rewrite this title Hail, Not Hurricanes, Is Driving Up Insurance Rates: How to Save – NerdWallet

The East Coast has hurricanes, and the West Coast has wildfires. But in the middle of the country, homeowners face a different kind of disaster: baseball-sized hail. “The damage is just catastrophic,” says Avery Moore, owner of Oklahoma-based independent insurance agency ECI Insurance.

Shifting storm patterns are at least partially to blame. According to Jeff Schmidt, a meteorologist and vice president at reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, research suggests that the part of the atmosphere that can produce this baseball-sized hail is expanding both eastward and northward.

But it’s not just that storms are moving. There are also more homes in their way.

This is called the “expanding bull’s-eye effect.” Picture a city as a target, with a dense urban center surrounded by rings of suburbs and rural land. In fast-growing cities like Dallas, those rings are pushing outward.

“Cities are bursting at their seams,” Schmidt says. “If we’re shooting something at the target — whether it’s a bow and arrow or a dart or … a weather event — now you have a bigger target.” A single hailstorm that might have hit an empty field 50 years ago could now result in thousands of totaled roofs.

In addition to raising premiums, insurance companies can respond to losses by adjusting policy details like coverage amounts and deductibles.

“If your roof is insured at actual cash value and it’s 15 years old, you’re not going to get a lot of money back,” Moore says.

Take one of Moore’s clients who lived in a 7,000-square-foot home. After discovering a roof leak, she hired a roofer to do a temporary fix to avoid filing a claim. The roofer found extensive hail damage, so she ended up having to file a claim anyway. It was denied. When the quick fix failed during the next hailstorm, she filed another claim, along with a claim on her auto insurance.

“We’re looking at three claims within the three-month period,” Moore says. “And guess who got non-renewed?”

This can leave homeowners in a bind. Paying for small repairs out of pocket can protect your insurability, but Moore’s client did just that and ended up losing her policy. For some, it can feel impossible to win.

Finally, check the financial ratings for any insurers you’re considering through AM Best, an independent agency that rates an insurer’s ability to pay out claims. “Even though B is good in school, B is not great in insurance,” Moore says. Look for an “A” rating to ensure the company can survive a catastrophic storm season.

NerdWallet’s editorial team found that premiums are 10% higher, on average, for homeowners who have made just one claim compared to those with a clean record.

After a big storm, salespeople will often go door-to-door in affected neighborhoods offering to inspect or fix roof damage. Don’t answer the door, Moore says.

“We deal with a lot of fraud where they take the money for the down payment or they do a shoddy job, and just as soon as they blew in here with the storm that brought them, they’re gone.”

Instead, look for local, licensed contractors with liability insurance and good reviews. Ask to see proof of insurance and a license number. You can verify the license with your state’s licensing agency.

Roof-related damage accounts for up to 90% of residential catastrophic losses, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

Upgrading to the Fortified roof standard — a system developed by IBHS that involves sealing the roof deck and reinforcing its edges — can lead to discounts of up to 55% on the wind or hail portion of your premium in some states.

If you replace your shingles, know that just because they’re marketed as “hail-resistant” or “impact-resistant” doesn’t mean they’ll stand up to baseball-sized ice. Several leading brands received a “marginal” rating from the IBHS. Aim for shingles rated “good” or higher.