By The Roofing Brief Team. Last reviewed: October 2026.
Roof leak insurance claims are not tracked as their own category: insurers file them under wind and hail (2.80 claims per 100 insured homes a year, $14,747 average paid) or water damage and freezing (1.50 per 100, $15,400 average), per ISO/Verisk data for 2019 to 2023 published by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I). Those two roof-exposed perils made up 65.1% of homeowners losses in 2023. The figures below come from ISO/Verisk via Triple-I, the LexisNexis 2025 and 2026 U.S. Home Insurance Trends Reports, Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) hail data and State Farm winter claim data.
Executive summary
- Wind and hail is the most frequent homeowners peril at 2.80 claims per 100 insured homes per year, averaging $14,747 per claim, and it accounted for 42.5% of homeowners losses in 2023 (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I, 2019 to 2023).
- Water damage and freezing is second at 1.50 claims per 100 homes, averaging $15,400, and 22.6% of 2023 losses (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I).
- Fire and lightning is rare (0.23 claims per 100 homes) but averages $88,170 per claim, about 6.0 times a wind or hail claim.
- 5.3% of insured homes had a claim in 2023, down from 6.4% in 2020 (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I).
- All-peril claim severity hit a seven-year high in 2025, up 25.9% from 2024 and 93.2% from 2019, while wind loss cost fell 50.4% after 2024’s catastrophe-heavy year (LexisNexis, July 22, 2026).
- In 2024, wind severity rose 23.5% and wind loss cost 30.7%, and catastrophe claims were 42% of all home claims and 64% of losses (LexisNexis, October 23, 2025).
- State Farm paid over $628 million on more than 20,000 freeze-related water damage claims from 2024 through June 2025, an average above $30,000 (State Farm).
- The average HO-3 homeowners premium was $1,569 in 2022, up 11.2% from 2021 (NAIC via Triple-I).
Key findings
- Wind and hail claims occurred at 2.80 per 100 insured homes per year from 2019 to 2023, the highest frequency of any peril, with an average payment of $14,747. Geography: US excluding Alaska, Texas and Puerto Rico. Source: ISO, a Verisk business, via Triple-I.
- Water damage and freezing claims occurred at 1.50 per 100 homes and averaged $15,400, about 4% more per claim than wind and hail. Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I, 2019 to 2023.
- Fire and lightning claims occurred at 0.23 per 100 homes but averaged $88,170. Theft ran 0.12 per 100 at $5,524, and all other property damage 0.88 per 100 at $9,043. Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I.
- All property damage combined averaged 5.53 claims per 100 homes and $16,857 per claim from 2019 to 2023. Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I.
- Shares of 2023 homeowners losses: wind and hail 42.5%, water damage and freezing 22.6%, fire and lightning 21.6%, all other property damage 10.0%, theft 0.6%, liability 2.1%. In 2022 the split was 45.4%, 25.8%, 18.7%, 6.5%, 0.6% and 2.6%. Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I.
- Average claim severity across all perils rose from $13,884 in 2019 to $20,062 in 2023. Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I.
- In 2025, all-peril loss cost fell 4.4% and frequency 23.8% from 2024, but severity rose 25.9%. Fire and lightning loss cost rose 76.8%, driven largely by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Source: LexisNexis, 2026.
- Hail loss cost in 2025 was 38.4% below its 2023 seven-year high, and hail frequency 35.4% lower. Source: LexisNexis, 2026.
- Non-weather water loss cost fell 6.4% in 2025, but its severity is up 63.16% since 2019. Source: LexisNexis, 2026.
- In 2024, hail two inches or larger fell on more than 567,000 US homes with a combined reconstruction cost value of $160 billion; Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas held about 72% of them. Source: CoreLogic 2025 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report.
- Cotality counted 142 days of hail 2 inches or larger in 2025, against a 20-year average of 122 (Claims Journal, September 16, 2026).
- Lightning-caused homeowners claims paid $1.65 billion in 2025, up 59.4% from $1.04 billion in 2024, on 61,986 claims averaging $26,616 (Triple-I lightning statistics).
