Roof data may be incomplete for some homeowners insurers, leaving them with blind spots or disconnected information about specific risk factors. Verisk estimates that 2021 U.S. roof claims surpassed $19 billion, or about 30 percent of all property loss dollars. Incorrect roof age data collectively costs homeowners insurers $1.31 billion in premiums annually.

A series of insurers came to Verisk with roof risk challenges. Verisk has created case studies to follow their journeys:

Staying on top of roof condition – A property insurer seeking to grow beyond its single-state footprint wanted an alternative to conducting property inspections on-site, which was costly and fell short on gathering critical risk data. Verisk’s high-resolution aerial imagery, proprietary data, and advanced analytics exceled in testing on hundreds of properties—and positioned the insurer to better address a range of needs.

Grappling with age and condition – A major national personal lines insurer sought to better understand inconsistent correlations between roof condition and age in its homeowners portfolio. Extensive aerial and permit data from Verisk helped benchmark the insurer’s portfolio against market norms—and revealed property-level deviations from general assumptions about roof condition and age.

Taking charge of solar – A leading personal lines insurer wanted to better grasp its risk exposure related to solar panels, an increasingly popular feature on homes. The surge is most pronounced in states where the climate favors this environmentally friendly energy source. The insurer screened nearly 73,000 policies with Verisk permit data and aerial imagery to capture homes with solar panels in selected states.

Responding to hail damage with current replacement data – Volatile roof replacement costs make it critical to understand hail damage, especially as this and other weather perils occur more frequently. Surging materials and labor costs, tied in part to the pandemic, potentially make the problem even more expensive for many insurers.

Multiple use cases may call for expanding access to property-specific data. Better underwriting and inspection decisions can follow in a market where 90 percent of business is renewals, but only 10 percent of properties are inspected. Straight-through processing can be easier with more up-front data. And continually refreshed data can help maintain efficient and effective mitigation and monitoring.

Read Verisk’s new case studies to see how key elements can fit together and improve understanding of roof risk.

Sinthy Khamsaeng is underwriting product manager for personal lines at Verisk.