METAIRIE, La. ( WGNO ) — A new lottery system will determine which homeowners will receive grants for a fortified roof, which strengthens homes against severe storms.

Registration opens at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 and closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20.

Previous grants were issued on a first-come, first-serve basis, but the lottery system will ensure everyone gets a fair chance.

“It’s going to be 300 grant applications that go through on this round,” said John Ford, the deputy commissioner of public affairs for the Louisiana Department of Insurance. “We’re also going to have 200 people who get notified that they’re on a waitlist, so that if people drop off, we can just directly backfill those 300 with folks who are already on a wait list.”

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This round will be open to those who live in the state’s coastal parishes, which includes Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne and Vermilion parishes.

Other eligibility requirements include a homestead exemption and an insurance policy with wind coverage.

The fortified roof standard was created by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

“Essentially, the fortified roof is a stronger roof,” Ford explained. “It uses tougher materials, and it adds some elements, like ring shank nails, which are harder to come out. It tamps down the edge of the roof, so that the roof is harder to blow off in an event like a hurricane.”

In the last year, 1,300 fortified roof grants have been issued.

“The goal is to help the homeowner who has the fortified roof reduce their loss from the hurricane, but also to increase the resiliency of the entire state of Louisiana,” Ford said. “So, we’re going to help people on the individual level get their roof stronger and get insurance discounts for doing that, but we’re also going to help make our market more attractive to the insurance companies who are considering coming down here to write, or who are already here writing and may write more business.”

Eligible homeowners must create a profile on the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program’s website before submitting an application.

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