Hail poses a risk for homeowners who may have high deductibles on their insurance. | By Quinn Norton
Property owners need to properly maintain their roofs and get their homes appraised to make sure they’ve mitigated the risk of hailstorms.
While wildfires and hurricanes get most of the attention for how they affect homeowners’ ability to find affordable insurance, homeowners need to pay attention to other weather events like hail, Insurance Business America reported. In 2019, theU.S recorded 5,832 major hailstorms. The 4,610 hailstorms in 2018 caused $810 million in property and crop damage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, according to Insurance Business America.
Property insurance rates have begun to catch up to these risks, while property carriers assumed risks that couldn't be sustained as rates dropped along with deductibles.
“The other concern that we have as property carriers is roof maintenance from both commercial and personal lines risks that haven’t really been consistent,” Andy Hendrix, senior vice president of U.S. property at Colony Specialty, told Insurance Business America.
Poorly maintained roofs or neglect of older roofs can cause large losses after minor hail events, he said. Hendrix said properly maintained roofs would help reduce that damage.
Tornado and hail deductibles have risen much higher than those of hurricanes or named storms, he told insurance Business America. Homeowners are paying more today than two or three years ago. Carriers put focus on their clients getting their property valued for insuring through property appraisals.
Homeowners need to make sure they mitigate against the risk of hailstones. This means they must insure to value and they need to inspect their roofs, repair and replace them regularly. This includes making themselves aware of changing building codes within their state or county – and keeping their homes up to date with those codes, Hendrix told Insurance Business America.
The onus is thus on policyholders to ensure that they’re mitigating against the risk posed by hailstones. Besides insuring to value, they need to be inspecting, repairing and replacing roofs on a regular basis, and be aware of how building codes are changing within certain states or counties while keeping their properties up to date with those codes.
“Relatively small investments on the capital expenditure side for basic maintenance will help prevent significant losses that ultimately will drive the premiums that they’ll be forced to pay in the future,” Hendrix told Insurance Business America.
Hendrix said homeowners should anticipate property insurance rates will continue to rise.
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