What to Look for In Your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy
Choosing a homeowner’s insurance policy can be a complicated undertaking. There is so much to consider – the valuables you own, the weather in your area, the age of your home, and many other factors all come into play. But despite all of the known factors, there is one piece that is often overlooked and that is the protections for your Florida residential roofing system.
At All Area Roofing, we have worked with many Florida residential roofing clients and their insurance companies. We’ve seen good policies, bad policies, and everything in between. Although we don’t consider ourselves to be insurance experts, we have definitely learned a few things over the years, which is why we’ve assembled this guide for you!
Whether you are a first time home buyer purchasing your first policy or a long term policyholder looking to make a change, we have advice for you! Keep reading below to learn what the All Area Roofing team advises our Florida residential roofing clients look for in a homeowner’s insurance policy.
What to Look for in Your Homeowner’s Insurance Policy
Understand if and how age is a factor
When determining coverage for your home, insurance companies will take the age of your roof into consideration. Every company handles it a bit differently, but if your home has an older roof (20+ years) you might find that:
- Your insurance company requires a roofing inspection before approving coverage
- Your insurance company may only offer the current cash value for a replacement, meaning that many of the costs will be out of pocket for you
- Your insurance company of choice might flat out refuse coverage if the roof is not replaced first
Coverage for leaks can be spotty
We’ve found that for most of our Florida residential roofing clients, leaks are covered if the following circumstances are met:
- Preventive maintenance was performed to prevent the leak in the first place
- Action is taken quickly upon discovering the leak
- The Florida residential roofing specialist repairing the damage is licensed and certified
If however, delays are recorded or you opt to work with an unlicensed contractor, this could cause your coverage to be voided.
Extreme weather is pretty much guaranteed, other weather is not
Most home insurance policies will cover damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes (good news for us Florida residents!), fires, tornadoes, etc. in what is known as an “Act of God” clause. This protects you from the many unpredictable extreme weather circumstances you might face.
What is not always covered, is damage from wind, rain, hail, and snow. When it comes to these more “standard weather” circumstances, insurance companies often take the age and condition of your roof into account, along with the specifics of your particular policy to determine coverage.
Maximums and other limitations may exist
Depending on the policy you choose to purchase, there may be spending maximums and limitations as to the contractors you can work with, materials you can use, and the type of damage that your insurance will cover. When you sign up for a policy, it can be tempting to choose the cheapest one, but we get what we pay for and when you choose a cheap insurance policy, you’re going to have low maximums and various restrictions to what you can do.
Some insurance is always better than no insurance, but try to maximize your coverage and allowances the best your budget permits.
Insurance is complicated, there is no doubt about it. And while we might not be able to change our Florida residential roofing clients’ policies, we can at least help set you up for success. If you are a homeowner in need of roofing work, but you aren’t sure what is covered in your policy, the All Area Roofing team is here for you. Give us a call and we can work through it together, alleviating your stress, and getting your roof back to tip-top shape in no time.
