I would like to start off with a story from an existing client. As a captive insurance agent, I found as many discounts as humanly possible to write one piece of business. One of the more sizeable discounts is a roof discount. For a hail resistive roof, many insurance carriers offer up to a 15% discount. I had a client, for whom I had already written life insurance policies, ask me to quote his insurance on the home he had just purchased. After reviewing the specifics on the home, it was declared that the roof was made of concrete tile. I mentioned the possibility that he may qualify for a hail resistive roof discount. As it had turned out, after many conversations and research, the verdict was no discount.
Before the client actually purchased the home, one of Colorado’s most severe hail storms passed directly over the house. This storm, in 2009, dumped over a foot of hail. In fact, Colorado’s Department of Transportation had to send snow plows out in July to remove the hail from the roads. How do you suppose the prospective client’s roof held up taking on the brunt of the storm?
After inspection, it was discovered that a grand total of seven clay shingles needed to be replaced before closing—not even close to enough damage to file an insurance claim. As Colorado is the one of the most heavily regulated and is becoming one of the most hail prone states, it would be a wise decision to look at replacing the roof with impact resistant material with a 40+ year warranty. This may pay itself off alone with insurance discounts—less claims potential and it would add value to your most valuable asset. Even though this is an assumption, I believe that in the near future, regardless of impact resistant rating, concrete, slate, and clay tile roofs in general will receive a favorable premium versus asphalt shingled roofs. It’s examples like the one above that tell me it will eventually be the case.
To see if you qualify for a roof discount, please contact us at the Leinweber Insurance agency. You can obtain your quote online, by phone, or in person. We offer a variety of preferred insurance carriers from Progressive to the Hartford insurance. We also offer a variety of insurance products including, but not limited to, auto insurance, home insurance, and life insurance. Please feel free to call us anytime at 303-558-9880 or email us at brodyl@seamlessins.com.
