Boston, MA Home InsuranceHail, wind and your roof in Boston
Hail and wind in Suffolk County
Roof claims are what most homeowners here actually end up filing, and roof coverage is where policies differ most. Some pay to replace a damaged roof; others pay its depreciated value, which on an older roof can be a fraction of what a new one costs. A separate, larger wind and hail deductible is common.
Over the last 10 years, Suffolk County recorded 0 hail events of one inch or larger — the size at which hail starts doing damage worth claiming — along with 63 damaging wind events.
Hail events of 1 inch or more, by year
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, Suffolk County, through 2025.
How your roof actually gets paid for
This is the single biggest difference between two policies that look identical on price.
- Replacement cost pays what a new roof costs today.
- Actual cash value pays that figure minus depreciation for age and wear. On a twenty-year-old roof that can be a fraction of the replacement bill, and the difference comes out of your pocket.
Many policies also carry a separate wind and hail deductible, often a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat sum — so a larger home carries a larger deductible on exactly the claim it is most likely to file.
With Boston's housing stock averaging around 1947, roofs here are more likely to be settled on an actual cash value basis unless the policy specifically says otherwise. Worth checking which yours does.