Answers · Storms and insurance
Does homeowners insurance cover a new roof?
The short answer
Generally yes for sudden damage from a covered peril such as hail, wind or a fallen tree, and generally no for wear, age, or damage from deferred maintenance. How much you get then depends on whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value, and on any roof-specific schedule in it.
The three things to read in your own policy
- Replacement cost or actual cash value for the roof. Actual cash value deducts depreciation, and on an older roof that difference is large. Some policies use replacement cost for the house and actual cash value for the roof specifically.
- Any roof surfacing payment schedule, which sets payment by the roof's age and material. These have become more common and they change the arithmetic entirely.
- The deductible, and whether a separate and higher wind or hail deductible applies, often as a percentage of the insured value rather than a flat amount.
Cosmetic damage exclusions
Several insurers now exclude cosmetic damage, particularly dents in metal roofing that do not affect performance. If you have a metal roof in a hail region, this is the clause to find before a storm rather than after one.
Also asked
- Will filing a claim raise my premium?
- It can, and practice varies by insurer and jurisdiction, as does whether a weather claim is treated differently from a liability one. It is a reasonable question to ask your agent directly before filing, alongside what the claim is likely to pay after the deductible.
General information about roofs and about hiring, not advice about your building. Roofing contractor licensing, permits, insurance practice and deductible rules are set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own authority is the current answer.