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Some homeowners in Goddard and Rose Hill are on their third new roof after finding themselves in the path of hailstorms in recent years. And some are so weary of the process that they are locking in the price and the materials on their latest roof and asking the roofing company to wait until hail season is over to put it on, said Mike Heiland of Heiland Roofing.
Apart from the hassle, the swirl of severe weather, along with the high price of oil, is shaking up insurance rates and the cost and availability of roofing materials.
Storms in other areas such as the tornado in Joplin do not directly affect insurance rates in Wichita. But 2011 is already a record year for storm losses in Kansas, most from hail damage. Kansas recorded $502 million in storm losses in April and $201 million in May.
This year's estimated storm losses already have eclipsed 2008 and 2009, which saw an increase of 30 percent in losses and which caused some insurance companies to raise rates 10 to 20 percent in 2009, according to state insurance officials.
After a bit of a break, the officials see the possibility for such rate increases again next year.
Wichita proper has been spared some of the heavier recent hailstorms and rate increases, but Mike Bonner, who lives in west Wichita, still had to put two roofs on his house last year.
The first roof to be replaced bore the cumulative damage of years' worth of storms, while the second roof was damaged in one hailstorm. Bonner had to pay two deductibles in 2010 and "thought maybe we'd get hit pretty good" with a rate increase. That hasn't happened — yet.
Losses take time to show up in rate hikes
It can be two years before insurance companies reflect weather-related claims in rate adjustments.
Rate increases filed with the Kansas Insurance Department for residential property so far this year have been mainly 8 percent or less, said Jim Newins, director of property and casualty for the department. "It'll be next year at the earliest before we see any 2011 losses show up in the data. After that we expect it to start trending up rather significantly."
Insurance companies must file any rate increases with the state insurance department and can't raise or lower rates more than 12 percent without the department's scrutiny. Some companies raise their rates all at once, and some do it gradually, assistant insurance commissioner Bob Tomlinson said.
Kansas' losses to hail are roughly equivalent to Florida's for hurricanes. Seventy percent of the premium on a homeowner's policy is the risk to the roof, Tomlinson said.
The cost of roofing materials also has spiked, increasing about 10 to 20 percent in the past five months because of the high price of oil, said Chris Boeschen of Shelter Distribution, a roofing supply company. Roofing companies have no choice but to pass that increase on, Heiland of Heiland Roofing said.
And the demand for materials has caused longer waits for new roofs to be installed, Boeschen said. Whereas he used to be able to promise materials within two weeks, now it can be two months.
Still, "as the storms subside, trends should get back to normal," Boeschen said. And homeowners need not feel helpless or rushed about insurance rates or new roofs, insurance officials and roofers say.
Researching rates
For people who need help making sense of their insurance bills, "be in touch with your agent," Tomlinson advises. They can also help you try to lower your rate.
You can also contact the Kansas Insurance Department to find out the lowest, highest and average rate your insurance company is charging its customers. The department can help you find out how your rate measures but won't be able to tell you specifically why your rate went up, at least not initially, Newins said.
You can compare companies' rates as of March online as well as the ratio of complaints against a company based on the number of insured in the state and the premium volume, so you're comparing apples to apples, Tomlinson said. Go to www.ksinsurance.org; click on Quick Links, then Publications, then go to Home/Renters Insurance for a shopper's guide and the complaint ratio report.
If you need a new roof, take your time and seek two to three estimates from reputable roofing companies, Heiland advised. There are still some individual people peddling their services and severely undercutting established local roofing companies in their bids for roof work, he said. But some aren't insured and don't offer guarantees, and so should be avoided.
If you're concerned about locking in a price and materials for a roof now, Heiland said, a reputable roofing company will be able to store the materials for you until you're ready to have the roof installed.
From about now until September, when the weather is so hot, chances are slim for large hail, Scott Smith of the National Weather Service said. When cooler weather starts returning in September, there's a chance for large hail again, but it's usually gone by early October.
Homeowners can choose a more impact-resistant roof that stands up to small hail. It is more expensive, but American Family Insurance, for example, offers homeowners with impact-resistant roofs a discount, said agent Brad Woody. "I'm seeing that as a trend more and more," he said.
But even the impact-resistant roofs have their limits.
"You get baseball-size hail, I could care less what kind of roof you've got on — you're going to have damage," Chris Farber of Farber Construction said.
