Does insurance cover a roof replacement

Homeowners insurance covers a roof that was damaged. It does not cover a roof that wore out. Nearly every dispute between a homeowner and an adjuster comes down to which of those two things happened, and the policy language that decides it was agreed when you bought the policy, not when the storm arrived.

If your roof is covered, what you actually pay is your deductible, and sometimes a good deal more than that.

The two questions that decide everything

Was the damage sudden and from a covered peril? Hail, wind, a fallen tree, fire, and the weight of ice or snow are covered perils on a standard policy. Age, sun exposure, granule loss, poor original installation, and slow leaks that were never addressed are not. An adjuster looking at a 22 year old roof with hail bruising will often conclude the roof was at the end of its life anyway, and that conclusion is the difference between a full payout and nothing.

Does your policy pay replacement cost or actual cash value? This is the line that surprises people most.

A replacement cost value policy pays what it costs to put a new roof on today, minus your deductible. An actual cash value policy pays that figure minus depreciation for the age of the roof. On a 15 year old roof with a 25 year expected life, an ACV policy may pay 40% of the replacement cost. On a $13,800 roof, that is about $5,500 towards a $13,800 job, and the rest is yours.

Many carriers have moved older roofs onto ACV automatically, sometimes at renewal and sometimes without the change being obvious. Find the roof settlement clause in your declarations page and read it before you need it.

What you will actually pay

Your deductible is the floor. Most policies carry a flat deductible of $1,000 to $2,500. Many policies in hail and hurricane states carry a separate percentage deductible for wind and hail, typically 1% to 5% of the dwelling coverage amount. On a house insured for $400,000, a 2% wind and hail deductible is $8,000, and it applies instead of the flat one when the claim is storm-related.

On top of the deductible you may pay:

• The depreciation gap on an ACV policy
• Any code upgrades not covered, unless you carry ordinance or law coverage
• The difference if you choose a better material than the one that was there

Ordinance or law coverage is worth checking. If your county now requires ice and water shield or a specific fastening pattern that did not exist when the roof was built, a policy without that endorsement pays to replace what was there, not what code now requires.

How a claim actually runs

1. Document the damage before anything is touched. Photograph from the ground, and photograph the interior stains and any debris.
2. Get a tarp on active leaks. Emergency mitigation is covered and failing to mitigate can reduce a payout.
3. Call your carrier and open the claim. Note the date; most policies require notice within a year of the loss, and some within 180 days.
4. The adjuster inspects. You are allowed to have your roofer present, and it is worth arranging, because a roofer who has been on the roof can point to damage an adjuster viewing from a ladder will miss.
5. You receive a scope and an estimate. Read the line items against your roofer's quote. Disagreements at this stage are normal and negotiable.
6. On an RCV policy the first cheque is the depreciated amount. The rest, the recoverable depreciation, is released after the work is finished and invoiced.

Two cautions worth taking seriously

Filing a claim that gets denied still goes on your record. Claims history follows you between carriers through industry databases, and a denied claim can affect your premium or renewal. If the damage is close to your deductible, paying for it yourself is often the better decision.

Be careful with storm-chasing contractors. After a large hailstorm, crews arrive from out of state offering to handle the claim and waive the deductible. Waiving a deductible is insurance fraud in most states, and the contractor will be gone before the workmanship warranty means anything. Use a roofer with a local address you can drive to.

Frequently asked questions

Will filing a claim raise my premium?

A single weather claim in an area with widespread damage usually does not, because the carrier is rating the region rather than you. Multiple claims in a few years will, and can lead to non-renewal. Carriers treat weather claims and liability claims differently.

My roof is 20 years old. Is it worth claiming hail damage?

Check your settlement clause first. If the policy is ACV, the payout on a 20 year old roof after depreciation and a percentage deductible can be close to zero, and you will have a denied or minimal claim on your record for nothing. If it is RCV, it is very much worth pursuing.

Can I keep the money and not replace the roof?

On an ACV policy, generally yes, though your lender may require the work if there is a mortgage. On an RCV policy you only receive the recoverable depreciation after the work is done, so keeping the first cheque means keeping the depreciated amount only.

The adjuster approved less than my roofer quoted. What can I do?

Ask your roofer to write a supplement: a line-by-line response identifying what the adjuster's scope missed, with photographs. Supplements are routine and are often approved. If that fails, most policies contain an appraisal clause that lets each side appoint an appraiser and settle the dispute outside court.