How roof claims are categorized
There is no standardized “roof leak” claim category in industry loss data. ISO/Verisk, the data engine behind most homeowners statistics, classifies losses by peril: wind and hail, water damage and freezing, fire and lightning, theft, liability, and all other. A roof failure can appear under several of these headings. A wind-torn or hail-bruised roof cover files as wind and hail, the peril behind 42.5% of 2023 homeowners losses. Interior water intrusion through a compromised roof, flashing, or ice dam files as water damage and freezing. A roof struck by lightning files as fire and lightning (61,986 lightning claims in 2025, per Triple-I). Freeze-caused leaks, including ice dams, sit inside water damage and freezing. This report treats wind/hail and water/freezing as the roof-exposed perils, because the roof assembly is the primary defense against both, while noting that not every water or freezing claim originates at the roof.
Frequency by cause
Frequency is expressed as claims per 100 insured homes per year (house-years), the standard ISO/Verisk measure. Wind and hail leads at 2.80, followed by water damage and freezing at 1.50 and all other property damage at 0.88. The loss-share column is the share of incurred dollars, not of claim counts, which is why rare but costly fire claims hold 21.6%.
| Peril | Claims per 100 homes/yr (2019 to 2023) | Share of 2023 homeowners losses | About 1 in X homes per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind and hail | 2.80 | 42.5% | 36 |
| Water damage and freezing | 1.50 | 22.6% | 67 |
| Fire and lightning | 0.23 | 21.6% | 435 |
| All other property damage | 0.88 | 10.0% | 114 |
| Theft | 0.12 | 0.6% | 833 |
Source: ISO, a Verisk business, via Triple-I Facts + Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance (HO-2, HO-3, HO-5 and HE-7 policies; excludes Alaska, Texas and Puerto Rico). The “1 in X” column is a Roofing Brief calculation (100 divided by frequency). An earlier version of this page labeled the loss shares as shares of claims and used the 2018 to 2022 table; it was updated to the 2019 to 2023 table on October 28, 2026.
Cost by cause
Severity is the average amount paid per claim, excluding loss adjustment expenses. Fire and lightning is the outlier at $88,170. Wind/hail ($14,747) and water/freezing ($15,400) sit within 4.4% of each other, so their frequency, not their per-claim size, makes them the dominant roof-related losses.
| Peril | Average claim severity (2019 to 2023) | Expected loss per policy per year |
|---|---|---|
| Fire and lightning | $88,170 | $203 |
| Water damage and freezing | $15,400 | $231 |
| Wind and hail | $14,747 | $413 |
| All other property damage | $9,043 | $80 |
| Theft | $5,524 | $7 |
| All property damage | $16,857 | $932 |
Source: ISO/Verisk via Triple-I. Expected loss per policy is a Roofing Brief calculation (frequency times severity, divided by 100).
Is a roof leak covered, and what does coverage cost?
A standard HO-3 policy pays for a roof leak when a covered peril caused it, such as wind, hail or a falling tree; Progressive, for example, states that a leak from lack of maintenance or wear and tear typically is not covered (Progressive). Triple-I notes that most insurers require an inspection when a roof is over 20 years old and may cover an older roof only at actual cash value, which deducts depreciation (Triple-I); the NAIC explains that ACV coverage often does not pay enough to fully repair or replace the damage (NAIC). For context on cost, the average HO-3 premium was $1,569 in 2022 (NAIC via Triple-I), against an expected property loss of about $932 per policy per year in the ISO/Verisk data above.
