Pittsburgh, PA Home InsuranceHail, wind and your roof in Pittsburgh
Hail and wind in Allegheny 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, Allegheny County recorded 98 hail events of one inch or larger — the size at which hail starts doing damage worth claiming — along with 588 damaging wind events and 12 tornadoes. The largest hail recorded measured 2.00 inches.
Hail events of 1 inch or more, by year
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, Allegheny 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 Pittsburgh's housing stock averaging around 1942, 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.
The largest hail recorded locally measured 2.00 inches. Hail at that size damages shingles outright rather than merely aging them.
After 98 damaging hail events in 10 years, the question is not whether your roof gets tested. It is whether your policy pays to replace it or pays its depreciated value. That is one line in your declarations page, and it is worth knowing which one you have.