UL 2218 Impact Rating
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The steel-ball drop test behind Class 1-4 impact ratings on roofing - and how Texas carriers use a Class 4 rating to set premium discounts, often paired with a cosmetic-damage exclusion.
What Is UL 2218 Impact Rating?
The test drops steel balls of progressively larger size onto the shingle, with Class 4 using the largest ball, and grades whether the mat tears, cracks, splits, or ruptures.50, 1.75, and 2.00 inches in diameter - without the covering layer tearing, cracking, splitting, or rupturing when examined from the back. Class 4, the highest rating, is the one Texas insurance conversations turn on. The Texas Department of Insurance describes how impact-rated roof coverings can earn premium credits, with the amount established by each insurance company on a company-by-company basis - carrier-set, not statewide, and not guaranteed. Many carriers pair that discount with a cosmetic-damage exclusion endorsement (Texas adopted the HO-145 form, which removes coverage for hail damage that changes how the roof looks but not how it functions), so the discount and the exclusion are a tradeoff a homeowner weighs together, on their own policy's terms. Contractors document qualifying installations on TDI form PC068 where an insurer requires it.
Important Distinction
Note: A Class 4 rating speaks to the laboratory test, not to any warranty: manufacturers commonly limit or exclude hail damage from warranty coverage on the very shingle lines that carry the rating, and the rating does not by itself change what an insurance policy pays after a storm - the policy's terms and the carrier's adjustment do that. It is also a different scale from wind ratings (Class F/H) and fire ratings (Class A).
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Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
Related roofing topics
UL 2218 is the steel-ball drop standard behind the Class 3 and Class 4 labels that impact-resistant shingles carry into Texas insurance discount conversations.
The UL 2218 test drops steel balls calibrated to hailstone impact energy, but a laboratory rating is not a guarantee against real hail damage in the field.
The four UL 2218 classes correspond to steel balls from 1.25 to 2.00 inches in diameter, which is why hail size is the natural companion question to a roof's impact rating.
An impact-resistant roofing discount lowers the premium a carrier charges, but it does not change the wind-hail deductible the policy applies when a storm claim is paid.
Topics related to this one
IKO Cambridge's Class 3 is a UL 2218 / FM 4473 laboratory result.
Malarkey Ecoasis Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 CLASS 3) is a UL 2218 laboratory result.
Malarkey Highlander Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 3 (effective on installs from January 1, 2023)) is a UL 2218 laboratory result.
Malarkey Legacy Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 4) is a UL 2218 laboratory result.
Malarkey Vista Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 4 (effective on installs from January 1, 2023)) is a UL 2218 laboratory result.
Malarkey Windsor Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 4) is a UL 2218 laboratory result.
Owens Corning Duration COOL Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 3) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
Owens Corning Duration Designer Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 3) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
Owens Corning Duration FLEX Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 4 (FM 4473 Class 4)) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
Owens Corning Duration MAX Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 3) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
Owens Corning Duration STORM Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 4 (FM 4473 Class 4)) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration Shingles's impact classification (UL 2218 Class 3 (FM 4473 Class 3)) is a UL 2218 laboratory result, not an insurance promise.
The impact-rating premium credit and the signed HO-145 cosmetic-damage exclusion form the discount tradeoff at the center of the Texas landscape, with the mechanics of UL 2218 testing covered separately.
State Farm's public materials name Class 4 shingles as a discount-eligible product, and TDI records that each company sets its impact-rating credit on a company-by-company basis.
Questions about UL 2218 Impact Rating?
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