| If your roof leak | Likely treatment | What to check before filing |
|---|---|---|
| Started after a wind, hail or falling-tree event | Wind and hail peril; covered on an HO-3 subject to your deductible | Date of the storm, photos, and whether your policy has a separate wind or hail percentage deductible |
| Came from worn shingles, failed sealant or skipped maintenance | Typically excluded as wear and tear | Pay for repair; a denied claim can still appear on your claims history |
| Came from an ice dam or freeze | Water damage and freezing peril (1.50 claims per 100 homes, $15,400 average) | Interior damage photos; State Farm’s freeze-related claims averaged over $30,000 |
| Is on a roof over 20 years old | Inspection may be required; payment may be at actual cash value, not replacement cost | Your declarations page for ACV or roof payment schedule wording |
| Repair estimate is below your deductible | The insurer pays nothing above the deductible | Get a written repair bid first and compare it with the deductible |
What changed in 2024 and 2025
LexisNexis trend data shows wind loss cost up 30.7% in 2024 and down 50.4% in 2025, while fire and lightning loss cost rose 76.8% in 2025. Our wind damage roof statistics by region show where those storms hit US roofs hardest.
| Peril | 2023 to 2024 (LexisNexis 2025) | 2024 to 2025 (LexisNexis 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| All perils | Severity up 9%, frequency down 11.6%, catastrophe claims 42% of claims and 64% of losses | Severity up 25.9% (93.2% above 2019), loss cost down 4.4%, frequency down 23.8% |
| Wind | Severity up 23.5%, loss cost up 30.7%, frequency up 5.8% | Loss cost down 50.4%, severity down 12.0%, frequency down 43.9% |
| Hail | Loss cost 19% above seven-year average | Loss cost 38.4% below the 2023 high; severity flat |
| Weather water | Loss cost up 25.4%, severity up 29.6% | Not broken out in the 2026 release |
| Non-weather water | Loss cost down 4.3%, severity up 6.2% | Loss cost down 6.4%, severity up 2.5% |
| Fire and lightning | Loss cost down 3%, severity up 12.2% | Loss cost up 76.8%, severity up 67.3% (Los Angeles wildfires) |
Sources: LexisNexis Risk Solutions, 2025 U.S. Home Insurance Trends Report release and 2026 U.S. Home Trends Report release.
Weather perils that hit the roof first
Severe convective storms drive most wind and hail roof claims. CoreLogic (now Cotality) estimated that in 2024, hail two inches in diameter or larger struck more than 567,000 U.S. homes, carrying a combined reconstruction cost value of $160 billion. Texas alone saw more than 180,000 homes affected, and five states, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas, accounted for about 72% of impacted homes. The single most damaging event was an Oklahoma City hailstorm on September 24, 2024, which struck about 35,000 homes. Our report on hail damage roof insurance claims by state follows insurer payouts and storm counts for every state.
Cotality’s 2026 analysis puts more than 43.5 million US properties, about 42% of homes analyzed, at moderate or greater hail risk, with $17.8 trillion in reconstruction cost value (Cotality). Source for 2024 figures: CoreLogic 2025 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report summary.
Freezing, ice dams, and winter roof leaks
Freeze damage sits inside the water damage and freezing peril. State Farm paid over $628 million on more than 20,000 claims for water damage caused by freezing from 2024 through June 2025, an average above $30,000 per claim, and listed Illinois, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Tennessee as the top five states by claim cost. The data covers freeze damage to foundations and slabs and water damage from frozen conditions, the category where ice dam leaks fall. After Winter Storm Fern, State Farm had received over 20,000 home and auto claims as of February 9, 2026, led by Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas (State Farm). Our guide to ice dam removal compares the cost of removal with the cost of the damage and covers insurance afterward.
Source: State Farm newsroom, 2024 to June 2025 and February 2026.
Roofing Brief calculations (original synthesis)
The following figures are derived by The Roofing Brief from published inputs. They are labeled as calculations, not published statistics.
1. Roof-exposed perils were 65.1% of homeowners losses in 2023
Logic: add the 2023 loss shares of the two perils a roof assembly defends against. Wind and hail (42.5%) plus water damage and freezing (22.6%) equals 65.1%; in 2022 it was 71.2% (45.4% plus 25.8%). Inputs: ISO/Verisk losses by cause via Triple-I. Limitation: not every water and freezing loss starts at the roof (plumbing and appliance failures are included), so this is an upper-bound proxy, not a measured roof-origin share.
