Imagine your area has just been hit by yet another major storm. Rain hammering down in sheets. Hail the size of your spare change or larger. Winds that are strong and fast enough to take out a fully grown tree.
Imagine that afterward, you’re out in your yard, assessing the damage, and you find more than a few shingles strewn across the lawn. Do you call your insurance agent and make a roof claim?
Roof claims can be overwhelming, especially if your claim isn’t covered. Typically, you can expect your homeowners insurance policy to provide coverage for sudden or accidental direct physical losses to your roof. Wind and hail damage, for example, would fall under this category, as would a tree falling on the roof.
Regular wear and tear, however, would not be covered. That type of damage is expected to happen to a roof as it ages, and insurance carriers will not provide coverage for the expected – only for the unexpected.
It’s important, therefore, to determine exactly what sort of damage your roof has sustained before moving forward with a claim. The best place to begin is by having a certified roofer come out to examine any damage you feel has been done to your roof. From there, you can better determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to make a claim.
Another important factor to consider when making a roof claim is your deductible. Regardless of the estimated cost to repair or replace your roof, your deductible will always apply. If your deductible is $1000, and the cost to replace a few shingles is $1,500, you will need to determine if making a claim is worthwhile when you will be paying that first $1000 out of pocket and only receiving $500 from your insurance carrier.
Keep in mind that many carriers will reevaluate an insured’s account at the annual renewal – having several claims on the record, especially small ones, will not recommend a policy for renewal. At the very least, it could lead to a bigger increase in premium than it’s worth!
On the other hand, if the cost to repair the roof is well over your deductible and making a claim is worthwhile, how do you proceed? Your next step would be to call your agent, who will assist you with the claims process.
When a claim is made, the claims department will call you to schedule an appointment for an adjustor to come out and inspect the roof on behalf of the carrier. You may be asked to submit documentation to claims, such as photos of the damages or a repair estimate.
Once the claims department has determined whether or not the claim is covered, they will review your roofer’s repair estimate and, if approved, they will typically issue a partial payment to get the repairs started. Upon completion of the repairs, the remainder of the payment, minus your deductible, will be issued to pay off the repair in full.
Making a roof claim can be frustrating, and it certainly requires some patience to see it through to the end, but remember this: your homeowners insurance is there to help you recover from the unexpected, and your agent is always there to help you navigate the claims process and get things back to normal.
