Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

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Research for Safer Homes
Canada’s insurers are investing in a long-term, science-based research program that identifies best practices for the design and construction of new homes. Through the ICLR, insurers have provided support to dozens of academic researchers who are working to identify best practices. This research deals with damage from wind, snow, ice, earthquakes, mould and other hazards.

Our largest investment has been to support the Three Little Pigs Project at The University of Western Ontario. Coupled with the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, Western University has established a world-class research team and facility capable of testing full-scale wood framed houses under extreme duress.


Canadian insurers provided seed money to the Three Little Pigs Project, which the research team levied to construct an $8 million state-of-the-art research facility. Dr. Mike Bartlett and his research team are able to first test scale model homes in the wind tunnel, and then replicate extreme weather events on full-scale homes. These research facilities are unique in the world today.


We expect that the research team will identify aspects of over engineering in current home construction practices, thus highlighting areas where savings are possible without compromising safety. At the same time, we expect that they will identify additional design and structural elements that go beyond the current building code to significantly enhance safety at minimal cost. This loss prevention research program will provide a science-based foundation for the construction of disaster resilient homes.


Canadian insurers will use this research to shape the details of our Designed...for safer living program. This information will be shared with Canadian government agencies that are developing policies to deal with climate change, as the Designed… for safer living program represents an adaptive strategy to deal with the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events. These findings will also be shared with the U.S. insurance industry, so the information will also influence their safer living program with American home builders.


We also anticipate that home builders, the manufactured home industry, and manufacturers will want to be active participants in the Three Little Pigs Project research program. Cost effective improvements in disaster resilience should be jointly determined and founded on science-based research.









The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Toronto Office
20 Richmond Street East, Suite 210, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2R9
Tel: (416) 364-8677
Fax: (416) 364-5889

London Office
Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory
Western University
1151 Richmond Street, London, Canada N6A 5B9
Tel: (519) 661-3234
Fax: (519) 661-4273