Help, especially help learning how to file a roof insurance claim, is often needed to make sure you’re paid what you have coming to you and that you get it as quickly as possible. This is because if you’re not careful, you can easily get suckered into roof replacement insurance scams and pay a lot of money but end up with nothing done to your roof. 

Before you take the services offered by door-to-door roofing sales pitches, you should understand your homeowner’s insurance policy and what coverage is provided. And with that coverage, what is it going to cost you out-of-pocket, if anything? Most insurance companies offer roof insurance claims help, like how roof insurance claims work and more. 

Does homeowner’s insurance cover wind damage to a roof?

First, let us state that no two homeowner’s insurance policies are the same, and no two insurance companies operate the same. With that statement, we can’t stress enough that you need to review your own policy and become familiar with the content regarding coverages. 

Most homeowners’ insurance will typically cover wind damage. Depending on the type of homeowner’s policy you have, wind damage will be covered, but it may not cover ‘other structures’ like a free-standing garage, garden, or storage shed. 

Your policy should have detailed explanations about the coverage provided for either roof repairs or replacement needed after wind damage. Things that will impact the decision include the roof’s age, lack of maintenance, etc. If you’re not clear on what is covered, call your insurance agent, and ask for clarification and roof insurance claims help.

What kind of roof damage is covered by insurance?

For your homeowner’s insurance to coverage for roof damage, the damage must be caused by extreme weather, like straight-line winds that typically accompany any of the following: 

• Hailstorm
• Hurricane
• Microburst
• Nor’easter
• Thunderstorm
• Tornado

Including a derecho, which is a line of fast-moving, intense, widespread, windstorms, sometimes associated with thunderstorms, that move across a large distance. 

Does homeowner’s insurance cover roof replacement?

Ah, the age-old question is a common one when a homeowner has had roof damage and is seeking roof insurance claims help. If you’re needing a new roof because it has aged and is showing its age, nope, you’re not going to get any help from the insurance company. So, will insurance cover a 15-year-old roof that has storm damage? 

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends on what the insurance adjuster that inspects your roof determines. If the 15-year-old roof was in good condition prior to the storm damage, then yes, they will pay towards repair or replacement. That doesn’t mean they are going to pay the full amount though. That will depend on what type of coverage you chose when you took your policy out. 

There are two types of coverage offered with homeowner’s insurance: 

• Replacement Cost Value (RCV): This pays to repair or replace storm damage without deducting any depreciation of the existing roof.
• Actual Cash Value (ACV): This pays the amount after depreciation of the existing roof is deducted. Meaning, that the older your roof, the more it is depreciated and the less money you’ll get from the insurance company. 

Now, back to what homeowner’s insurance will cover! If your roof is damaged by events or perils listed within your policy, like hail, high winds, fire, vandalism, a tree, an airplane, or anything of a heavy weight landing on your house. Other times that you’ll find roof insurance claims help pay for your roof is any damage caused by an explosion, rioting, a volcano erupting, ice, or snow weight causing collapse, or theft. 

Your homeowner’s insurance may provide coverage for accidental discharge or water overflow caused by a home system, like an accidental and sudden air conditioning, fire protection system, or water heater. Any damage caused by accidental electrical current or freezing weather. 

Some of these things may seem out of a movie, but they have happened. Other coverage that a homeowner may want to review their policy is for coverage of damage or destruction caused by animals. This would be something a homeowner on ranch property should inquire about with their insurance agent. The insurance commercial that says, “We’ve seen it all.”, should be something considered. 

Can you keep insurance claim money for a roof?

Once upon a time, when a homeowner filed an insurance claim, they were sent a check in the amount of what the insurance company was going to pay. Today though, because of too many crooked roof repair dealings, that is no longer how it works. 

There are situations where the homeowner isn’t the recipient of the insurance check. For example, if your home has a lien or you have a mortgage on the home, the lender will be paid, and the money goes into escrow. You will need to show proof the work is completed before the money is released to you or the contractor. 

If you own your home outright, with no liens against it, you will be paid directly and can do as you please with the money. The responsible thing would be to get the work done that is needed, however, you can put in the bank, take a cruise, go on a shopping binge, or do anything you decide. 

However, if you have more roof damage that requires filing for roof insurance claims help, you will probably be denied by the insurance company, and possibly lose your insurance coverage.