Lopez says that hail could cause important destruction to roofs, home windows, siding and different exterior constructions, relying on the dimensions. “Insurers fear concerning the frequency and severity of those storms, particularly in areas the place hail is widespread,” he added. “Nevertheless, whereas they spotlight these dangers when justifying fee hikes, additionally they often deny or underpay official claims, leaving owners struggling to cowl mandatory repairs.”
Jon Schneyer, Director of Analysis and Content material at CoreLogic, says that In 2024, CoreLogic estimated that damaging hail fell on greater than 567,000 single- and multi-family properties within the contiguous U.S., with a mixed approximate reconstruction price worth (RCV) of $160 billion. Schneyer says that about 72% of the properties broken by 2-inch hail in 2024 have been situated in Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.
For 2025, CoreLogic’s Hailstorm Threat Rating estimates over 41 million properties face average or larger threat of hailstorms producing one inch or larger, equating to an estimated RCV of $13.4 trillion.
Texas leads the highest of the record with 8,699,137 properties in danger, price $2.75 trillion in RCV. It’s adopted by Illinois (4,074,341 properties price $1.64 trillion in RCV), Missouri (2,313,962 properties price $764.7 billion in RCV), Indiana (2,195,936 properties price $764.1 billion in RCV) and Minnesota (1,904,568 properties price $527.9 billion in RCV).
Golf-ball-sized hail
Oklahoma, for instance, noticed the nation’s worst hailstorm final yr the place 35,000 properties skilled golf-ball-size hail. Per WSJ’s reporting, insurers dropped almost 3,400 owners within the Oklahoma Metropolis space in 2023.
“For 2025, CoreLogic’s Hailstorm Threat Rating estimates that over 41 million properties face average or larger threat of hailstorms producing one inch or larger, equating to an estimated RCV of $13.4 trillion,” Schneyer stated. “Two-inch hail can lead to very massive claims. A whole roof substitute for a single dwelling may price as a lot as $30,000.”
Deep Sky local weather knowledge scientist Max Dugan-Knight says that the chance of hail dimension rising is excessive. “There’s a excessive chance of those hailstorm hailstones turning into larger than 4 centimeters, and as soon as they’re that giant, they trigger much more harm,” he defined. “There’s kind of this tipping level the place you go above a sure dimension of hailstone, and it goes from no harm to doubtlessly breaking home windows and damaging vehicles and houses. In order that development is admittedly regarding for owners, and, by extension, regarding for insurers who’re having to regulate the entire manner they deal with hail as a result of these large hail storms was once so uncommon that it wasn’t all the time particularly handled by insurance coverage insurance policies.”
The straightforward answer, Dugan-Knight says, is to spend money on roofs designed for hail resiliency — one other added price onto excessive premiums. “As this threat grows over the subsequent few years, these numbers would possibly grow to be so excessive that they’re unaffordable for folks to afford dwelling insurance coverage,” he stated. “And what occurs in the event you can’t afford the house insurance coverage is type of a slippery slope, as a result of in the event you’re shopping for a home and you’ll’t afford dwelling insurance coverage, you then may not be capable of get a mortgage, which suggests you may not be capable of undergo with the precise buy.”
Unseen harm
Harm doesn’t cease with hail, Schneyer says. “Even smaller hail stones could cause important, however unseen, roof harm. Harm to the shingles will not be seen, however the water tightness of the underlying sealant layers might be compromised. Possibly hail storms include rain, and it’s straightforward for water to intrude into the house, inflicting supplemental harm down the street,” he stated.
Schneyer added that the very best concentrations of at-risk properties are in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Minnesota — primarily Midwestern states usually identified for reasonably priced housing.
“Many insurers have added stricter limitations on hail protection, similar to greater deductibles for wind and hail harm, precise money worth settlements as a substitute of substitute price and necessary roof inspections and age-based exclusions which may deny full protection for older roofs no matter their situation earlier than the storm,” Lopez stated, noting how the “techniques” add a price ticket onto already-increasing premiums. “This usually leaves policyholders underinsured and susceptible after a storm,” he added.
Homebuyers nationwide could really feel the consequences
Matt Brannon, a knowledge journalist at Insurify, an insurance coverage comparability web site, famous that whereas 2024 noticed fewer hailstorms than anticipated, extreme hail nonetheless elevated by 21% from 2022. “Householders in hail-affected areas [should] count on to pay extra for his or her insurance coverage. Whereas insurers have traditionally factored in hail harm in locations like Texas and Colorado, frequent and extreme hail occasions are making insurers contemplate pricing for hail harm in additional of the nation,” Brannon stated.
Akin to Schneyer’s observations, Brannon stated that Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Texas noticed the sharpest 3-year enhance in extreme hail. “Climate change is just contributing to bigger hailstones,” he stated. “Analysis exhibits that hailstones inside a storm at the moment are spending extra time build up ice earlier than ultimately falling to the bottom and damaging constructions.”
Dugan-Knight added, “The truth that insurance coverage corporations throughout the nation are raising premiums, increasing deductibles, even stopping offering insurance coverage fully in some locations is a worrying signal for owners virtually in all places within the nation. So I believe it’s additionally an essential level that insurance coverage corporations have probably the most up-to-date knowledge. The truth that they’re nervous means we should always all be nervous.”
