Home owners insurance is a great thing. Owning a home is
expensive enough, but when you have to come up with thousands of dollars for an
unexpected repair job, it’s nice to have the protection of insurance. Insurance
can save you hundreds of dollars in costly repairs and even replace the roof in
the event of major disaster.
However, if you haven’t looked closely at your roof
insurance, you might be surprised to find out what isn't covered. The best way
to protect yourself from unexpected costs is to get to know your homeowners
insurance in detail.
As obvious as this seems...but read your policy. The key
here is to make sure you know what your insurance will cover and what it won’t
cover. Then you can make the appropriate adjustments.
Exclusions: Insurance
companies protect themselves from fraudulent claims and unnecessary expenses by
excluding certain items and repairs from coverage. Many homeowners are unaware
of exclusions within their insurance policies. The problem comes when repairs
or replacement costs are filed with the insurance company and these costs are
denied coverage by the company. In such cases, the homeowner may have already
had the work completed and are left with the outstanding bill.
Some Common Roof
Insurance Exclusions: It is always a good idea to read your insurance
policy closely and find out if the following conditions affect you:
Complete Replacement: Typically, roof repairs are covered.
If a wind storm comes through and blows off some of your shingles, you can get
those shingles replaced and insurance will cover the cost. Minor damage as the
result of unavoidable events are usually covered by the insurance. What is not
covered is any damage that is the result of improper maintenance or damage that
could have been avoided had you been more mindful of the roof condition.
In some cases, insurance does not cover complete roof
replacement. Imagine getting to the point where your roof needs replacing and
finding out too late that you’ll have to cover the cost yourself. Or worse, you
already had the roof replaced and your insurance company denies the claim,
leaving you responsible with the bill.
Materials: Some
insurance companies won’t cover certain roofing materials. You might want to
read your insurance policy before re-roofing your home in historic cedar shakes
or durable slate. Many companies simply won’t cover these materials or will
only pay for specific materials they have outlined in the policy.
The reasoning behind this is simple. It just costs too much
for repairs on certain types of materials. For example, the newest roof
materials are leaning towards recycled or “green” roofing materials. Although
these new materials are great for the environment, and often last longer than
traditional materials, not all insurance companies cover them.
Insurance companies have been paying out millions of dollars
a year for roof repair and they like to work with materials they know. Before
you hire a contractor to replace your roof, be sure to contact your insurance
provider to review which materials they will cover.
Older Roofs: If
you’re buying a house, it might not surprise you that an insurance company
won’t cover the roof if it’s 10-20 years old and nearing the time for
replacement. Insuring a roof like that is like a health insurance policy taking
on customers with pre-existing conditions. It’s extremely risky and the
insurance company usually comes out on the short end of the deal.
What might surprise you is the actual age of the home’s
roof. Most people are familiar with the practice of saving money by simply
singling over existing shingles, but this creates two problems. (1) Many
insurance companies will not insure a roof that has more than 2 layers of old
roofing materials and (2) An insurance company will probably consider the
bottom layer of shingles to be the actual age of the roof.
So, if you’re buying a house with layers of shingles, the
roof may look good at first glance, but cost you a bundle when you find out it
isn't insured. Always check with your insurance provider before buying a house
with an old roof or one that has multiple layers of roof materials.
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