Abstract
Even as new incentive programs emerge to encourage homeowners to strengthen their homes so as to reduce the risk of damage in extreme events, little is known about how homeowners make such decisions. In this paper, we combine revealed and stated preference survey data to develop separate mixed logit models for homeowner decisions about retrofits aimed at addressing four different types of hurricane damage—wind damage to the roof, openings (windows, doors), and roof-to-wall connection, and flood damage. Results provide evidence that offering a grant increases the likelihood of retrofitting, but offer no such evidence for incentives in the form of low-interest loans or insurance premium reductions. The models also suggest that the probability of retrofitting varies by type (e.g., installing shutters versus strengthening the roof), with the most interest in strengthening openings, and that homeowners are more likely to retrofit when they are closer to the coast, younger, in newer homes, or within a year of a hurricane experience.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based on work supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, US Department of Commerce, under Award 60NANB10D016; the National Science Foundation under collaborative Awards 1435298, 1433622, and 1434716; and the US Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number 2015-ST-061-ND0001-01. The statements, findings, and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US Department of Commerce, the National Science Foundation, or the US Department of Homeland Security.
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 9, 2017
Accepted: May 24, 2018
Published online: Aug 20, 2018
Published in print: Dec 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 20, 2019
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