Roofing Home Insurance: Does It Cover Roof Replacement Projects?

Homeowners’ insurance is required for any homeowner that has a mortgage. After a mortgage is paid off, you can choose to carry insurance or not, but it is smarter to have the insurance in the event that your biggest lifetime investment ends up damaged. If you are looking to your homeowners’ insurance to replace your roof, you should know that it will only work under very specific circumstances.

Homeowners’ Insurance Doesn’t Cover a Standard Roof Replacement

There is never a reason or case where homeowners’ insurance just covers a standard roof replacement. Most insurance companies write their policies for the purpose of covering emergency or unexpected events, not for everyday repairs or replacements. If you have not read the fine print on your homeowners’ insurance, or you have questions about what it covers, you should either read a copy of your policy or contact your insurance company.

When Your Insurance Will Cover a Roof Replacement

On the flip side, there are situations where your insurance will cover a roof replacement. The way a policy is written may determine if part or all of the roof may be replaced by your insurance. Additionally, you will still have to pay your deductible before the insurance company sends you (or your roofing contractor) a check for the rest of the cost of replacing your roof.

Fire

Fire is absolutely a reason to replace a roof. If your entire house is not ruled a total loss, the roof replacement may be covered. Other sections of your home that need to be rebuilt and restored may also be covered. An inspection of the roof and the fire damage is necessary to determine how much will be replaced.

Tornado

A tornado is one of those “acts of God” spelled out in an insurance policy that is typically a covered event. A tornado takes a roof off, or part of a roof off, and insurance helps pay to put it back. As long as you file a timely claim after a devastating tornado, your roof (and the rest of your damaged home) will be restored.

Hurricane

Hurricanes in Arizona are unlikely, but if they were part of the natural weather here, damage from their incredible winds would be covered. Intense wind gusts that can damage a roof don’t have to be part of a hurricane, in which case such storms and damage would be covered under your insurance.

Hail

Hail is absolutely covered under homeowners’ insurance. There’s just one problem. Most hailstones aren’t big enough to require a roof replacement. They will damage shingles, but the shingles can be replaced individually. In the event that your roof is absolutely pummeled by grapefruit- or softball-sized hailstones, then you might get a total roof replacement via your insurance.

Heavy Falling Debris

A tree on your property, a branch or limb from your neighbor’s tree, random junk falling from the sky that puts a hole in your roof; these are all examples of heavy falling debris that can make a mess of your roof. For the most part, insurance may cover it, although your insurance company may have some specific stipulations. If there are particularly unusual things falling and causing severe roof damage and these objects don’t pertain to weather, it is a case-by-case investigation into your claim to determine if the insurance company will replace the roof.

A Collapsed Roof

It’s unusual to have a roof just collapse. There is usually an underlying reason for it. Structural damage as the result of several leaks or ice dams is more probable. If there doesn’t seem to be an underlying cause, it falls under unusual circumstances and then the underwriters at your insurance company have to decide how this claim would be handled.

Water Damage

Water damage is typically considered a “failure to cure by owner” issue, meaning that even if you didn’t know your roof was leaking, you had a responsibility to fix it before the water damage got so bad. The only time insurance companies consider replacing the roof for water damage is when a fire was involved, or flooding was so extreme it reached your roof and leaked inside. In the case of a fire where water was used to extinguish the flames, the claim is for both fire and water damage to replace the roof.

Talk to a roofing contractor to get an estimate on the replacement costs for any of the above conditions. Then file a claim, if applicable to your insurance company.