2. Annual odds of a claim by peril
Logic: 100 divided by claims per 100 homes. Result: wind and hail about 1 in 36 homes per year, water and freezing about 1 in 67, all other property damage about 1 in 114, fire and lightning about 1 in 435, and theft about 1 in 833. Inputs: ISO/Verisk 2019 to 2023 frequency via Triple-I. Limitation: national averages that exclude Texas and mask large state and metro variation.
3. Expected annual loss per policy by peril (pure-premium proxy)
Logic: frequency (per 100 homes) times average severity, divided by 100. Results: wind and hail about $413, water and freezing about $231, fire and lightning about $203, all other about $80, and theft about $7, for about $932 per policy per year, matching the all-property figure (5.53 times $16,857, divided by 100). Limitation: a raw loss-cost proxy, not a premium; it excludes expenses, reinsurance and catastrophe loading.
4. Frequency gap between the two roof-exposed perils
Logic: 2.80 divided by 1.50. Wind and hail claims are about 1.87 times as frequent as water and freezing claims, while their average severities are within 4.4% of each other ($14,747 vs $15,400). Inputs: ISO/Verisk 2019 to 2023 via Triple-I. Limitation: period averages do not show the 2024 wind spike or the 2025 drop.
Methodology
Source selection prioritized primary claim data. The frequency and severity table comes from ISO, a Verisk Analytics business, covering 2019 to 2023 across HO-2, HO-3, HO-5, and HE-7 policy forms and excluding Alaska, Texas, and Puerto Rico, as published by the Insurance Information Institute. Trend data comes from the LexisNexis Risk Solutions 2025 and 2026 reports (2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025). Hail exposure comes from the CoreLogic 2025 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report and Cotality’s 2026 analysis. Winter claim figures come from State Farm’s newsroom; lightning from Triple-I. Where two sources disagreed, the ISO/Verisk baseline was used for structural frequency and severity, and LexisNexis was used for recent year-over-year direction, with both periods stated explicitly. Derived figures are labeled as Roofing Brief calculations with inputs and limitations. Any figure that could not be traced to a named source and period was excluded; on October 28, 2026 an unsourced figure of 16,000 ice dam claims from a January 2026 storm was removed and State Farm’s $30,000 average was relabeled as freeze-related water damage, matching State Farm’s wording. Last updated October 28, 2026.
Source quality ranking
- Tier 1 (primary): ISO/Verisk claim frequency and severity via Triple-I; Triple-I lightning statistics; NAIC premium data via Triple-I.
- Tier 2 (industry data): LexisNexis Risk Solutions 2025 and 2026 home trends reports; CoreLogic 2025 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report and Cotality 2026 analysis; State Farm claim data.
- Tier 3 (reputable journalism): trade-press summaries used only to locate the underlying figures, not as the figure of record.
- Excluded: unsourced roundup pages, AI-generated statistics pages, and blog posts without a named data source or year.
Most quotable statistics
- Wind and hail plus water and freezing made up 65.1% of homeowners losses in 2023 (Roofing Brief calculation on ISO/Verisk data via Triple-I).
- Wind and hail hits about 1 in 36 insured homes every year (Roofing Brief calculation on ISO/Verisk 2019 to 2023).
- The average fire and lightning claim, $88,170, is about 6.0 times the average wind or hail claim of $14,747 (ISO/Verisk, 2019 to 2023).
- All-peril home claim severity rose 93.2% from 2019 to 2025 (LexisNexis, 2026).
- Freeze-related water damage claims averaged over $30,000 at State Farm from 2024 through June 2025.
Data limitations
The ISO/Verisk table excludes Alaska, Texas, and Puerto Rico, which understates hail-heavy Texas (180,000+ homes hit by 2-inch hail in 2024) in national roof-peril figures. Industry data records perils, not roof origin, so a “roof leak” cannot be isolated as a discrete category. Frequency and severity are 2019 to 2023 averages and predate the 2024 wind spike and 2025 wildfire losses. State Farm figures reflect one carrier, not the whole market. CoreLogic reconstruction cost values are modeled exposure, not paid claims. All derived figures are proxies and are labeled as calculations.
