Impact Resistant Shingles Guide: Should You Upgrade and Is It Worth It?

Impact Resistant Shingles Guide

Homestead Roofing owner Tracy Bookman answers the question every homeowner in hail country eventually asks: is upgrading to impact-resistant shingles worth the money, and how do you separate the real benefits from the sales pitch?

Tracy Bookman frames the decision around goals. If you are considering upgrading to impact-resistant shingles, the question is not just is it worth it. It is what are you trying to accomplish? The answer determines whether the upgrade makes financial sense.

There are three benefits to installing impact-resistant shingles. The first is avoiding damage from future hail storms. A Class 4 impact-resistant shingle is designed to withstand hailstones that would dislodge granules and crack standard shingles. The second benefit is an insurance premium discount. Some insurance companies offer reductions as high as 28 percent for homes with Class 4 impact-resistant roofing. This is an annual, recurring savings that continues as long as the roof is on the house. Over a 20-year roof lifespan, a 20-plus percent discount can add up to thousands of dollars.

The third benefit is the one homeowners tend to overlook: avoiding a future deductible. Standard homeowner's insurance deductibles have climbed significantly. Where 500 or 1,000 dollar deductibles were common a few years ago, many homeowners now carry deductibles of 2,000, 3,000, or more. If an impact-resistant roof prevents you from filing even one hail claim, you have saved that entire deductible and avoided a claim on your insurance record.

Do Your Homework Before You Commit

Tracy Bookman's first piece of advice is to call your insurance company before you talk to a roofer. Ask two specific questions: do you offer a discount for Class 4 impact-resistant shingles, and exactly how much is that discount? Some insurance companies offer a discount that is so small, a few dollars per year, that it will never come close to recovering the upgrade cost.

If the discount is meaningful, the next question is whether the specific impact-resistant shingle you are being quoted actually prevents hail damage, or whether it just carries the Class 4 rating on paper. Some Class 4 shingles achieve the rating through a mesh scrim embedded in the mat, which protects the fiberglass core from cracking but does not prevent granule loss on the surface. Others, SBS modified rubberized shingles, actually cause hail to bounce off with less damage to the shingle surface. Both carry the Class 4 label. Both qualify for insurance discounts. They do not perform the same way in a real hail storm.

The Free Upgrade Warning

Tracy Bookman offers two specific warnings about roofers who promise free upgrades to impact-resistant shingles. First, verify what product you are actually getting. A roofer offering a free upgrade may be installing the cheapest Class 4 product on the market, one that technically qualifies for the rating and the insurance discount but will not perform meaningfully better than a standard shingle in a hail storm. Second, make sure you are actually getting impact-resistant shingles at all. His company has talked to numerous homeowners who believed they had impact-resistant shingles on their roof, either paid for the upgrade or accepted a free upgrade, only to discover during an inspection that standard shingles were installed. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

For more on shingle selection, the budget vs premium shingles guide explains where the upgrade money is best spent. Homeowners in the Colorado Springs area can reach Homestead Roofing at homesteadroofingcolorado.com or 719-433-6991.  In all other areas click here for Roofing Repairs and Replacement or Call: (702) 620-6514

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