Property intelligence firm Arturo released its inaugural report “Hurricane Exposure: The State of Gulf Homes.” The report analyzes more than 17 million homes across the southeast United States ahead of a forecasted above-average hurricane season.
The report finds 71.9 percent of rooftops in the analyzed states are asphalt shingle, which can only withstand wind speeds up to 110 mph, or Category 3 force winds. Older or degraded asphalt may only withstand winds up to 50 mph. Metal roofs are more wind-resistant, able to withstand winds up to 160 mph (Category 5), but they only make up 6 percent of roofs in the region.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts as many as 21 named storms, with potentially up to 10 hurricanes, three to six of which could be major hurricanes for 2022. The Arturo report reviews several critical categories and property features deemed vital to insurers.
The reports finds that 691,663 Gulf Coast homes have skylights. It would cost more than $1 billion to replace all of these skylights, which are susceptible to hail and wind damage and could cause internal water damage to homes if broken.
A small number of home in the southeast, including 2.1% of Florida and 1.9% of Texas homes, have solar panels. While they can provide additional power to homes during outages, they can shatter when struck by hail or damaged by lightning strikes. They can be a financial liability if not properly insured.
There was some good news in the report. Hip roofs comprise 52% of Texas homes, 47% of Louisiana homes, 44% of Florida homes, and 42.3% of homes across the whole southeast. While more expensive to build, they are more durable under strong hurricane winds, making them more appealing over gable roofs.
