Say Goodbye to Window Insurance By Installing Impact Windows

You might be surprised to hear that telling your insurance company you've installed impact windows is music to their ears. That's because insurance companies base your coverage - and how much you pay in premiums and a deductible - on the perceived risk.

Impact windows are specifically designed to withstand the high winds and flying debris that can, unfortunately, accompany heavy storms and hurricanes.

Protect Your Family, Lower Your Premiums

There's not much that you can do about the weather, but you can definitely protect yourself and your family by installing impact windows.

Because impact windows feature two sheets of glass buffered by a protective layer in between, your home is literally seen as less of a liability in the case of a heavy storm by insurance companies. And guess what? When you install storm doors and impact windows throughout your home your homeowner's insurance is likely to go down.

Florida Mandates Protected Home Discounts

Your state might actually require insurance companies to offer protected home discounts when you upgrade to impact windows. The exact amount that you'll save will depend on how prone your area is to heavy storms and hurricanes.

Why? Because, as a rule of thumb, the more volatile the weather in your area, the greater the insurance discounts your state and insurance company might put on the table for you to consider.

The state of Florida earlier this year passed this piece of legislation, which makes it easier for residents to get deep cuts to their homeowner's insurance premiums for taking practical steps to mitigate the damage done by high winds, rain, and hurricanes.

How to Lower Your Insurance Premiums

This kind of thing is becoming the norm all around the United States. Generally, insurance companies will reward you with lower premiums if you:

• Improve your roof strength
• Improve your foundation
• Improve your roof-to-wall strength
• Strengthen your windows and doors

Once you've made a few improvements to your home, you can check back with your insurance company. They'll send somebody over to your home or business to complete a wind-mitigation inspection report. The better you do at this inspection, the steeper the discount you can expect to receive on your monthly premiums.

You'll get top marks for upgrading all of your windows to impact windows since these are designed to withstand category 5 wind conditions and projectiles. Category 5 storms are marked by sustained winds of more than 156 miles per hour, so you can get an idea of how tough these impact windows are.

Impact windows feature an inner protective layer of vinyl (PVB) that means that even if a projectile slams into your window at a very high speed the glass won't shatter into a million pieces and endanger anyone near the impact zone.

Making Your Home a True Fortress

Insurance companies view your home as more of a fortress against high winds - like those seen in Hurricane Michael - when you install impact windows throughout. They're willing to lower your premiums accordingly.

A stronger defense against high winds means that the insurance company doesn't have to worry as much about replacing a window that shatters and allows high winds and projectiles to come into your home and wreak havoc.

Even in nicer weather, you save a ton of money by going with impact windows. You can expect lower heating and cooling bills because these kinds of windows keep out drafts and prevent heat gain in the hotter summer months.

Paying hundreds of dollars less per month on your insurance premiums is nice. Having peace of mind that you and your family are protected is invaluable.