Join us today and tomorrow at the Windstorm Insurance Conference 2012 at the Buena Vista Palace hotel in Orlando, FL!
BOOTH 35
Click here for all the details of the event!
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Windstorm Insurance Conference ’12
January 30th, 2012
Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale
August 24th, 2011
All Hurricanes are dangerous, but some are more so than others. The way storm surge, wind and other factors combine determines the hurricanes destructive power. To make comparisons easier and to make the predicted hazards of approaching hurricanes clearer to emergency managers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane forecasters use a disaster-potential scale which assigns storms to five categories. This can be used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast with a hurricane.
The scale was formulated in 1969 by Herbert Saffir, a consulting engineer, and Dr. Bob Simpson, director of the National Hurricane Center. The World Meteorological Organization was preparing a report on structural damage to dwellings due to windstorms, and Dr. Simpson added information about storm surge heights that accompany hurricanes in each category.
For a more detailed chart from NOAA, CLICK HERE.
Windstorm Insurance Conference — Day 2
January 25th, 2011
Come visit us today for DAY 2 of the Windstorm Insurance Conference in Houston, TX!
We would love to meet you and introduce you to our company…plus…we have Twinkies!!! Visit us at BOOTH 503!
For more information about the conference, log-on to www.windconference.com.
Windstorm Insurance Conference
January 24th, 2011
Come visit us today at the Windstorm Insurance Conference in Houston, TX! 
Proud Sponsor of the 2011 Windstorm Insurance Conference
November 19th, 2010
Coastal Reconstruction Group is a proud sponsor of the 2011 Windstorm Insurance Conference.
The Educational Association for Windstorm Claims Industry Professionals®
Windstorm Insurance Network, Inc. (WIND) ® is the first educational member association devoted solely to dealing with windstorm insurance claims issues. It was formed in 1999 with the goal to bring professionals together in the review and discussion of windstorm insurance claims issues.
WIND’s mission is to offer industry insight and education to individuals and groups employed or otherwise involved in all aspects of windstorm insurance claims. Our 1,000+ members come from across the United States, and represent various companies and professional interests in the property and windstorm insurance claims industry.
New SC Wind Facility Puts Houses Through Hurricane Test
October 20th, 2010
RICHBURG, S.C. — A new research lab in South Carolina could save your home, or even your life, one day.
The Institute for Business and Home Safety’s new facility officially opened Tuesday. It’s a one-of-a-kind wind tunnel that’s large enough to fit several full-sized houses inside.
There are 105 fans, each five-and-a-half feet across, which together can generate winds of up to 140 miles and hour.
Because it can test full-sized houses, researchers can test different kinds of building materials and techniques to see which work best and how they react to high winds, rain, hail and even burning embers.
IBHS president and CEO Julie Rochman says they’ll focus first on roofing materials.
“Roofing is the major cause of loss,” she says. “The vast majority of insurance claims, roof cover is the thing that most typically fails and once the roof cover is gone, wind, water, fire get into the structure and do an incredible amount of damage.”
To show off the lab’s capabilities, the IBHS had two full-sized houses in the wind tunnel side-by-side. Each was two stories tall and about 1,300 square feet.
The house on the left was built to conventional building codes. The one on the right was fortified. It had metal straps that connected the foundation to the first floor, the first floor to the second floor and the second floor to the roof. The fortified house was built with ring shank nails instead of staples because the ring shanks hold better. The fortified house also had roof shingles and siding that are made to better withstand high winds.
The fortified house also had a front door that opens out instead of the traditional inward opening door. Tim Reinhhold, Senior VP of Research and Chief Engineer, says an outward opening door is much better able to withstand high winds.
“If it’s an inward-opening door, the pressure is opening that door, cracking it enough that water’s pouring through, whereas if it’s pushing against it it’s actually sealing it up better,” he says.
As the fans cranked up, shingles and siding started peeling off the conventional home while the fortified home stayed virtually intact.
Then the lab opened the front doors, to simulate what would happen if strong winds blew open a home’s door. The fortified house’s front door was nailed open, since winds couldn’t blow it open.
At about 100-miles-an-hour, the wind blew the conventional house off its foundation and destroyed it, sending it crashing into the back wall of the lab. The fortified house showed very little damage, just a missing section of soffit and a few shingles.
Rochman says the fortified house cost only $2,000-3,000 more to build than the conventional home.
Fred Malik, Fortified Program Manager, says, “Really, what you’re talking about doing is investing in a stronger, safer, more durable home that will protect you in the long run much better.”
You can learn more about the new lab at www.DisasterSafety.org.
By ROBERT KITTLE
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/oct/19/5/new-sc-wind-facility-puts-houses-through-hurricane-ar-981848/
Threat of Hurricane Season Isn’t Over Yet
October 6th, 2010
August and September are the most active months for hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, but it’s too early for coastal residents of the United States to assume that the danger has passed. This might be especially true this year since the season is expected to remain active for a longer period of time than normal.
(Image courtesy of NOAA)
From the start of October through the end of November, the official end of hurricane season, three named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) typically occur, roughly one-quarter of a typical season.
The most likely locations for storm development in October are the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. During the heart of the season, many storms form in the central or eastern Atlantic. Formation close to land increases the likelihood of the storms making landfall, and the most common track is for storms to form in the Caribbean and head northward toward Florida and along the East Coast.
Finish the article HERE.
