Roof Exclusions: What to know

If you own a home you may assume that everything is covered by your homeowners insurance.  However, you may be surprised to find out that you are wrong.  In many cases people find that certain exclusions in their homeowner’s insurance policy that prevent their entire homes from being covered.  Roof exclusions are one type of exclusion that may prevent the roof of your home from being covered by homeowner’s insurance.  If you are buying a house for the first time and investing in a homeowner’s insurance policy, make sure to go over any roof exclusions with your insurance agent.  If you currently have a homeowner’s insurance policy, read it carefully to find out its policies on roofing.  You may be surprised with what you find out.

Consider what would become of your beautiful home if you did not have a roof.  If you think about it, roofs are one of the most important parts of homes.  Without a properly functioning roof to provide shelter from the outdoors, your home is basically useless.  In most cases homeowner’s insurance policies do not exclude roofs completely.  Usually, homeowner’s insurance contains roof exclusions for certain things.

Common roof exclusions include service to perform routine maintenance to your roof.  Roof repair is usually covered for the repair of leaks but does not cover replacing the entire roof.  Since replacing your roof can be considerably expensive and is often eventually necessary when you own a home for a long period of time, it is good to be aware that replacing your roof is not covered by your homeowner’s insurance.  If you are not aware of this fact and you plan to replace your roof, you will be in for an expensive surprise when you realize that it is you that is footing the bill.  Any repairs for defects such as leaks that are covered in your insurance policy are likely to only be covered if the repairs are completed with parts and materials that are equal in value to those of your current roof.  Any upgrades or work that is done with materials better than and more expensive than your current roof materials will not be covered in your homeowner’s insurance policy.

Another factor to take into consideration when looking into roof exclusions is to carefully read through your homeowner’s insurance policy to see if it discriminates against roofs made of certain materials.  Some insurance companies offer homeowner’s insurance policies that only provide for roofs made of certain materials.  For example, there are insurance companies that will not cover cedar shake and slate roofs in their homeowner’s insurance policy.  If you want your roof repairs and maintenance to be covered through your homeowner’s insurance, it is a good idea to look into what types of roofs may be excluded by your insurance company, particularly if your roof is made out of a rare or hard to find material.

In addition, the age and layering of the roof may play a role in whether of not your roof is covered or excluded.  Oftentimes older roofs over anywhere from ten to twenty years of age are not covered by insurance.  When roofs age they are often replaced, however it can be extremely expensive to completely remove and re-shingle a roof.  This is why a second layer of roofing shingles are often added to the first if a roof only contains one layer of shingles and must be redone.  This can provide a cheaper alternative to strip the entire roof.  However, this can be a problem when it comes to roof exclusions.  Often, insurance companies exclude roofs that have more than one layer of roofing shingles, but in some cases insurance companies will increase the limit to two layers and cover roofs with two layers of roofing shingles or less.

A final point to keep in mind when considering the insurance of the roof of your home is the amount of coverage offered for your roof.  Usually the amount of coverage is per square, which may put a limit on how much money can be spent and covered by your insurance when it comes to your roof.  Good rates will allow you to keep your roof maintained and looking great.