The $7,500 Roof Grant That Skips Most of Pawleys Island's Housing Stock

"Building a more resilient South Carolina is central to our mission," said Michael Wise, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, when the state reopened its home hardening grant program on July 13, 2026, calling this year's round one of the largest in the program's history.

That announcement lands differently on Pawleys Island than almost anywhere else on the coast. This is a market where average homeowners insurance premiums run around $4,728 a year, the highest of any community in South Carolina according to a 2026 industry analysis, well above even Myrtle Beach's roughly $4,033 average and far above the statewide figures insurers themselves cite, which range from about $1,969 to $3,100 depending on the analysis. If any market in the state needed a subsidy to bring insurance costs down, it's this one.

Here's the catch nobody mentions in the press release: the money is only available to homeowners who live in the house full time. On an island where a large share of the housing stock is a second home, a rental, or a place someone plans to retire into eventually rather than move into on day one, that single eligibility rule quietly splits the buyer pool into two groups with very different math.

The rule buried in the eligibility list

The program is called SC Safe Home, and it's run through the Department of Insurance. To qualify, the home has to check every one of these boxes:

• Located in one of 11 eligible coastal counties, which includes Georgetown County, where Pawleys Island sits
• Owned and occupied by the applicant as a primary residence
• A single-family, freestanding structure, not a duplex or a multifamily unit
• Covered by an active homeowner's insurance policy
• Free of existing storm damage
• Not previously awarded a Safe Home grant to the same home or homeowner

Every other qualification is about the house. That fourth line item, owner-occupied primary residence, is about the buyer. It's the one that determines whether a Pawleys Island purchase can tap into state money at all.

What a primary resident can actually claim right now

For someone buying a house they intend to live in full time, the numbers on the table are specific. The highest tier, the Resilient Mitigation Award, covers roof work that meets the full IBHS FORTIFIED Roof standard and pays up to $7,500 for homeowners who qualify for a non-matching grant, or $6,000 for those on a matching grant. A lower tier, the Sustainable Mitigation Award, covers wind mitigation work that doesn't reach the full FORTIFIED standard and pays up to $5,000 non-matching or $4,000 matching. Which tier applies depends on household income relative to HUD figures for the county.

On top of the grant, South Carolina offers two income tax credits tied to the same retrofit work. A Fortification Tax Credit covers 25 percent of the mitigation cost or $1,000, whichever is less, and that cap rises to $1,500 if the property was purchased specifically to be fortified. A separate Insurance Premium Tax Credit can return up to $1,250 to a household paying more than 5 percent of its income toward homeowners insurance on a primary residence. Both credits use the same language as the grant: primary residence, legal residence, owner-occupied. Neither one reaches a second home.

The 2026 funding window opened just over five weeks ago, after the program had been closed to new applicants since June. It runs first come, first served against a limited pool, and it has closed before when money ran out. That timing matters for anyone weighing a purchase this fall. A buyer who closes on a primary residence while the window is open has a real shot at the money. A buyer who closes after it exhausts, or who never qualifies because the house is a second home, is working from a different starting line entirely.

Two buyers, one house, different insurance math

That bottom row is the part worth sitting with.

The credit that doesn't ask why you own the house

South Carolina law requires insurers to offer a premium discount to any homeowner whose house has documented wind-resistant features, regardless of how the home is used. This isn't a grant program with an application window. It's a mandatory credit, applied after a licensed inspector completes a standardized wind mitigation report and documents things like roof shape, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, a secondary water barrier, and opening protection such as impact windows or shutters. Combined credits from these features can reach up to 48 percent off the wind portion of a policy, though a more typical qualifying home sees something closer to 14 percent. A FORTIFIED designation specifically tends to earn 10 to 35 percent off that same wind portion on its own.

None of that depends on occupancy. A landlord, a seasonal owner, or someone who visits three months a year can order the inspection, pay for the retrofit out of pocket, and still walk away with a smaller premium. What they can't do is get the state to help pay for the retrofit itself, or claim either tax credit against the cost.

So the practical difference between the two buyers in that table isn't whether they can ever get a discount. It's who fronts the money to earn one. A primary resident buying now, while the grant window is open, could have thousands of dollars of the retrofit covered by the state before the same mitigation credit even kicks in. A second-home buyer pays full price for the same roof work and only sees the payoff on the insurance side.

Why this cuts deeper here than almost anywhere else on the Grand Strand

Pawleys Island's premium problem isn't just that it's coastal. Georgetown County sits in the same eligible-county list as Horry County, home to Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach, yet Pawleys Island's average premium runs higher than either. Part of that comes down to direct barrier-island exposure to Atlantic wind and storm surge, which pushes some homes toward the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association, the coverage of last resort for properties that private insurers won't touch at a reasonable rate.

Layer the ownership pattern on top of that exposure and the gap widens. A coastal community with a heavier mix of full-time residents would see more of its housing stock naturally eligible for the exact subsidy built to offset high premiums. Pawleys Island's second-home concentration means a meaningful share of its highest-premium properties are the ones least able to access that subsidy.

What to check before you write an offer

If you're comparing a Pawleys Island purchase against another Grand Strand community, or weighing whether to buy here as a primary residence versus a place you'll use part time, a few questions are worth asking before you get to the closing table.

Ask whether the roof has an existing FORTIFIED designation or a documented wind mitigation inspection. That report follows the house, not the owner, and a seller who already has one on file can hand it straight to your insurance agent.

Ask how the seller has used the property. A home that's been someone's full-time residence may already carry mitigation credits a second-home buyer would otherwise have to pay to establish from scratch.

Confirm the current status of the SC Safe Home funding window directly with the Department of Insurance before assuming you'll qualify. Application cycles open and close based on available funds, and the status can change between the day you start house hunting and the day you're ready to close.

A short FAQ

If I plan to rent the house out seasonally, can I still get the grant? No. SC Safe Home requires the property to be owner-occupied as a primary residence. Rental and investment properties don't qualify, regardless of location.

If I can't get the grant, is a wind mitigation retrofit still worth it? The mandatory insurance credit applies regardless of occupancy, so a second-home owner can still see a real reduction on the wind portion of a premium. You'd simply be covering the retrofit cost yourself instead of offsetting it with grant money.

Is Pawleys Island's insurance market actually unusual compared to the rest of the Grand Strand? By the numbers, yes. Its average premium runs above both the statewide figures and above Myrtle Beach's average, based on 2026 industry data, which makes the occupancy rules around this grant carry more weight here than in most neighboring communities.

Insurance mechanics like these rarely show up on a listing sheet, but they shape what a house actually costs to own for years after closing. If you're weighing a Pawleys Island purchase against another stretch of the Grand Strand, or trying to figure out what a specific property's insurance picture might look like based on how you plan to use it, William Bill Moody can walk through the local details with you. Let's Connect.