- Hailstorm damages in the U.S. reached $58 billion in 2023, surpassing all hurricanes except Katrina and Ian.
- Over 41 million homes face moderate-to-severe hailstorm risks in 2025, with a reconstruction cost value of $13.4 trillion.
- Home insurance premiums are rising as insurers increase deductibles, restrict coverage, or drop policies in high-risk areas.
- Larger hailstones and hidden structural damage are driving record-breaking claims, increasing financial strain on homeowners.
- Rising premiums affect mortgage lending and home affordability, making some properties harder to insure or finance.
Hailstorms are no longer just a seasonal problem – they’ve turned into a major reason for increased home insurance prices. As insurance companies pay out billions in hail-related claims, homeowners nationwide are experiencing increasing premiums, stricter policies, and even coverage denials. The financial burden is particularly severe in states prone to frequent and intense hailstorms. If your a homeowner, homebuyer, or real estate investor, understanding the link between hailstorm frequency and skyrocketing insurance costs is crucial for protecting your property and finances.
Hailstorms vs. Hurricanes: The Unexpected Insurance Crisis
Hurricanes and wildfires often grab headlines and public interest, but hailstorms have turned into a just as pricey issue for the insurance business. In 2023, hailstorm damages reached $58 billion in insured losses, going beyond every U.S. hurricane except for Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Ian (2022) (Insurrance Information Institute, 2024).
Why Are Hailstorms So Expensive for Insurers?
Unlike hurricanes, which tend to impact relatively narrow coastal areas, hailstorms occur inland and affect a larger swath of homes and businesses across multiple states. Areas like Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri have experienced a rise in hail-related insurance claims, mostly due to how often, how big, and how damaging modern hailstorms are.
Many homes and vehicles sustain minor damages during hailstorms, but even seemingly small hailstones can lead to long-term structural issues. Roofing repairs and replacements, in particular, contribute heavily to the increasing insurance claims. With each big storm, the money pressure on insurers increases, leading them to increase premiums and cut back on coverage choices to safeguard their profits.
Golf-Ball-Sized Hail: The Key Culprit in Rising Costs
The size of hailstones is a very important factor in deciding how bad the property damage will be. In 2024, Oklahoma had hailstorms where golf-ball-sized hail hit thousands of houses hard, resulting in about $160 billion in repair costs (CoreLogic, 2024).
How Large Hail Damages a Home
Hailstones larger than an inch in diameter can cause:
- Major roof damage—smashing shingles, cracking tiles, and making the roof’s protection weaker
- Broken or cracked windows, making you more open to the weather
- Dents in siding and outside walls, which can cause structural problems over time
- Weak gutters and drainage systems, that can make water collect and cause damage indirectly over time
Because golf-ball-sized or even baseball-sized hailstones are happening more often, insurers are finding it hard to stay profitable, which is causing home insurnce costs to go up in areas with severe storms often.
Unseen Damage: Why Hail Costs More Than You Think
One of the main dangers from hailstorms is that you can’t see it right away. Unlike a tree that fell down or a basement that flooded, hail damage can make a home’s roof or structure weaker in ways that might not show up for months or years. For example:
- Cracks in shingles and sealants let dampness get in slowly.
- Damaged roofing stuff can cause leaks you don’t notice, and they get worse every time it rains.
- Small dents in gutters and drainage systems make water go the wrong way, which can cause the base of the house to wear away.
Because this damage isn’t always found right after a storm, homeowners might make insurance claims later, which makes costs go up even more for insurance companies—and in the end, makes premiums higher for people with policies (CoreLogic, 2024).
How Home Insurance Companies Are Changing Coverage
Because claim costs are going way up from hailstorms, insurance companies are changing their policies to lower how much money they might lose. Many homeowners are now facing:
- Higher deductibles for claims about hail—making them pay more themselves before insurance starts to help.
- Tougher rules about how old roofs can be—some insurers won’t cover roofs that are older than 10-15 years, making you pay for new roofs before they give you complete coverage.
- Saying no to coverage completely in areas with high risk, which leaves homeowners rushing to find other options (Wall Street Journal, 2024).
These changes in policies mostly hurt homeowners in states such as Texas, Colorado, and Missouri, where hailstorms keep causing damage every year.
The Forecast for 2025: Even Higher Insurance Costs?
If hailstorm patterns keep going, experts think home insurance costs will be even higher in 2025 and later. CoreLogic estimates that by next year:
- 41 million homes will be at risk of hailstorms that are medium to very bad
- The total cost to rebuild homes that could be hurt by hail might be as high as $13.4 trillion (CoreLogic, 2024).
For homeowners, this means that lowering hail risk and keeping good insurance coverage will be even more important than before.
How This Affects Homebuyers and Mortgage Lending
Home insurance is very important in mortgage lending. Banks and mortgage lenders need homeowners to have insurance coverage—but as hailstorm risks make premiums go up, getting insurance you can afford is turning into a big problem for people buying homes.
- If insurance costs get too high, some buyers might not be able to get mortgages at all.
- Monthly payments that are higher because home insurance costs are going up make owning a home less affordable.
- Some lenders might not want to approve loans for houses in areas where claims and coverage denials are going up.
Basically, the hailstorm insurance problem is affecting not just homeowners now, but the whole real estate market.
What This Means for Las Vegas Real Estate
Even if Las Vegas isn’t a city that gets hail often, national insurance trends still affect homeowners in Nevada. Here’s how:
- National insurance costs going up adds to changes in how policies are written, which affects if you can get coverage.
- Costs from bad weather in other states that are high risk might make premiums go up for everyone, affecting homeowners in Nevada.
- People buying and investing in real estate have to think about insurance costs changing when they are figuring out if they can afford a property.
Financial Strategies for Homeowners to Protect Against High Insurance Costs
If you’re having trouble with premiums that are going up, there are things you can do to make the money problem easier:
- Put in roofing stuff that resists damage to get discounts on home insurance.
- Set up home inspections regularly to find hail damage you can’t see early on.
- Check prices from different insurance companies before you renew your policy.
- Think about special insurance plans or ones supported by the state if insurance from private companies gets too pricey.
What’s Next for Home Insurance in a Changing Climate?
As really bad weather events—including hailstorms—keep getting worse, home insurance costs will still be hard for lots of homeowners. Keeping up with info, getting your home ready, and working with real estate experts who know a lot can help you deal with the insurance world as it changes.
If you’re dealing with insurance markets that are hard to guess, working with an expert such as Steve Hawks in Las Vegas can help you make better choices about owning a home.
Citations
- Insurance Information Institute. (2024). Hailstorm-related damages surpassed most hurricanes last year. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com
- CoreLogic. (2024). Estimated hail damage costs exceed expectations. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com