Key numbers
According to Remodeling's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, a metal roof replacement in the Mountain region cost $46,579 and recouped 54.3% at resale (Remodeling / JLC (Zonda), 2025).
| 67.5% | According to Remodeling's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, the national average asphalt shingle roof replacement cost $31,871 and recouped 67.5% at resale. Source: Remodeling / JLC (Zonda), 2025 |
|---|---|
| 49% | Replacement projects such as roofing, windows and HVAC accounted for 49% of U.S. homeowner improvement spending in 2023. Source: Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2023 |
| Nearly $31 billion | U.S. roof repair and replacement cost value in insurance claims totaled nearly $31 billion in 2024, up nearly 30% since 2022. Source: Insurance Journal (reporting Verisk), 2024 |
For most Colorado homeowners who are replacing a roof anyway, yes: a Class 4 impact-resistant shingle is worth it when your insurer’s yearly discount, plus the deductibles you are less likely to pay, add up to more than the extra cost over the life of the roof. It is not hail-proof, and the discount varies by insurer, so get three numbers before you decide: the upgrade price from your roofer, your insurer’s written discount per year, and your wind and hail deductible.
The three numbers that decide it
- The upgrade cost. The price difference between a standard architectural shingle and a Class 4 shingle, with the matching Class 4 hip and ridge, on your roof. We show this side by side in our Good, Better, Best options.
- The insurance discount. Ask your agent for the annual premium credit for a UL 2218 Class 4 roof, in writing. The Colorado Division of Insurance encourages exactly this question before you replace a roof with hail-resistant material.
- Your deductible. Many Colorado policies now use a wind and hail deductible that is a percentage of the home’s coverage, for example 1, 2 or 5 percent. On a percentage deductible, one avoided claim can be worth several years of discounts. Our Duration vs Duration FLEX comparison applies this to the most common Class 4 choice.
Rule of thumb: if (annual discount x years you expect to stay) plus one avoided deductible is more than the upgrade cost, the upgrade pays. Even short of that, buyers in hail country notice a Class 4 roof.
How a Class 4 shingle earns its rating
UL 2218 drops steel balls of increasing size onto a shingle; Class 4 is the highest level, passing a 2-inch ball with no crack in the shingle. Owens Corning’s Duration FLEX shingles reach Class 4 with a proprietary blend of SBS polymer modified asphalt, which makes the shingle pliable, and the company says they have 42 percent better nail pull-resistance against wind than standard shingles. Its Duration STORM line reaches Class 4 with a reinforced backing. Both need the matching impact-rated hip and ridge to complete a Class 4 system. Our Class IV shingle comparison covers the tests and products in detail, and the Owens Corning shingles we install page lists the lines we use.
What a Class 4 roof will not do
- Stop all hail. Owens Corning states that a class rating does not guarantee a product will withstand hail and that its shingles carry no hail-damage warranty.
- Stay new forever. Asphalt loses flexibility as it ages, so a 15-year-old Class 4 roof does not resist hail like a new one.
- Avoid fine print. A 2024 Colorado Division of Insurance report lists cosmetic damage exclusions among the ways insurers have responded to hail losses. If your policy carries a cosmetic damage exclusion, dents that do not let water in may not be paid. Read the endorsement before you accept it.
Class 4 shingles or a metal roof?
Metal is tough, but hail can dent it without causing a leak, and a dented roof that still sheds water may not qualify for replacement under a cosmetic exclusion. For most homes in hail zones we recommend a Class 4 asphalt shingle; we explain the trade-offs in is a metal roof worth it in Colorado Springs? If you want the shake look without wood, a Class 4 shingle also beats cedar on fire rules; see wood roof fire hazards. Impact and fire ratings are separate tests; our Class A roof guide covers the fire side, and the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code guide explains when a hail reroof on a mapped lot must meet it.
New help for Colorado homeowners
There is no federal tax credit for a new roof in 2026 (see roof replacement tax credits), but in 2026 Colorado passed SB26-155, which created the Strengthen Colorado Homes Enterprise in the Division of Insurance. At least 85 percent of its fee revenue must go to grants that help homeowners retrofit homes against hail and wind, with priority for primary residences, and grant-funded contractors may not waive deductibles. Insurers will also report the discounts they give for resilient roofs once the commissioner adopts rules, no sooner than January 1, 2027. Ask us whether a grant program is open when you plan your roof.
In Texas
Austin homeowners can ask the same questions. The Texas Department of Insurance says impact-resistant roofing may be eligible for discounts set company by company, that a Class 4 roof gets the highest credit from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, and that the contractor fills out TDI form PC068 after installation. The installing contractor completes that form; see Austin roof replacement.
Price a Class 4 upgrade on your roof
Integrity Roofing and Painting has installed Class 4 roofs on Front Range homes for years. We are veteran-owned, family-run since 1990, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor with 650+ Google reviews. If your roof has hail damage, the claim stays yours; we document the damage and make sure nothing gets missed in the scope. Book a free Colorado Springs inspection at (719) 488-2800 or a free Denver inspection at (303) 209-0152. Not sure which shingle tier fits? Compare 3-tab and architectural shingles or read what composition shingles are.
A Class 4 label and an IBHS hail rating are different things; our IBHS shingle impact ratings guide explains both. More background is in our homeowner guides.
Sources: Owens Corning, Owens Corning Roofing Introduces Duration FLEX (Feb. 12, 2019), TruDefinition Duration STORM and TruDefinition Duration FLEX product pages; Colorado Division of Insurance, hail advisory, May 22, 2024, consumer advisory on hail-resistant roofs and HB24-1108 report; Colorado General Assembly, SB26-155; Texas Department of Insurance, Roofing discounts.
