Roof claims: why yours may pay half

Two very different policies

• Replacement cost: the insurer pays what it costs to replace the roof today, less your deductible. Usually paid in two parts, with the depreciation released once the work is done.
• Actual cash value: the insurer pays the depreciated value. A roof halfway through its life is paid at roughly half, and the rest is yours.

Both are sold as "roof coverage". The difference on a $20,000 roof can be $10,000 or more.

Roof payment schedules

Carriers in hail and wind states increasingly attach a schedule: full replacement cost while the roof is new, then a declining percentage as it ages, often reaching a floor after fifteen or twenty years. The schedule varies by roof material, and asphalt shingle is usually treated hardest.

These endorsements arrive quietly at renewal. The premium may barely move while the cover changes substantially, which is exactly why the renewal declarations page is worth two minutes each year.

Finding out which you have

• Open your declarations page and look for wording such as roof surfacing payment schedule, ACV roof loss settlement, or a windstorm and hail exclusion for the roof.
• Ask your agent directly: "If my roof were destroyed tomorrow, do I get replacement cost or depreciated value?" Get the answer in writing.
• Check the wind and hail deductible separately. It is often a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat sum.
• Note the roof's age and material. Most schedules are driven by both.

Making the claim

• Document before and after. Photographs of the roof in good condition, dated, are worth having now. After a storm, photograph the damage and any interior water entry.
• Get an independent inspection from a roofer who is not selling you the repair in the same conversation.
• Be wary of storm-chasing contractors who offer to cover your deductible. In most states that is fraud, and it puts your claim at risk.
• If replacement cost applies, the depreciation is usually withheld until the work is finished and invoiced. Do not assume the first cheque is the whole payment.
• Deadlines matter. Many policies require notice within a set window after a storm, and states cap how long you have to sue over a denial.

The deductible that is not a number

Wind, hail and hurricane deductibles are frequently a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount. On a $400,000 dwelling limit, a 2% wind deductible is $8,000 before the insurer pays anything.

Combine that with an ACV settlement on a twelve-year-old roof and a $20,000 replacement can leave you paying most of it. That combination is common and rarely noticed until the claim.

What to do about it

• Price replacement-cost roof cover as a separate question at renewal. Some carriers will still write it, especially on newer roofs.
• Replace an ageing roof before it fails. A new roof improves your terms, sometimes your premium, and removes the argument entirely.
• Shop the market if your carrier has moved you to a schedule. Appetite varies, and an independent agent will know who still offers what.
• Keep the paperwork from any roof work. Age and material are what the schedule turns on, and proof beats an adjuster's estimate.

If the carrier decides not to renew you after a roof claim, that has its own playbook.

Common questions