Question concerning hail and auto insurance

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by jonwb

Wow... any chance the hail storms are weaker in the Boulder foothill communities?

You're trading hail risk for wildfire risk there. The latter is exponentially more catastrophic, and will have a greater (albeit more localized) long-term impact on homeowner's insurance premiums than the former.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

The 2016 storm was the worst in Colorado Springs history, I believe. Our hail is rarely like that. And I'd be surprised if other front range areas are significantly better.

Well...that storm was particularly violent, but a year or two either before of after that there was hail down on Academy that didn't do as much damage, but was up to the bottom of my hubcaps and I actually slid off the road.

Nikola Tesla once had his lab in Colorado Springs (of which no trace remains) because of the abundance of lightning storms.

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Hail will knock the gritty stuff off the surface of typical asphalt shingles which exposes the substrate to the sunlight which will cause the substrate to dry out and crack which is how water eventually infiltrates. That process can take a couple of years after a major hail storm but the insurers will replace your roof asap to prevent a worse claim later. There are 50-year hail resistant shingles available which we used on the 2nd re-roofing and these will limit the damage that hail can do.

Our homeowners insurance rates went up due to both the hail storms in the area and the wildfires in 2012 and 2013. When we left COLO SPGS in 2016 we were paying $4700/year for coverage and when we got to the Phoenix, AZ area our homeowners insurance cost us only $470/year, a 90% reduction.

Wildfires? How common are they and do they happen in large communities that are not in the mountains? My son lives in Banning Lewis Ranch and I'm looking to possibly move to that general vicinity.

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by jonwb

You're not selling me on this move

Me either. I'm seriously considering moving there within a year.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

Wildfires? How common are they and do they happen in large communities that are not in the mountains? My son lives in Banning Lewis Ranch and I'm looking to possibly move to that general vicinity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldo_Canyon_Fire

https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/art...ck-forest-fire

[chiluvr1228]

^^ Oh My ^^

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

^^ Oh My ^^

Google Marshall fire. Sad, scary.

[Arrby]

It continues to be a source of wonder and amazement to me that hail insurance can be bought in Colorado Springs at any price at all. We get a lot of thunderstorms up here at 8700 ft., but the Springs get a lot more storms with hail large enough to cause damage.

The weather reports will include forecasts for hail when appropriate. But since the chance will occur somewhere in the area virtually every day from July 1 to the end of August this information is of limited benefit.