Title
The Effects of Hail on Residential Roofing Products
The Effects of Hail on Residential Roofing Products
Date
9/1991
9/1991
Author(s)
Koontz, Jim
Koontz, Jim
Page(s)
206-215
206-215
Keyword(s)
asphalt shingles; concrete tile shingles; hail damage; wood shingles; hail resistance
asphalt shingles; concrete tile shingles; hail damage; wood shingles; hail resistance
Abstract
Roofing products are subject to a number of severe weather exposures. These exposures include ultraviolet radiation, heat, wind, rain, pollutants and hail. Hail damage to roofing products results in millions of dollars of losses on an annual basis. The result of this damage is an obvious boon for roofing contractors and, over the years, has certainly been very costly for the insurance industry. The ultimate cost, however, is borne by consumers. Hail damage can affect virtually all types of roof systems, including both commercial and residential. For the purposes of this paper, the primary area to be examined will be the hail resistance of common residential roofing products; asphalt shingles; wood shingles and shakes; and concrete tile shingles. Whenever a city in North America is subjected to a severe hailstorm and the dollar losses exceed $5 million, the area is listed as a catastrophic loss by the American Insurance Association. This is a methodology in which the insurance industry can keep statistics on the amount of loss for each particular geographical location. These numbers are later used in acturial tables to develop insurance rates for any given location. In the U.S., the geographical frequency of hail has been studied by groups such as the National Board of Catastrophe, from 1949 to 1964, and the U.S. Weather Bureau from 1950 to 1960. The data from both groups indicates that a large number of severe hailstorms tend to occur in the central section of the U.S. This covers an area from South Texas to Minnesota and from Colorado to Illinois. It should be pointed out, however, that no area in North America can be totally excluded from the chance of hail.
Roofing products are subject to a number of severe weather exposures. These exposures include ultraviolet radiation, heat, wind, rain, pollutants and hail. Hail damage to roofing products results in millions of dollars of losses on an annual basis. The result of this damage is an obvious boon for roofing contractors and, over the years, has certainly been very costly for the insurance industry. The ultimate cost, however, is borne by consumers. Hail damage can affect virtually all types of roof systems, including both commercial and residential. For the purposes of this paper, the primary area to be examined will be the hail resistance of common residential roofing products; asphalt shingles; wood shingles and shakes; and concrete tile shingles. Whenever a city in North America is subjected to a severe hailstorm and the dollar losses exceed $5 million, the area is listed as a catastrophic loss by the American Insurance Association. This is a methodology in which the insurance industry can keep statistics on the amount of loss for each particular geographical location. These numbers are later used in acturial tables to develop insurance rates for any given location. In the U.S., the geographical frequency of hail has been studied by groups such as the National Board of Catastrophe, from 1949 to 1964, and the U.S. Weather Bureau from 1950 to 1960. The data from both groups indicates that a large number of severe hailstorms tend to occur in the central section of the U.S. This covers an area from South Texas to Minnesota and from Colorado to Illinois. It should be pointed out, however, that no area in North America can be totally excluded from the chance of hail.