A nasty storm blows into town, pelting your home with wild rain, windswept debris and hard-hitting hail.

Does your roof survive? There is a decent chance it will — provided you have the proper shingles installed on the roof deck. The best way to safeguard your home’s primary covering from severe weather is to choose impact resistant shingles.

Impact resistant roofing shingles, which differ from standard asphalt shingles, are manufactured to better withstand the abuses of extreme weather. They are less likely to be torn from the roof deck by high winds, cracked or split by hail, or otherwise damaged.

Roof shingles are tested and categorized for their impact resistance characteristics within a rating class defined as a Class I through Class IV, with IV being the strongest. These designations come from the UL 2218 classification by the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL), which measures how roofing shingles measure up after having steel balls dropped on them from varying heights.

What It Means For You, The Homeowner

Having Class IV shingles installed on your home often triggers attractive insurance discounts. That’s because impact resistant roofing shingles have long had a solid reputation. Typically, no other Impact Rating besides a class IV will qualify for insurance discounts.

“State Farm Insurance’s experiences with Class 4 products have been extremely positive. Time and again, such products have survived impacts from 2-inch (51-mm) and larger hailstones that have destroyed nonclassified roof systems near them,” a State Farm loss prevention administrator wrote in an October 2002 issue of Professional Roofing. “Improved shingle products are more likely to withstand adverse weather conditions, which will reduce the likelihood of a homeowner being faced with the inconvenience of roof system replacement and expense of paying a deductible.”

StormMaster® Keeps Your Investment Safe

Atlas Roofing manufactures a StormMaster® line of shingles that are Class IV-rated. Here are some of the features:

• Up to 130-mile-per-hour limited wind warranty coverage.
• Manufacturing using rubberized SBS polymer for added durability.
• Scotchgard™ Protector, which uses evenly spread copper granules to resist black streaks and stains caused by algae growth.

StormMaster shingles with Scotchgard™ Protector are available in both slate and shake styles and include a lifetime limited warranty against manufacturing defects. Additional protection is granted in the way of a lifetime limited warranty against algae protection when homeowners use StormMaster shingles featuring Scotchgard™ Protector along with Pro-Cut® Hip & Ridge featuring Scotchgard™ Protector.

Choosing impact-resistant shingles may cost more to install than traditional asphalt but can easily pay for themselves the first time high winds and hail hit your neighborhood.