Hail is driving insurance pain
Insurers say severe convective storms — including hail, tornadoes, and straight‑line winds — caused over $50 billion in insured losses for the third straight year, and hail is now a major upward pressure on homeowners premiums. NerdWallet flags middle‑America as particularly affected, Colorado policies rose about 65% over five years with a new bill proposing grants for hail‑resistant roofs, and Missouri lawmakers are also considering retrofit grant programs. (insurancenewsnet.com) (nerdwallet.com) (liveinsurancenews.com)
Hail is now pushing up homeowners insurance costs more than hurricanes in much of the middle of the country. (nerdwallet.com) The Insurance Information Institute said tornadoes, hail, straight-line winds and severe thunderstorms caused $51 billion in insured losses in 2025, the third straight year above $50 billion. Total economic damage topped $68 billion last year. (iii.org) Hail is the biggest claims engine inside those storms: the Insurance Information Institute said it can account for as much as 80% of severe convective storm claims, and roofs take 70% to 90% of insured residential catastrophic losses. (iii.org) NerdWallet reported on April 13 that homeowners insurance now costs more in the Midwest than in disaster-prone states like California and Florida. Its analysis pointed to hail as a major reason premiums are climbing across middle America. (nerdwallet.com) Insurers say the pressure is not only about weather. The Insurance Information Institute said demographic shifts into riskier areas, legal system costs, and higher labor and construction prices account for up to 90% of loss growth since 2000, citing Gallagher Re data. (iii.org) Colorado has become one test case. NerdWallet’s Colorado market guide says residents pay some of the highest homeowners premiums in the country, in part because of hailstorm risk. (nerdwallet.com) Colorado lawmakers are now weighing Senate Bill 26-049, which would let individuals and homeowners associations tap the state’s natural disaster mitigation fund for impact-resistant roofing materials and other property-specific upgrades. The bill was scheduled for a Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 14. (leg.colorado.gov) That proposal follows a broader 2025 Colorado measure, House Bill 25-1302, which created a Strengthen Colorado Homes enterprise and a grant program to help homeowners upgrade to resilient roof systems against hail, high winds, wildfire and other extreme weather. The law also says insurers would not collect the program fee on policyholders with resilient roof systems. (leg.colorado.gov) The insurance industry is also putting money into better hail science. The Insurance Information Institute said a National Science Foundation-funded project called In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail in the Plains sent more than 100 scientists across the Great Plains in summer 2025 to study hail formation and how roofing materials hold up. (iii.org) For homeowners, the immediate fight is over the roof: the part of the house taking the biggest hit is also where states and insurers are now trying to cut the next round of claims. (iii.org)
