ARMA Responds to Recent IBHS Report
The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) has completed a technical review of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) 10-Year Wind Performance of Asphalt Shingles report and identified numerous specific areas of technical concern.
While IBHS evaluates fourteen products across seven manufacturers weathered at its regional aging farms, the report’s sweeping conclusions are fundamentally compromised by non-standard testing protocols, unrepresentative grab-sampling, and incomplete probabilistic modeling. By shifting testing procedures mid-project and omitting positive performance outcomes along with enhanced manufacturer installation guidelines, the study fails to reflect real-world roof system durability.
Given the report’s substantial technical limitations, ARMA strongly cautions against relying on the IBHS report for broad market decisions, urging carriers and standards bodies not to use its unrepresentative data to justify arbitrary underwriting limits, market restrictions, or product age caps.
Key Technical Concerns of the IBHS Report:
- Non-Standard Testing and Lack of Oversight: IBHS set aside recognized ASTM consensus standards in favor of shifting internal IBHS test methods. Additionally, the IBHS research facility operates without independent lab auditing. The lack of third-party oversight creates a clear conflict of interest for the simple reason that the reported test results benefit the insurance industry, i.e., the members of IBHS.
- Disregard for Modern Roofing Technologies and Proper Installation Practices: The report fails to clearly distinguish between the performance of different types of asphalt shingle technologies. Performance failures (unsealing and tearing) are attributed strictly to material aging while ignoring installation failures (misaligned nails, nail pops), deck warping, ground moisture from 4-foot elevated test stands, and lack of routine roof maintenance.
- Flawed Material Science: This research project misapplied pavement oxidation models to roofing asphalt. Unlike pavement, roofing asphalts differ significantly and are oxidized and modified during manufacturing prior to field applications. The report also discounts modern factory sealant formulations and region-customized seal-down technologies. It incorrectly links uplift performance to latitude rather than regional product offerings and material composition.
- Selective Transparency and Reporting: IBHS withheld raw testing data, annual observation reports, and weather records from industry groups. Rather than offering a balanced evaluation, the report excludes products that passed wind and uplift testing, focusing selectively on negative outcomes rather than objective science to drive consumer behavior and state and local legislative and regulatory responses.
- Unrepresentative Sampling: IBHS evaluated a fraction of the market without authentic baseline or replicate testing. Within the limited dataset, one-third of the specimens maintained or increased their wind uplift resistance, yet these positive findings were ignored in the report’s conclusions.
ARMA members have over 100 years of advancing the technology of asphalt roofing. Through strategic collaborations, ARMA continually works with outside groups to champion high-quality asphalt roofing materials that enhance building resilience and thereby protect communities. Recognizing that insurers, contractors, homeowners, and policymakers all rely on these collaborations and performance research, ARMA is sharing this technical context to help stakeholders make informed decisions and maintain confidence in asphalt shingles, which cover roughly 80% of U.S. roofs.
ARMA supports consensus-based codes, standards, and proven test methods. ARMA welcomes open dialogue and collaboration with IBHS and other stakeholders to move the industry forward but will not endorse inaccurate or unproven testing.
