{"id":904892,"date":"2025-10-09T15:18:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=904892"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:18:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:18:46","slug":"smaller-hail-may-be-more-damaging-than-once-believed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/smaller-hail-may-be-more-damaging-than-once-believed\/","title":{"rendered":"Smaller Hail May Be More Damaging to Roofs Than Once Believed, Study Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

William Rabb | Claims Journal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety found roof damage<\/a> from smaller hailstones may be much more significant than previously believed. It\u2019s a finding that one plaintiffs\u2019 lawyer has already cited as potential support for roof claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis data challenges long-standing opinions by insurance company experts that have denied or minimized damage from small hail,\u201d blogged attorney Chip Merlin, whose law firm has offices in 10 states. \u201cIf the science says these storms age shingles years ahead of schedule and set the stage for catastrophic failure in later storms, then dismissing that damage at the claims desk is at odds with the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An insurance defense lawyer said the study shows only that smaller hail can cause damage over time, much like rain or sun, and long-term wear and tear is often excluded from homeowners\u2019 policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere must be a singular event that causes actual physical damage to the property,\u201d said John Riordan, a West Palm Beach attorney with the Kelley Kronenberg law firm. \u201cMost policies have exclusionary language, so those kinds of claims over months or years from multiple hailstorms would not be covered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IBHS study, published last week in the peer-reviewed journal\u00a0Frontiers in Materials<\/a>, found that concentrations of sub-severe hailstones (less than 1 inch in diameter) can \u201csignificantly reduce the roof cover\u2019s resistance to future large hail events, and exacerbate the natural aging of asphalt shingles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors are Brenna Meisenzahl, Ian Giammanco and Faraz Hedayati, all of whom are researchers or managers at IBHS, the property insurance industry\u2019s vaunted research center, with testing sites in South Carolina. Giammanco is managing director of atmospheric science for IBHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis suggests that frequent sub-severe hailstorms may pose a greater threat to roof longevity than previously recognized and is a driving factor in the growing hail risk in the United States that is not accounted for in current durability standards or risk assessments,\u201d the authors noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, smaller hail has been but a minor concern to property insurers and researchers. The National Weather Service classifies hail as \u201csevere\u201d only when stones exceed 25.4 millimeters (1 inch). Roof damage was largely considered to be limited to storms the produce the larger-sized stones. Riordan noted that engineers have generally agreed that most shingle-damage events come from hailstones that are 1.5 inches or larger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some claims adjusters and claimants\u2019 attorneys have long said that in certain cases, smaller hail leads to rapid deterioration of shingles and can lead to water intrusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can do some damage,\u201d said Ben Mandell, an independent adjuster who has worked roof claims across the South. He has produced photos of shingles that a carrier said showed only weathering and age, but which he believes were stripped of their granules by smaller hail and should be replaced. When the rock-hard granules are gone, the substrate is exposed, leading to a greater risk of leaks, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what we\u2019ve found to be true, and we\u2019re the ones up on the roof,\u201d Mandell added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To conduct the study, the IBHS research team froze water in molds and used a \u201chail cannon\u201d to fire the ice at properly installed roof samples. They then allowed a year of natural weathering, and then fired larger hailstones at the shingles. The scientists employed machine vision and an algorithm to determine the loss of granules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cumulative granule loss from the sub-severe impacts in a series of tests exceeded the total granule loss from a 2-inch hailstone impact, the study found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur findings show that asphalt shingles exposed to both natural weathering and sub-severe impacts were approximately ten times more susceptible to future damage from subsequent severe hail events,\u201d the authors wrote. \u201cWe hypothesize that repeated exposure to these sub-severe events may dislodge enough granules to accelerate shingle deterioration, increasing vulnerability to future hail damage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results also showed that so-called impact-resistant shingles \u2013 designed to withstand more flying debris \u2013 fared little better coventional shingles in cumulative granule loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s possible that the study and its authors could be used in claims litigation. Some states court rules may allow it. In Florida, though, published studies can generally be used only in cross-examination, to challenge witness reports. Lawmakers in Florida, a state once beset with roof claims that insurance industry advocates called fraudulent or exaggerated, in 2022 famously disincentivized some roof and hail claims lawsuits. The legislature banned one-way attorney fees and assignment-of-benefit (AOB) agreements\u2014arrangements with roof contractors that had helped produce thousands of claims lawsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many other states continue to allow AOBs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While weather events appear to be increasing in parts of the country, it\u2019s difficult to know if hailstorms are on the rise, particularly those that produce smaller stones. The Insurance Information Institute tracks only those claims from hailstones that are 1-inch or larger. The\u00a0data show<\/a>\u00a05,373 claims in 2024, a dip from 2023 but a 17% rise from 2020. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported a\u00a02% rise<\/a>\u00a0in hail-loss claims from 2018 to 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas and Kansas seem to lead the pack every year, the Insurance Information Institute reported. Texas had 878 claims from major hail events in 2024\u2014almost twice as many as Kansas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carriers have recognized the impact of hail claims. In 2022 financial reports, three of the five largest publicly traded property\/casualty insurers identified hail as a significant issue, the IBHS study said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHail has moved to the forefront of loss drivers and will continue to impact home and business owners, as it is responsible for an estimated 50% to 80% of annual damages\u201d from severe convective storm events, Cape Analytics reported this year, the study noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

William Rabb | Claims Journal A study by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety found roof damage from smaller hailstones may be much more significant than previously believed. It\u2019s a finding that one plaintiffs\u2019 lawyer has already cited as potential support for roof claims. \u201cThis data challenges long-standing opinions by insurance company experts… Continue reading Smaller Hail May Be More Damaging to Roofs Than Once Believed, Study Shows<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10721,9721],"tags":[9895,191,22,56],"class_list":["post-904892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance","category-property-damage","tag-advise-consult","tag-hail-damage","tag-insurance","tag-property-damage","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nSmaller Hail May Be More Damaging to Roofs Than Once Believed, Study Shows - 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