIED Gold | Silver, plus a continuous load path from roof to foundation | 30% |
| Tree hazards addressed | Overhanging trees dealt with | +5% |
Figures from IBHS’s announcement of the MWUA programme (April 2020). A 2022 Smart Home America summary lists 17% for the entry level instead of 20%, so confirm the current figure with your agent before relying on it. Checked September 2026.
Take your wind pool premium from your declarations page and multiply by 0.20. That’s your yearly saving from a FORTIFIED Roof.
Then compare it with the FORTIFIED premium on your quote. Published figures put that premium at about $1,000 to $3,000 on a typical home. See our survey of 23 published prices.
Illustrative premium. Your saving scales with your own wind premium.
Since 1 March 2020, MWUA Dwelling and Mobile Home policies written on the replacement cost form have carried a free FORTIFIED Roof endorsement. It’s added automatically.
If a covered claim means 50% or more of your roof gets replaced, the endorsement pays:
Put simply: if a hurricane takes your roof, the insurer rebuilds it, and the wind pool helps pay to rebuild it stronger. That can cover most of the FORTIFIED premium on its own.
That triggers the endorsement money and your 20% credit going forward.
Endorsement terms: IBHS and Insurance Journal, April 2020; still listed on fortifiedhome.org.
You cut your rates in half when you fix your roof.
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, to WLOX, June 2026. That’s his overall view; the wind pool’s published FORTIFIED Roof credit is 20%.IBHS’s announcement of the programme lists 20% off the wind premium for FORTIFIED Roof, 25% for Silver and 30% for Gold, plus 5% for dealing with tree hazards. Confirm the current figure with your agent.
Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone and George.
A free add-on to MWUA dwelling policies since March 2020. If a covered claim replaces 50% or more of your roof, it pays up to $1,500 toward the FORTIFIED upgrade and up to $500 toward the evaluation, with no deductible.
Once your roof is certified, send the FORTIFIED certificate to your insurance agent and ask them to apply the credit.
Yes. Phase one of Strengthen Mississippi Homes is open only to wind pool policyholders with three consecutive policy years. See how the grant works.
Whether you’re planning ahead, applying for the grant or dealing with a storm claim, a quote from a FORTIFIED-certified roofer tells you what you’d pay and what you’d save.