INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT OFFER DISCOUNTS FOR NEW ROOFS

When you have to replace your roof, why not pick a shingle that will save you money year after year on your home insurance.  Your home insurance company may have a discount for when their clients opt for a class 3 (brand specific) or class 4 impact-rated shingles. Their logic is that if you have an upgraded roofing system the chances of it getting damaged by hail are reduced and there is a lesser chance of them paying out a claim.   

When I spoke to my State Farm agent about the “Impact Rated Discount” she spoke to their underwriter to find that a Malarkey Class 4 rated shingle would save me about 10% off my rate per year. If I went with a Malarkey Vista class three it would save me about 6% per year. It’s not going to pay off the roof in a few years of savings. But it definitely will pay the cost difference for a higher performing shingle. Having a stronger roof system not only protects the insurance company from paying out. It also helps protect you from having to pay your deductible, dealing with the hassle, and who knows what untold damages that can occur that you would then need to address.   

State Farm has a webpage to show what states the roofing discount is available(1). At the bottom of their page has a PDF form for the Roofing contractor to complete to certify what roofing materials were used during installation.  

USAA Offers a rate reduction(2) if you install impact-rated shingles but depending on what state you are in, affects their requirements.  

TX you can receive a discount for a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 rated shingle, but in the rest of the country it must be rated as a class 4 to receive any discount. The percentage of the discount is affected by the shingle’s rating. The higher the class of shingle, the bigger the discount. USAA discount requires a form(2) to be filled out to apply for a rate reduction.  

The UL 2218 test is how shingles get their performance rating on whether they can be qualified as a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 shingle.  

The UL test(6) will drop a different sized steel balls from varying heights to see whether or not the shingle will develop any cracks. If there are any ruptures or cracks on the top or bottom of the shingle it will not qualify for that classification. 

The test consisted of two drops of the ball on the same impact point. The tests to qualify for classification were;

• Class 4 – 2” steel ball dropped from 20 feet.  
• Class 3 – 1.75” steel ball dropped from 17 feet 
• Class 2 – 1.5” steel ball dropped from 14 feet 
• Class 1 – 1.25” steel ball dropped from 12 feet      

This is a list of known insurance companies that provide discounts. This is not an end-all list. Contact your insurance provider to see if they offer a discount for impact-rated shingles.