Last reviewed October 31, 2026.
A hurricane watch goes up, and by afternoon the plywood racks at the lumberyard are bare. One neighbor down the street never bothers with boards. Their windows were bought to take a hit, and the insurance company was supposed to knock something off the bill for them.
What makes a window impact rated
The glass does the work. Pella’s 2026 architectural design manual describes its impact glazing as laminated glass with either a SentryGlas Plus (SGP) interlayer or a PVB interlayer, both from DuPont, built to keep the glazing intact after wind-driven debris strikes it. Pella says SGP, made from a material called ionoplast, is much stronger than PVB, the laminate long used in car windshields.
The same manual lists the standards its impact windows and doors are tested to: ASTM E1886, ASTM E1996 and the Miami-Dade County protocols TAS 201, 202 and 203. Pella also says its impact products meet or exceed many but not all Gulf and Atlantic coast hurricane code requirements, and that availability varies by market.
Andersen calls its Stormwatch option its greatest level of hurricane strength protection, says impact glass removes the need for storm panels or shutters, and tells buyers to check with the local code official. The brand pages for Pella and Andersen cover their product lines.
Pella’s own sound ratings show a side benefit. Its Hurricane Shield single-hung window, tested at 47.25 by 59.25 inches, rates STC 27 and OITC 22 with standard insulating glass and STC 36 and OITC 29 with impact laminated insulating glass. Pella’s manual says both ratings measure how much noise a window cuts, and that OITC is the better guide to traffic and other outdoor sound.
How ASTM E1886 and E1996 show up in the code
We could not open ASTM’s own summaries of the two standards, so here the building code does the talking. FEMA’s compilation of wind provisions from the 2021 International Residential Code quotes Section R301.2.1.2: exterior glazing in windborne debris regions shall be protected, and the protection has to meet the Large Missile Test of ASTM E1886 and ASTM E1996, as modified by the code. The code rewrites the wind zone section of E1996 so Zone 1 runs from 130 mph to under 140 mph, and Zone 4 covers ultimate design wind speeds above 170 mph.
The same section lets wood structural panels stand in for impact glass. They must be at least 7/16 inch thick, span no more than 8 feet, be precut and predrilled, and hang on permanent corrosion-resistant anchors already fixed to the house. Our hurricane prep guide has what Suffolk and Nassau tell homeowners to do with windows before landfall.
Is your address in a wind-borne debris region
The Department of State’s technical bulletin on the 2020 state code defines the region two ways: within 1 mile of the coastal mean high-water line where the ultimate design wind speed is 130 mph or more, or anywhere it is 140 mph or more. A YES on the local design table sends designers to Section R301.2.1.2. The department’s July 2024 draft of the 2025 code adds one more condition to the 1-mile test, that an Exposure D condition exists upwind at the waterline.
Each town and village fills in that table, so the answer shifts as you cross Long Island. Smithtown’s table, written for the 2020 code and revised in January 2022, lists 130 mph and a debris zone of 1 mile from the coast. The Village of Floral Park’s building permit application, revised June 1, 2026, lists 120 mph and marks the debris zone no.
Ask your building department for its current table before a salesperson tells you the code demands impact glass. The roof underlayment guide covers the separate hurricane-prone region definition.
The insurance discount New York requires
This part is state law, not marketing. Section 2346 of the Insurance Law says the superintendent shall provide an actuarially appropriate reduction in homeowners premiums for homes fitted or retrofitted with hurricane resistant laminated glass windows or doors, with a matching provision for storm shutters. In Circular Letter No. 3 of May 23, 2024, the Department of Financial Services reminded insurers that this reduction is mandatory, citing sections 2346 and 2346-a and 11 NYCRR 160.6.
Then comes the fine print. The department’s consumer page says the discount applies when the windows and doors are on all exterior wall openings, meet prescribed minimum standards and are installed to the manufacturer’s specifications. Its February 2026 savings guide tells homeowners to check with the insurer before upgrading, so the materials and installation qualify. Neither the law nor the department publishes a percentage. Our insurance claims guide covers hurricane deductibles.
What we found on impact window prices
No Long Island installer we read publishes a price for impact windows. EcoView Windows of Long Island publishes per-window prices, yet says only that triple-pane or impact glass adds performance and cost. National averages from lead sites are not Long Island prices, so we left them out.
Ask for the impact upgrade as its own line item, with the product’s test standard named on the quote.
Permits and bedroom windows
The Town of Babylon requires a permit to replace windows and doors only when the size or location changes, so a same-size impact swap is not on its permit list. A bedroom window is also an emergency escape opening, and laminated glass does not change that. The egress windows page has the opening sizes a bedroom window must keep.
