Causing billions of dollars in damage every year, the National Center for Atmospheric Research reports hailstorms account for 70 percent of the average annual property losses from severe convective storms. According to the NOAA severe weather database, there were 5,396 hailstorms in 2019 with hailstones over 1” in diameter. If you live in the Midwest, the chances you’ll experience the damaging effects from hail in the next 10 years are all but guaranteed. With likelihood of lower insurance premiums, deductibles, maintenance costs and less damage, including a Very Severe Hail rated roof cover board in your roof system is one of the most cost-effective things you can do to protect your building. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Leading insurer raises the bar on roof assembly hail resistance.
In an effort to reduce insured losses from hail, FM Global, one of the largest insurers of commercial roofs, revised their Lost Prevention Data Sheets in 2016 to include a new designation, Very Severe Hail (VSH). Based on 350,000 hail reports, FM Global published a new hail zone map along with new methods for testing hail resistance on roof assemblies. "Our previous hail map was driven primarily by our loss experience and not really by the physical hazard itself," explains FM Global lead research scientist Andreas Muehlbauer, PhD. "Evaluating hail size and hailstorm frequency together is essential for quantifying the hail hazard. Most roofing systems out there are not VSH rated and start to fail when hail reaches 1.5 inches (38 mm) in diameter. But the likelihood of experiencing two, three or even four-inch hail is quite substantial in certain regions of the United States."
EVERBOARD roof cover boards are rated for Very Severe Hail (VSH)
Continuus Materials’ EVERBOARD™ VSH rated cover board provides superior roof protection and durability. Its high compressive strength, moisture resistance and low permeance make it the superior choice for any roof system. And it’s the most sustainable cover board. Made from recycled paper and plastic, every 1,000 square feet of EVERBOARD installed diverts 1 ton of these materials from landfills.
