Will Insurance Pay for My Roof?

What a homeowners policy usually covers

A standard homeowners policy is written to cover sudden, accidental damage. For a roof that typically means wind that lifts or tears off shingles, hail, a tree or limb coming down on it, and fire. If something happened to the roof on a particular day, it is the kind of thing a policy is built for.

Your own policy is what decides, not this page. The declarations page lists your coverage and deductibles, and the policy itself lists what is excluded. Read both before you file.

What it generally does not cover

Policies generally exclude damage from wear and tear, age, neglect and poor maintenance. A roof that leaks because it is 25 years old and its shingles have lost their granules is not a claim, even if it started leaking during a storm. Mould and rot that built up slowly over time are usually excluded too. An honest inspection should tell you which situation you are in before anyone calls the insurer.

Actual cash value and replacement cost

How much the policy pays depends on how it values the roof:

• Replacement cost pays what it costs to replace the damaged roof with similar materials. Many insurers pay this in two parts: an amount up front, then the depreciation they held back once the work is done and the paperwork is in.
• Actual cash value pays the depreciated value of the roof — replacement cost minus wear for its age — which on an older roof can be a good deal less than the cost of the new one.

Your declarations page says which you have.

Deductibles in Connecticut

Every claim has a deductible, and some Connecticut policies, especially along the shoreline, carry a separate hurricane or windstorm deductible set as a percentage of the home’s insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. That can change the arithmetic on a smaller claim completely, so check which deductible applies to wind damage on your policy.

Code upgrades: the cost a claim can miss

This is the part of a roof claim most homeowners never hear about until it is too late. When a damaged roof is replaced, the new one has to meet today’s code, not the code from when the house was built — and Connecticut’s code asks for more than many older roofs ever had: an ice barrier membrane at every eave (IRC R905.1.2), a self-adhering membrane strip over every joint in the roof deck (Connecticut’s amendment to R905.1.1), and new flashing wherever the old is worn (R908.5).

A basic policy may pay to put back what was there and stop short of those upgrades. The cover that pays for code-required work is usually called ordinance or law coverage, it is often limited to a percentage of the dwelling coverage, and some policies do not include it at all. Check for it on your declarations page, and if the adjuster’s estimate leaves the upgrades out, ask about it before the work starts. We list the code items separately on our estimate so they are easy to point to.

Matching

When part of a roof is damaged and the shingles on it have been discontinued, a repair can leave a patch that does not match the rest. How that is handled varies from policy to policy. If your shingles cannot be matched, raise it with your adjuster and ask how your policy treats it, rather than assuming either way.

What to photograph

• The whole roof from each side of the house, from the ground, and anything lying in the yard or the gutters.
• Close-ups of anything visibly torn, lifted, dented or missing — from the ground, a window or a ladder you can safely reach, never from the roof itself.
• Every ceiling stain, wet wall and puddle inside, with something in the picture for scale.
• The attic, if you can get into it safely: wet insulation, light coming through, water trails on the deck.
• The date, and the weather that day. Our town pages list each Connecticut town’s recorded storm history from the National Weather Service, which can help place a storm on the calendar.

How a roof claim usually goes

1. Document it the same day. Photos of the roof from the ground, the inside of the house, the attic, and anything that came down. Write down the date and what happened.
2. Stop it getting worse. Policies expect reasonable steps to prevent further damage, such as a tarp over an opening. Keep the receipts.
3. Report it promptly. Your policy sets a deadline for reporting a loss; do not sit on it.
4. The adjuster inspects. The insurer sends an adjuster to look at the damage and write up their own estimate.
5. The work is done and closed out. Once the scope is agreed, the repair or replacement goes ahead and the final paperwork goes to the insurer.

What we do, and what we do not

We do: inspect the roof and the attic, photograph the damage, tell you plainly whether it looks like storm damage or wear, write a detailed estimate, meet your adjuster on site if you ask us to so the damage is seen properly, and do the repair or replacement.

We do not: represent you in the claim, negotiate with your insurer, or advise you on what your policy covers. In Connecticut that is the work of a public adjuster, who must be licensed by the Connecticut Insurance Department. If you think your claim has been handled unfairly, a licensed public adjuster or your own agent is the right call, and we will happily work alongside either.

Watch for storm chasers

After a big storm, out-of-town crews knock on doors promising a free roof paid for by insurance. Some are honest; many are gone before the problems show. Before you sign anything, check that the contractor holds a Connecticut Home Improvement Contractor registration (ours is HIC.0705614, and the state’s lookup is public), read any document that mentions your insurance proceeds carefully, and never sign a contract on the doorstep the day of the storm. See storm damage.

Common questions about roof insurance claims