For the 11th straight year, Texas is the hail damage capital of the US

KVUE, By Jason Wheeler, May 18, 2026

Some Texas homeowners are buying other insurance...to help them cover the hail deductible on homeowner's insurance

DALLAS – Sometimes, winning can feel a lot like losing.

For the 11th year in a row, Texas is the hail capital of the U.S. It wasn’t even close.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, there were 902 hail events here with major damage in 2025, resulting in a lot of claims. Illinois, which finished in second place, notched 375 major hail events.

Let’s do just some of the math. Last year, State Farm, which is the largest home insurer in Texas, covered 19.10% of insured homes in the state. State Farm processed 95,200 hail-related claims here in 2025; the average payment was $15,000.

That works out to a total of about $1.4 billion for hail damage. And again, that is just one insurer that covered about one in five insured homes in Texas. So, imagine roughly that dollar amount multiplied by five. That’s a lot of hail…and hail damage.

“We’re encouraging Texas property owners to check their roofs now, choose impact-resistant materials, and avoid contractor scams after a storm hits," State Farm said.

Impact-resistant materials could include a metal roof or impact-resistant shingles we’ve discussed in previous Right on the Money articles. We went to the South Carolina lab funded by the insurance industry, where those extra durable shingles are tested.

And subsequently, we detailed how Texas leads the country in the number of homes protected by impact-resistant shingles.

“Disadvantages as well”
But not long ago, I got a message from an independent insurance agent who pointed out that those higher-grade shingles can have “disadvantages as well”.

He warned that “some [insurance] companies are not covering for cosmetic damage” to those roofs, just “structural damage”. He recounted how one man in Garland had his roof claim denied.

“There were visible hail marks, but he had a class 4 (impact-resistant shingle) roof," the agent said. “If it would have not been a class 4 roof, they would have replaced it”.

So, if you have a roof covered with metal or those stronger shingles, beware that it could get dented and dinged and…denied when you try to file a claim if it has damage that is just considered cosmetic.

Just to be clear: Structurally intact metal or impact-resistant shingles could add tremendous resiliency and resale value to your home because of their ability to protect against severe weather.

Still, cosmetic damage — even to those hardier roof surfaces — could diminish your home’s appearance, and therefore, its value. It could also complicate your home’s insurability if you switch carriers someday and they — as they often do now — take an aerial look at your roof.

If you have one of these stronger roofs, check to see if your policy includes a cosmetic damage exclusion. If it does, is it possible to remove that exclusion? And if so, how much does that add to the premium?

Deductibles and a different kind of insurance
During a recent panel discussion I was involved in, someone shared the shock they felt when they realized how much their homeowner’s insurance deductible was for a roof replacement claim.

United Policyholders, a nonprofit insurance information resource, reports that a deductible of “2 percent has become the dominant standard deductible for wind and hail coverage across most of Texas, particularly in North Texas, where hail claims are most frequent.”

That’s 2% of the insured value on your homeowner’s policy. That number can get large quickly depending on your home’s insured value. So, how about supplemental insurance to help you pay your homeowner’s insurance deductible? It’s a thing.

A niche company called Sola offers supplemental payouts to offset your costs if you have tornado, wind or hail damage. They just started doing business in Texas last July and they say this state already has the third most of its policies behind Arkansas and Missouri, both of which had offered policies a year before they started in Texas.

Sola primarily uses data from the National Weather Service and NOAA.

“We use their confirmed storm reports and mapping to determine whether a property was impacted by a qualifying wind or hail event," the company said. "That said, we do not ignore what the homeowner provides. Roofing reports, photos and other documentation are all part of the conversation.”

If that data indicates your property was hit by a qualifying event and you have damage, they boast a quick and hassle-free payment to you, and a 96% claim approval rate.

They add that these “claims are not reported to CLUE”. That may come as a relief to anyone wanting a policy like this. We have talked before about CLUE, and how that report is used by insurers to determine the risk of covering you.

Sola also says the payments it issues can be used how you choose, perhaps to pay for storm repairs to your home or car so you don't have to file a claim with your home or auto insurer. Or you could use the payment to take care of your deductible with your home insurer, for instance if you need a new roof after a hailstorm.

Of course, this supplemental insurance costs you extra. The amount depends on your individual situation.

“Our coverage options range from about $2,000 up to $25,000 per structure," Sola said. "We base our pricing on long term property risk, using roughly four decades of wind and hail data to model premiums, and the only factor that impacts cost is the property’s zip code.”

But Sola says a $10,000 policy typically costs about $700 per year, and that a $15,000 policy would be closer to $900 yearly. That’s separate from the cost of your homeowner’s insurance.

Sola says wind, hail and tornado risks — along with rising deductibles — made Texas a “natural fit” for them. Yes, we live in a state where some homeowners are getting insurance to help them pay their insurance deductibles.

Link.