Why resilient roofing is becoming essential

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Since insurance coverage isn’t what it used to be, contractors and homeowners alike need to catch up fast. Here’s what you need to know.  

In a world of rising premiums, shifting insurance policy terms and increasingly extreme weather, investing in resilient roofing materials is no longer a niche concept; it’s the new standard. That’s the message Brenda Perkins, insurance advocacy consultant at Brava Roof Tile, brought to the table in this episode of Roofing Road Trips® with Karen Edwards. With over three decades inside the insurance industry, including executive roles at three national carriers, Brenda has seen the evolution firsthand. Now working with Brava, she’s laser-focused on what today’s insurance trends mean for contractors and homeowners. 

“It’s a really big changing environment,” Brenda said. “For contractors, it’s a different game today.” One of the main forces reshaping the industry? A spike in catastrophic weather events, from wildfires and hurricanes to the surging frequency and cost of hailstorms. Brenda explained that the hot spots once limited to the coasts and earthquake zones are now spreading across the entire country. 

"Wind and hail have had tremendous increases,” she noted. “They’re happening more frequently and they're more expensive to repair." That volatility is forcing insurance carriers to adapt and not always in ways that benefit the policyholder. Roof schedules, rising deductibles and coverage of non-renewals are becoming the norm. As Brenda explained, homeowners with roofs as young as 10 to 12 years old are increasingly getting dropped unless they meet new standards of durability. 

“The homeowner's roof may be 12 years old,” she said, “but depending on the product that's there, the carrier can say you need to replace that.” It’s here that Brava’s synthetic roofing solutions enter the picture. All of Brava’s products are FORTIFIED certified, tested to meet rigorous standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). That makes them more likely to survive the punishing storms that are now commonplace and less likely to trigger a coverage dispute. 

As insurers get more selective, resilient roofs offer a rare combination of protection and reassurance. “It’s a lot of peace of mind,” Perkins said, “because the worst thing that can happen is a roof gets damaged and now your problem has gone from a small thing to a really big thing.” 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about how contractors can navigate this volatile landscape and how Brava is positioning itself at the center of these changes!