Downloadable dataset recommended fields
- peril_category
- claims_per_100_homes
- average_severity_usd
- share_of_property_claims_pct
- data_period
- geography_coverage
- yoy_loss_cost_change_pct
- catastrophe_claim_share_pct
- source_name
- source_tier
Press summary
US insurers do not track “roof leaks” as a category; they track perils. The two perils a roof exists to stop, wind and hail and water damage and freezing, made up 65.1% of homeowners losses in 2023, according to a Roofing Brief calculation on ISO/Verisk data published by Triple-I. Wind and hail claims hit about 1 in 36 insured homes a year at an average of $14,747, and water and freezing claims about 1 in 67 at $15,400. Fire is rare but costliest at $88,170 a claim. LexisNexis reported wind loss costs up 30.7% in 2024 and down 50.4% in 2025, while all-peril severity reached a seven-year high in 2025, 93.2% above 2019. State Farm’s freeze-related water claims averaged above $30,000 from 2024 through June 2025.
Suggested headlines
- Two Roof Perils Drive Nearly Two Thirds of Home Insurance Losses
- Wind and Hail Hits 1 in 36 Insured Homes a Year
- Home Claim Severity Nearly Doubled Since 2019
- The $30,000 Winter Leak: What Freeze Claims Cost
- Fire Is Rare but Costs 6 Times a Hail Claim
Frequently Asked Questions
How common are roof leak insurance claims?
Insurers do not count roof leaks separately. Wind and hail claims, where most storm-caused roof leaks fall, occurred at 2.80 per 100 insured homes per year from 2019 to 2023 (about 1 in 36 homes), and water damage and freezing claims at 1.50 per 100 (about 1 in 67), per ISO/Verisk via Triple-I.
How much does the average roof-related claim cost?
From 2019 to 2023, wind and hail claims averaged $14,747 and water damage and freezing claims $15,400 (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I). State Farm’s freeze-related water damage claims averaged above $30,000 from 2024 through June 2025.
Does homeowners insurance cover a roof leak?
It covers a leak caused by a covered peril such as wind, hail or a falling tree, subject to your deductible. Leaks from wear and tear or lack of maintenance are typically excluded, and roofs over 20 years old may be insured only at actual cash value (Triple-I).
How much does homeowners coverage cost?
The average HO-3 homeowners premium was $1,569 in 2022, up 11.2% from 2021, per NAIC data published by Triple-I. Premiums vary by state, roof age and deductible.
Is roof leak a separate insurance claim category?
No. ISO/Verisk records losses by peril, so roof-related damage appears under wind and hail (42.5% of 2023 losses), water damage and freezing (22.6%), or fire and lightning (21.6%) depending on the cause.
What share of home insurance losses are roof-related?
Wind/hail and water/freezing, the two roof-exposed perils, made up 65.1% of 2023 homeowners losses and 71.2% in 2022 (Roofing Brief calculation on ISO/Verisk data). Not all water and freezing losses start at the roof.
How often does a home file an insurance claim?
5.3% of insured homes had a claim in 2023, down from 6.4% in 2020 (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I).
Are roof claims getting more expensive?
Per-claim costs are. All-peril severity rose 25.9% in 2025 and is 93.2% above 2019, although wind loss cost fell 50.4% in 2025 after rising 30.7% in 2024 (LexisNexis, 2025 and 2026).
How many homes get hit by large hail each year?
In 2024, hail two inches or larger struck more than 567,000 US homes with a modeled reconstruction cost value of $160 billion (CoreLogic, 2025). Cotality counted 142 days of 2-inch hail in 2025 against a 20-year average of 122.
Why are wind and hail claims frequent but not the most expensive?
They damage the roof cover, which is common and repairable, so they occur often (2.80 per 100 homes) at a mid-range $14,747 average, while fire is rare (0.23 per 100) but averages $88,170 (ISO/Verisk via Triple-I).