Shingles
As insurers know all too well, severe weather is causing more damage to homes than ever, and the costs to fix those damages continue to rise.
Homeowners facing damage are familiar with horror stories where restoring their home was a complicated process filled with tension and disagreement.
Roofs are at the center of these challenges. According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, roof-related damage accounts for an estimated 70 to 90% of total insured residential catastrophic losses.
Repair decisions about roofs are often clouded with uncertainty, and with lots of new claims adjusters in the field, the right next step on a claim is not always clear.
The time has come for a paradigm shift. As an industry, we must normalize and standardize roof repair decisions to ensure fairness and manage costs in 2025 and beyond.
The stakes are high. According to recent data from Verisk, the cost of a roof replacement—averaging $16,000 or more—is approximately four times the average repair cost of $4,000. For carriers, inaccurate determinations have significant impact; when homeowners receive payments for repairs that should have been full replacements, they have not been made whole, a key tenant of an insurance policy.
Conversely, insurers cannot afford to replace every roof that can be repaired or home insurance in many markets will not be affordable or available for homeowners.
Fortunately, there are examples we can look to. Consider the example of the auto industry. Slightly dented bumpers and chipped windshields aren’t replaced. They are repaired. Historically, a glass replacement retailer, Safelite, introduced windshield repair in 1998, which signified a shift in their business model that allowed them to provide proper resolution to policyholders at a more sustainable cost to insurers.
How do we achieve this model for homes? Homeowners must understand that insurance policies generally allow for roof repairs when feasible. Many homeowners have a limited understanding of the nuances of their coverage and also may not realize that improper full replacements can lead to increases in premiums for everyone.
We should give homeowners the full picture of replacement and repair coverage—both by explaining the cost benefits and sustainability of a repaired roof, when appropriate, and by protecting them from improper repairs when a replacement is truly warranted.
Ultimately, to achieve this vision, the entire ecosystem surrounding claims involving roofing damage—including carriers, adjusters, roofers, and roofing material manufacturers—must increasingly consider roof repairs. Most importantly, we need ecosystem-wide collaboration and education to stabilize the industry on every level.
The home insurance sector can lead this charge by continuing to grow relationships with roofers and repair networks. If we create alignment and understanding around when repairs are appropriate and when they aren’t, everyone—from insurers to contractors to homeowners—is better off.
Part of that process involves working through the challenges of repairs together with roofers, collaborating with them to create standards for how different types of damage are addressed. In cases in which a repair is viable, how do we identify the right material—such as the type or color of a shingle—to facilitate the repair? Roofers are important collaborators in this process, since the way forward is not always clear and replacements are often warranted.
Homes aren’t built on an assembly line like cars, so determining repairability is a steeper challenge on a roof than a windshield. As an ecosystem, we have all the resources we need to come together and determine what is accurate and fair for any given repair. We can start by agreeing that, in many situations, repairing is a viable solution.
Today, the typical remedy for roof damage is full replacement. In the future, we should normalize repairs, using alternative materials that do not compromise the function or aesthetic of the roof. All the tools and technology exist to make this scenario a reality.
The challenges are high, but so are the stakes. If the industry fails to adapt, costs will continue to climb, hurting homeowners, insurers, and the ecosystem at large.
For all involved, 2025 is a crucial year for promoting better roof repairability decisions in the property claims industry. This approach requires significant conversation, collaboration, and education, but the outcome is worth it. If repairing your roof becomes more regularly standardized and accepted, we will be better off as an industry, ecosystem, and society.
Brian Matthews is the CEO itel and has spent over two decades in the technology and data industries with extensive success in developing and executing transformational growth strategies. He most recently served as President of Appriss Insights, a leading SaaS data analytics platform and data provider to background screening, legal, government, healthcare, and commercial clients. Brian led Appriss through a transformational growth journey before the business was acquired by Equifax in 2021. Prior to Appriss, he held leadership roles at growing technology firms including, eOriginal, Verint, and Vubiquity. He holds an MBA in finance and international business from New York University Stern School of Business and a BBA in accounting from Ohio University.
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