If you’ve been looking into a roof replacement, you know that it can be quite a large and costly undertaking. Your roof is one of the most critical elements in your home and replacing or repairing it when needed should take top priority. But your homeowners and/or roofing insurance company might be able to help you with the roof replacement cost. Whether or not they will cover the cost of a new roof is dependent on a variety of different factors. If there is any damage, they’ll want to know about the cause, the extent of the damage, and the date(s) that it occurred.
Your insurance policy should have information on your roofing coverage; it should clearly state whether you have insurance for roof repair, roof replacement, both, or neither. Once you determine whether or not the re-roofing cost will be covered, you’ll need to hire a roofing contractor or schedule a roof inspection. Be sure to hire a reputable and trustworthy roofing contractor to do the job. You can learn more about roofing companies by calling them, visiting their website and looking up reviews of their work.
Keep reading to learn more about how to find out if you have roofing insurance to help you pay for a new roof.
Check Your Insurance Policy’s Roofing Coverage
You should be able to refer to your homeowners’ insurance policy to check the roof coverage. The decision of whether or not your new roof will be covered by your insurance is dependent on the reason for needing a new roof. For example, if your roof has irreparable damage from a hail storm, that may be covered because it is an unpreventable occurrence. But this is also dependent on your location – there are many areas of the country that don’t cover roof replacement from hurricanes or tornadoes, because of how frequently those disasters happen in certain areas.
Additionally, most insurance companies offer two types of roofing insurance coverage: repair and replacement. Keep reading to learn more about each one.
Roof Repair
The types of repairs that your insurance company will typically cover are from natural “disasters”, such as fire, hail or wind. On the other hand, most insurance companies will not cover repairs needed due to age of the home or underlying maintenance issues, unless your roof is under 10 years old. You can get a free roof inspection to assess the extent of the damage. This will help you determine whether the damage is repairable or not.
Roof Replacement
Similar to roof repair, your insurance company is more likely to cover your roof replacement if the damage is from a natural “disaster”, such as fire, hail or wind. Your insurance company will want to see documentation of the damage; it’s likely that they will come to your property to assess the damage themselves and make a decision from there. If your roof replacement is determined to be covered by insurance, you can now find a roofing company to handle the job.
Keep Track of Damage
If you are looking to get coverage for a roof replacement due to damage that has occurred to your home, it’s imperative that you keep track of all the damage that has happened leading up to the insurance claim for a new roof. Your insurance company will want detailed documentation of the damage. Take pictures (as long as it is safe to do so) so that your insurance provider can see the extent of the damage. You’ll also want to record the date that the damage happened – or multiple dates if there are multiple instances of damage.
Check the Age of Your Roof
In general, most insurance companies won’t cover the full cost to replace a roof over 10 years old. But if your roof is damaged and under 10 years old, there is a higher probability that your insurance company will cover the re-roofing cost. Have this information handy when you contact your insurance provider because they can give you information exactly as it pertains to your specific policy. So, even if your roof wasn’t damaged by a natural disaster (but just wear and tear, or poor workmanship) and it is under 10 years old, your roofing coverage may take care of the cost.
Contact Your Insurance Provider
If you haven’t already, now is the time to contact your insurance company and inquire further about a new roof. Make sure to send them all the documentation of the damages so that they can assess the situation and make a decision. You can also ask them any questions that you have about coverage, cost, time it will take to fix, and other things you might need more information about. At this point, it’s likely that they will come to your home to inspect and assess the situation and make a decision. Whether or not they opt to cover the cost of your roof replacement, it’s time to look into hiring a roofing company.
Hire a Credible and Reputable Roofing Company
It’s important to hire a credible and reputable roofing company. You want a roofing contractor who has experience, high quality service, the best materials and a history of great workmanship. Do your research by looking up the different roofing companies in your area. You can find reviews and testimonials from past clients pretty easily. Look for any negative reviews of the companies that you are researching. It’s important to get a full scope of the company that will be installing your new roof.
If you’re in the market for a roofing company, there are a few qualities to look for before signing the contract.
Check Out Their Past Roofing Projects
A good, reputable roofing company will have a gallery of their past roofing services on their website. By looking through a gallery of projects, you’ll be able to see the kind of work that each roofing company does. While going through the gallery, you may find a roofing project done on a home very similar to your own. For added peace of mind, if you see the roofing company has done a home similar to yours, you can ask them specific questions about that project and how it was handled. If you come across a roofing contractor who doesn’t like to answer questions, that could be a red flag. Most roofing companies will be happy to talk about their past projects and answer any questions that you have.
Find Out What Roofing Materials They Use
You want to make sure that your roofing company uses high quality materials for their projects. Chances are that you already know what type of new roof you’re going to need (i.e. shingle roofing, tile roofing, metal roofing or flat roofing). Research your roofing company to find out what type of materials they use for the type of roof you have. You can ask them directly or check their website. Call around to different roofing companies and compare what you find – this will help you determine who has the best materials and workmanship in your area.
Look For Both Good and Bad Roofing Reviews
Look at what all the reviews say – both good and bad. Reading the bad reviews gives you a second opinion of customer service, quality, and professionalism. You may not find anything bad! And that’s a good thing. If you find bad reviews, read them to find any recurring complaints. Look for things like poor customer service, poor roofing service, etc. You don’t want to work with a roofing company who has a reputation for poor roofing work.
Schedule Your Consultation with a Roofer
Residential Roofing Depot has many, many years of experience in repairing roofs and installing high quality new roofs in and around Lakeland, FL.
If you think you are in need of roof replacement, call Residential Roofing Depot to get the best value for your hard-earned money. We replace roofs of all materials; whether you need metal roofing, tile roofing, shingle roofing or flat roofing, we’ve got you covered. We will provide you with the best quality of service from start to finish. After you get your inspection with us, and choose us as your roofing company, we’ll be with you until well after your roof replacement is complete. If you ever have any questions during the process, we’re here to answer them for you. If the cost of your roof is being covered by insurance, we will work with your insurance company to make sure we have all the documentation we need to get started.
Whether it is about the quality of the roofing material or the quality of the installation, we provide you with the best of the best. You can feel confident that our roofing technicians will carry out the entire project with utmost competence, skills and professionalism.
Give us a call today to get started – we’re here to help you!
