RICOWI Field Investigations: What Hail Actually Does to Roofs

After a major hailstorm, your insurance company sends one adjuster to your roof. That adjuster spends fifteen to thirty minutes looking around, takes some photos, and writes a report. Based on that report, your claim is approved or denied. But there is another group that investigates hail damage — one that takes a very different approach. The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) deploys teams of experts to document what hail actually does to roofs in the real world. Their findings are detailed, photographic, product-specific — and often contradict what insurance adjusters conclude.

What Is RICOWI?

RICOWI is a joint committee made up of roofing manufacturers, contractors, researchers, and industry organizations. It is nota consumer advocacy group. It is not funded by trial lawyers or Public Adjusters. RICOWI exists to objectively document how roofing materials perform in real weather events. Its members include some of the largest roofing manufacturers in the world, along with organizations like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Texas A&M University.

This matters because when you cite a RICOWI report in a claim dispute, your insurer cannot dismiss it as biased toward homeowners. The organization exists to serve the roofing industry — manufacturers, contractors, and researchers — not plaintiffs.

How the Investigations Work

When a significant hailstorm strikes a populated area, RICOWI mobilizes a field investigation team. These teams typically include engineers, roofing scientists, and experienced industry professionals. They visit multiple properties, inspect a wide range of roofing materials, and systematically document what they find.

Unlike a typical insurance inspection, RICOWI investigations are thorough and product-specific. The teams photograph damage at close range, note the roofing product by manufacturer and model, record the age and installation quality, and catalog the damage patterns observed on each material type. The result is a detailed report with photographic evidence showing exactly what specific hail sizes do to specific roofing products.

Major RICOWI Hail Reports

RICOWI has published field investigation reports following several major hailstorms across the United States. The most significant include:

• North Texas Hail Investigation (2016)— Following severe hailstorms that caused billions of dollars in damage across the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Documented damage patterns across asphalt shingles, metal roofing, tile, and single-ply membranes.
• Dallas–Fort Worth Investigation (2011)— Covered the widespread hail events that produced golf ball to baseball-sized hail across North Texas. Detailed photographic documentation of damage to residential and commercial roofing materials.
• Oklahoma City Investigation (2004)— One of the earlier comprehensive RICOWI field studies, documenting hail damage from severe storms in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
• Texas A&M Collaborative Research (2025)— Ongoing research collaboration between RICOWI and Texas A&M University expanding the body of field data on hail damage to roofing systems.

What the Reports Show

Across all of their field investigations, RICOWI's teams have documented several consistent findings that are directly relevant to insurance claims:

Damage varies significantly by product.Two homes on the same street, hit by the same storm, can show completely different damage patterns if they have different roofing products installed. One shingle brand may show severe granule loss and mat fractures while another brand shows minimal impact marks. A blanket statement like “the hail was not large enough to damage shingles” ignores the reality that different shingles respond to hail very differently.

Age and installation quality matter enormously.RICOWI reports consistently show that older roofing materials sustain more damage from the same hail than newer materials. A fifteen-year-old shingle has less granule adhesion, a more brittle mat, and reduced impact resistance compared to the same product when new. Installation quality — proper nailing, correct overlap, adequate ventilation — also affects how a roof responds to hail impact.

A blanket “no damage” finding is scientifically unsupported. Given the documented variability in damage patterns by product, age, and installation quality, any inspection report that simply states “no hail damage observed” without addressing these variables is incomplete at best. RICOWI's work establishes that a credible hail damage assessment must account for the specific product installed, its age, its condition prior to the storm, and the documented hail size and density in the area.

An Objective Baseline for Damage Assessment

One of the most valuable aspects of the RICOWI reports is that they establish an objective, photographic baseline for what hail damage looks like on specific materials. When your adjuster says “I don't see any damage,” you can point to RICOWI photographs showing what damage to your type of roofing material actually looks like — and ask whether the adjuster specifically looked for those indicators.

For example, hail damage to architectural shingles often appears as soft spots where the mat has fractured beneath the granule surface. The granules may still be in place, and the damage is not visible from more than a few feet away. An adjuster who walks the roof looking for obvious dents or missing granules may walk right past this type of damage. The RICOWI reports include close-up photographs that show exactly what to look for.

Why This Matters in a Claim Dispute

Insurance companies often present their adjuster's inspection report as the final word on whether your roof was damaged. But that report reflects one person's opinion, formed during a brief visit, often without specialized knowledge of how specific roofing products respond to hail. RICOWI's reports reflect the findings of multi-person expert teams conducting systematic, product-specific investigations over multiple days.

When there is a conflict between your insurer's inspection and the documented findings of a RICOWI field investigation from a comparable storm, the RICOWI data carries significant weight. It is independent, it is systematic, and it is produced by the roofing industry itself — not by parties with a financial interest in the outcome of your claim.

About RICOWI

The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) is a joint initiative of roofing manufacturers, contractors, researchers, and affiliated organizations. RICOWI conducts field investigations following significant wind and hail events across the United States. Their reports are available at ricowi.com and are referenced by engineers, adjusters, attorneys, and researchers throughout the roofing and insurance industries.

Major RICOWI hail investigation reports include the North Texas (2016), Dallas–Fort Worth (2011), and Oklahoma City (2004) studies, along with ongoing collaborative research with Texas A&M University. These reports represent some of the most comprehensive real-world documentation of hail damage to roofing materials available anywhere.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Insurance policies and applicable law vary by state and by policy form. Consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation.