Many homeowners worry about what their insurance covers, especially when it comes time to make repairs. While your policy covers damage to your home, does homeowner’s insurance cover a roof replacement, too? Your coverage depends on why you need a roof replacement. Homeowner’s insurance will cover you in certain situations when your roof sustains damage, but your insurance company may deny your claim for other reasons. Let's take a closer look at homeowner's insurance and whether or not your damage should be covered.
When Will Homeowner’s Insurance Cover Your Roof?
Your dwelling coverage in your homeowner’s policy includes your roof. It usually covers fire, wind, and hail. If your roof sustains damage from one of these causes, your insurance most likely covers it. However, if your insurance company finds that you could have prevented a problem that caused the damage, they may still deny you coverage. For example, if you had a dead tree on your property, and it falls on your roof in a storm, your insurer may deny your claim due to negligence. You have a responsibility to maintain your property, which means removing trees that pose a risk to your home. Therefore, if you knew about the dead tree but chose not to fix the problem, your insurer may decide not to cover it. If you did not know about the tree, your insurer will likely still cover the damage. Know what your policy covers before disaster strikes. Some have windstorm or hail exclusions, which means that your insurance policy will not cover roof damage caused by these events.
What Should You Consider with Roof Coverage?
When your roof sustains damage, your insurance policy may contain exceptions that tell you when you will or won’t have coverage. First, consider the severity of the storm damaged roof. If a tornado strikes and tears off your roof, you will almost definitely have coverage. However, your policy won’t cover general wear and tear. If your roof leaks after a heavy rain, but you have an old roof, your insurance company will likely determine the cause as a lack of maintenance, not the rain itself. On the other hand, if you have an overall good quality roof and a storm’s high winds tear away some tiles, your insurance will cover the resulting leaks. With minor roof damage, your insurance company may consider it cosmetic and refuse to cover it. Make sure you perform proper roof and property maintenance since that makes it more likely for you to get coverage after your roof gets damaged. Maintaining your roof shows that you did everything you could to prevent the problem. If your roof gets damaged, call your insurance company immediately to come out and inspect it. Promptly reporting roof damage increases your chances of having your claim approved.
How Can You Prevent Roof Problems?
Regular maintenance can help you prevent damage to your roof. Get a professional roof inspection at least once a year. If you have an older roof, you should get biannual inspections. Clean snow and debris off your roof before it collects, and check your roof and gutters after storms to prevent mold, leaks, and rot. If you have tree branches touching your roof, they can cause wear, so make sure you trim them. Know the type of roof you have and its life expectancy. If you notice a problem, take care of it before it creates a more significant issue. If your insurance company can find a fault in your roof that may have contributed to the damage, it can deny or reduce your claim. For example, suppose you have pests you didn’t remove. In that case, your insurance company might consider the pests a contributing factor and determine that you are responsible for the problem.
Replace Your Roof With A Superior Roofing System
If you qualify for a complete roof replacement, consider installing Brava Roof Tile. Brava's composite roof shingles capture the stunning aesthetics of slate, cedar shake and barrel tile, but offer a lighter weight roofing solution that is far more durable, and will last much longer.
Brava Roof Tile's composite roofing systems are superior to traditional materials. Brava Tile is a maintenance free roofing alternative, built to withstand hail, wind, heavy rain and any other elements Mother Nature throws at it.
If you want to learn more about Brava Roof Tile, call us at (844) 290-4196 or use our online contact form to get in touch!
