Does Insurance Cover Roof Damage? What You Need to Know

Will Insurance Cover My Roof? Damage, Deductibles, and Savings

Your roof is your home’s first line of defense against the elements, shielding your family against inclement weather day in and day out. However, when the unexpected occurs and roof damage strikes, it can leave homeowners wondering about the financial implications.

Will your homeowner’s insurance come to the rescue? Will you have to pay a deductible on your repairs? And how could filing a claim affect your insurance premiums in the future?

We built our Storm Center to give you a place to find answers to these questions. In this article, we’ll talk about the complexities of homeowner’s insurance as it relates to roofs, so you’re ready if your home experiences storm, hail, or wind damage.

What Types of Roof Damage Are Covered by Homeowners Insurance?

When it comes to roof damage, insurance companies can often be fairly conservative with what they cover, taking normal aging, damage caused by animals, rot and mold, and even earthquakes and flooding off the table altogether.

In fact, some companies exclude even hurricanes and tornadoes, especially if you live in an area prone to that type of severe weather.

Fortunately, homeowner’s insurance covers most other types of inclement weather, including hail, ice, and snow. It’ll also likely protect against fires, vandalism, and falling objects (such as a rotted tree or falling debris). Your first step is to identify the damage and contact your insurance carrier. Our article on what hail damage looks like might be a good place to start.

In the end, it’s important to check with your insurance company to determine their policy toward the type of damage you’re facing.

Will Insurance Cover the Full Cost of Roof Repairs?

How much of the bill for roof replacement your policy will actually cover varies widely between different insurance companies. Most offer one of two policies, Actual Cash Value (ACV) or Replacement Cost Value (RCV).

If you have an ACV policy, your insurance company will give you the current depreciated value of your roof – in other words, what your roof is valued at today. This will likely not be enough to cover the cost of repairs or replacement, forcing you to pay the remaining difference out of pocket.

With an RCV policy, you receive every penny it takes to replace your current roof. You’ll be able to replace your roof with a newer version of itself, meaning that you’ll have to pay for any upgrades with your own money. Still, this policy is substantially more generous than its ACV counterpart, preventing you from having to deplete your savings all because of one bad storm.

Will I Have to Pay a Deductible for Roof Damage?

Almost always, you’ll have to pay a deductible on any roof repairs or replacements you need. In most cases, this will be the same general deductible that you signed up for when you bought your insurance.

However, especially in coastal regions with frequent storms, there may be a named storm deductible or similar unique option, distinct from your overall deductible and often expressed as a percentage of your total coverage limit rather than a set number. Because of this, named storm deductibles will often cost more. While they usually sit around 1-5% of your dwelling coverage limit, they may climb to as much as 10% in particularly high-risk areas.

Still, the spending is often worth it in places where severe storms regularly batter your home, preventing you from having to repeatedly pay for repairs and replacements over the years out of your own pocket. This video from Chad Petit, one of our estimators, gives you a good overview of the insurance process.

Our team in Charleston, as you can imagine, is experienced in talking about storm damage, and our Raleigh, Greensboro, and Asheville teams have helped a lot of homeowners through hail, wind, and water issues. So don’t hesitate to call us to speak about your situation.

Will the Repairs Affect How Much I Pay for Insurance?

Given that most roofs grow weaker as they age (often allowing them to sustain enough damage to require replacement in the first place), most insurance companies want customers to install new, sturdier roofs. These replacements will likely keep the companies from paying for even more costly repairs down the road. They may even offer discounts to customers with roofs under ten years in age.

This is especially true if those customers have shelled over a little extra money for upgrades to their roofs, allowing them to stand the test of time more than ever before – music to insurance companies’ ears.

As such, complete roof replacements can often drop your homeowners insurance payments from anywhere between 5% and 35%, making replacing your damaged roof both a necessity and a worthy investment.

Protect Your Home & Your Wallet

Like we said before, all of this information varies heavily between insurance companies, and the best way to make sure you’re secure is to review your policy. A complete review of how homeowner’s insurance protects you from costly roof repairs and replacement will allow to you navigate the complexities of getting compensation for roof damage, giving you the peace of mind you need in the face of unexpected events.

If you still have questions, our name is trusted in roofing and home repairs all throughout the Southeast because we’re not like your typical storm-chasing roofers. We live in the areas we serve, meaning we’ll be here tomorrow to answer for the work we do today.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our team to talk through your options and ensure you’re getting the roof you deserve.