What to Know About Filing an Insurance Claim After Your Roof Has Suffered Damage

When you have some damage to your roof, you might be considering filing a claim with your homeowner’s insurance. However, not every claim is worth filing, and filing every claim could cost you a lot more in the long run. How do you know if your roof damage is worth the effort to file a claim? First and foremost, ask a roofing contractor to check it out, seeing as you will need a repair estimate anyway. Then ask the roofing contractor if the damage is even worth filing a claim, as not all damage is worth it.

If the Damage Is Less Than $500, It Isn’t Worth It

Brutal honesty here, but if the contractor says it’s less than $500 to fix, it isn’t worth the roofing claim. By the time a claims adjuster from your insurance company comes out to look at the damage and assess the possible cost, your insurance premium will already start climbing. If your deductible is about the same amount as the estimated damage, filing a claim is waste of time and damaging to your insurance premiums. 

If the Damage Is Between $1,000 and $5,000…

Let’s say your deductible for your roofing claims is $500. If you have a $1,000 worth of damage, the insurance company will only cut a check for $500 because your out-of-pocket has to cover the rest. At that point it’s up to you whether or not you want to stir that pot. 

If the amount of damage is between $2,000 and $5,000, now you are talking some worthwhile territory for filing a claim. It means your roof has moderate to significant damage, and filing a claim is inevitable. The only thing that would derail your claim is if the damage is directly linked to homeowner negligence (i.e., you failed to maintain the roof and the roof collapsed on itself from age or extensive wear and tear).  Since a new roof is somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 on average, you are approaching new roof pricing by the time you hit the $5,000 mark for damages.

You Are Missing Pieces of Your Roof

Missing shingles and other parts of the roof as a result of wind damage, heavy snows, or other major natural disaster is definitive grounds for filing a damage claim with your insurance company. There is absolutely no question here that you need to file a claim. Just be aware that the total amount of the check from the insurance company is going to be the least amount possible paid out to restore the roof minus your deductible. 

You Have a Separate Policy That Promises to Replace the Roof

Some insurance companies have recently rolled out homeowner’s insurance that have separate policies covering the roof. You are required to pay extra because the insurance company promises to pay for a full new roof if there’s enough damage to warrant it. That might seem like an exciting prospect to you but read the fine print. 

In most instances, your roof can’t be older than five years. A newer roof that is badly damaged meets the strict requirements these insurance companies have for replacing your roof. If you’re lucky, the policy allows for any roof under ten years old. However, older roofs are not covered under the “replace the entire roof” policy, even though you are paying extra. 

Any claim you make under this newer type of roofing coverage catapults your premiums on this policy into the stratosphere. If your roof is younger and doesn’t need replacing because damage isn’t that bad, then the cost isn’t terrible either. Yet it’s rare for newer roofs to have significant enough damage to need full replacement. It’s older roofs that need replacing more when they are damaged.

Weigh the Pros and Cons Before Filing, If You Can

Understandably so, any roof that is gone in part or whole isn’t something that can wait. However, lesser damage can wait a bit, especially if the cost is something you could cover at a later date. Your homeowner’s insurance is there to help you restore your home after major damage, not as a safety net for the smallest bit of wreckage.