Both the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) and the American Insurance Association (AIA) today lauded the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) as the group officially opened itsnew multihazard research center in Chester County, S.C.

The research center is the first of its kind, focusing on mitigating multiperil risk to residential and commercial property through applied research and training.

The new facility is designed to accurately simulate severe weather events--such as Category 1, 2 and 3 hurricanes; other types of high-wind events; wind-driven rain, hailstorms and wildfires--in a controlled, repeatable environment.

According to PCI and AIA officials, IBHS researchers will be able to conduct full-scale testing of one- and two-story residential and commercial structures in the facility's 21,000-square-foot test chamber.

IBHS membership is comprised of insurers and reinsurers.

In opening ceremonies, IBHS researchers conducted a full-scale wind test with 105 fans producing winds with gusts up to 110 mph.

Two identical looking 1,300-square-foot, two-story homes sat side by side in the test chamber--one house built using conventional construction standards common in the Midwestern U.S., and the other house built to IBHS' code-plus FORTIFIED for Safer Living(R) superior construction standards as they would apply in that same area of the country.

The mission of IBHS is to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other property losses by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.

"We applaud and congratulate the IBHS team on this monumental event," said David Sampson, president and CEO of PCI. "This pioneering research will help protect families and enable consumers to build stronger homes and businesses."

He added, "This is a landmark occasion for property [and] casualty insurers and the millions of American homes and businesses we protect."

Leigh Ann Pusey, AIA president and CEO, said, "IBHS has been and will continue to be a leading voice for our industry in the area of property loss mitigation."

Ms. Pusey noted that the insurance industry has a long history of commitment to safety and reducing losses, "and this research facility, which is entirely funded by insurers, is another great example of that commitment."

She compared it with the auto industry, where similar simulative testing "has been able to dramatically improve safety standards and impose life-saving measures for automobile drivers."