(Image credit: IIR/Gemini.)
Verisk (Jersey City, N.J.) has released its 2026 U.S. Roof Report, finding that average U.S. residential roof replacement costs rose 33 percent and repair costs rose 25 percent in 2025 compared with the prior four-year average, despite an approximately 20 percent decline in overall claims volume.
Verisk says everyday wind and hail events, many of which fall below catastrophe thresholds, continued to drive roof claim severity. The report found that average residential roof replacement costs reached $17,631 in 2025, while repair costs averaged $4,699.
Residential roof replacement cost value declined to $23 billion in 2025, compared with an average of $24.4 billion from 2021 to 2024. Verisk attributes the decline to a limited U.S. landfall hurricane season, while noting that roof replacement cost value remained elevated.
The report also found that hail exposure remains widespread but uneven. In Verisk Risk Analyzer-designated hail states, 57 percent of residential properties have roofs nine years old or newer, compared with 38 percent in non-hail states. Verisk says the data highlights faster replacement cycles in hail-prone regions, as well as local volatility.
Roof Condition as an Underwriting Signal
Verisk says the report draws on property, claims and weather analytics to show how hail volatility and aging roof stock are increasing risk across the U.S. insurance, construction and housing markets. Roofing line items represent around 30 percent of all line items within claims estimates, according to the company.
Roofs visibly in moderate to poor condition show approximately 60 percent higher loss costs than roofs in good or excellent condition, according to Verisk Roof Condition Score 2025 baseline data.
Tory Farney, VP, Verisk Weather Solutions.
Severe hail, defined as hail at least one inch in diameter, remains the dominant weather-related threat to roofs across much of the United States. In 2025, Verisk Weather Solutions Respond data showed severe hail activity concentrated in the Central Plains, with Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota ranking among the top states by share of roofs affected by severe hail.
Sixteen states experienced severe hail impacts on more than 20 percent of roofs, up from 12 in 2024. Verisk says giant hail, defined as hail at least two inches in diameter, tends to follow more stable geographic patterns year to year, while large hail of one to two inches shows wider metro-level volatility.
“Hail risk is not just about one monster storm; it’s the cadence of frequent, smaller-scale events that can rapidly age and weaken a roof,” comments Tory Farney, VP, Verisk Weather Solutions. “Large hail may cause less damage per event than giant hail, but its wider footprint and year-to-year variability can drive unexpected concentrations of damage. Understanding where hail is most likely to cluster helps insurers, contractors and communities prepare for faster, more resilient recovery.”
Regional Differences in Roof Age
Verisk Roof Age data shows significant regional differences in roof materials and age distribution. In the South, 28 percent of roofs are zero to four years old, and only 4 percent are at least 31 years old, reflecting higher turnover driven by severe weather events and housing growth. In the Midwest, 21 percent of roofs are zero to four years old, while 17 percent are at least 31 years old. In the Northeast, 14 percent of roofs are zero to four years old, while 18 percent are at least 31 years old. In the West, 20 percent of roofs are zero to four years old, while 11 percent are at least 31 years old.
Ryan D’Amario, SVP of property product management, Verisk.
“Accurately assessing roof age, condition and remaining life is a critical part of understanding a property’s vulnerability to wind and hail,” comments Ryan D’Amario, SVP of property product management, Verisk. “Aerial imagery analytics reveal that, as of 2025, 38 percent of U.S. residential homes show moderate to poor roof condition—often with visible defects that can materially influence performance during severe weather. When more than a third of the housing stock falls into this category, roof condition becomes a core underwriting signal that has meaningful implications for risk selection, loss predictability and pricing accuracy.”
The report also found that roofing materials inflation continues to outpace labor costs. In 2025, roofer labor costs rose 0.79 percent, while roofing material costs rose 1.48 percent. Verisk notes that national averages mask regional variation, with roofing material costs rising 10.37 percent in Nevada while declining 15.80 percent in New Hampshire.