Roof damaged by hail - questions about roof replacement and impact to insurance

[PhoenixM3]

All, anyone with experience in replacing a roof following a hail storm, please chime in. Several homes near me have roofs that have sustained some damage which (allegedly) warrants replacement. I'm not sure the damage is severe enough to consider replacement on a 5 year old home. I also have concerns about insurance rates going up following a claim. At what point does hail damaged roof tile (composite) affect the water-tight integrity of the whole roof?

As usual I expect the experts (or at least those of you with experience) in this matter to provide your thoughts.

Thanks!

Jeff

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Had my roof, siding, and gutters replaced 3 years ago due to hail. Acts of God usually don't and shouldn't increase your rates. However, if God acts too many times against you then your insurance might drop you.

 

[tistan]

Jeff, I look at it this way, insurance doubled my rates last year when I've never had a claim. **** the insurance I'm getting a new roof. I had my roofer come out yesterday and look and mine and it has small damage but a lot of it. He looked at my neighbors and he could identify old damage and new damage. If you have damage and you don't get it replaced and then switch insurance companies, you might have a hard time with the next claim if they don't think it was their problem.

If you need a roofer, I have two that are good and show up when they say.

 

[03cobra#694]

I know here, storm damage insurance will cover the roof with just your deductible. Hurricanes are a different story.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Jeff, I look at it this way, insurance doubled my rates last year when I've never had a claim. **** the insurance I'm getting a new roof. I had my roofer come out yesterday and look and mine and it has small damage but a lot of it. He looked at my neighbors and he could identify old damage and new damage. If you have damage and you don't get it replaced and then switch insurance companies, you might have a hard time with the next claim if they don't think it was their problem.

If you need a roofer, I have two that are good and show up when they say.

Nailed it!

Get someone out to inspect asap. Get it replaced. Had mine replaced in 2012 due to hail. At that time, our insurance company did a full replacement and all I had to do was deductible. After basically the whole country had hail damage that year, the insurance company started prorating roof replacements by looking at the age of the roof.

I used to worry about "dings" on insurance by making claims. However, in the last few years I've had a change of heart. I've paid my premiums for 25 years. It's why I pay them. SCREW THEM if they decide to drop me after I make a claim. Plenty of other companies out there after new business.

I'd suggest finding a company that does restoration work/mold remediations, etc etc and let them handle the inspection and the insurance company. Makes it no touch for you. You do need to find out if your replacement cost is prorated or similar.

 

[JPKII]

Same here. Had a roofing contractor going through the neighborhood offering free roof inspections "due to recent storm". He handled everything for us including working with insurance company. State Farm needed to do their own inspection. We just paid deductible. Rates did not increase afterwards. I was claim-free for nearly 20 years at that point.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Gents, thanks much for the replies. Inspector is coming by this Friday to discuss in detail. I have yet to contact my insurance company....

 

[03cobra#694]

Gents, thanks much for the replies. Inspector is coming by this Friday to discuss in detail. I have yet to contact my insurance company....

My roofers took care of all of that when I went through this a couple of years ago, non hurricane.

 

[noco5.0]

Not an expert on insurance but your rates will probably go up whether you filed a claim or not since all your neighbors are filing claims. Many insurance companies in Colorado are going away from the 1000-2000 dollar deductible for wind and hail damage and will only write policies where the deductible is a percentage of the insured value of the house so customers are out thousand(s) of dollars on a hail claim. We've dodged the bullet so far where I'm at this year but I'm on my 3rd roof in the 10 years I've been in my current house. My wife was in Texas this weekend and her car got hit by tennis ball sized hail....I hate this time of year.

 

[03cobra#2]

Currently going through the process of getting a new roof through insurance. Roof is over 20 years old and it's time. Had a roofer come out and inspect, then came back out and met my insurance adjuster. My insurance agreed to a new roof. My deductible is really high, but it's still a huge savings from having to pay for an entire new roof out of pocket. I'm hoping to have my new roof on before our annual Summer pool party in August. I say go for it.

 

[PC03GT]

Replaced ours a few year's back. The rate did go up, but I think it was because a monster storm came through and lots of people had damage.

We switched our insurance and rates went down to normal or lower because we had a new roof lol

 

[WutApex]

Gents, thanks much for the replies. Inspector is coming by this Friday to discuss in detail. I have yet to contact my insurance company....

I did the same a couple years ago - had an eval before calling insurance.

We dodged that storm this time (only small hail) so happy about that.

Were you here when Fountain got hit twice in one year by tennisball sized hail? My coworker’s house was smoked - windows, siding, roof, grill, fence, etc. Got most of it fixed only to get hit again. That whole area had their rates go way up.

 

[PhoenixM3]

I did the same a couple years ago - had an eval before calling insurance.

We dodged that storm this time (only small hail) so happy about that.

Were you here when Fountain got hit twice in one year by tennisball sized hail? My coworker’s house was smoked - windows, siding, roof, grill, fence, etc. Got most of it fixed only to get hit again. That whole area had their rates go way up.

Yes, I was running to my car trying not to die. A 56 year old man running in dress shoes with one arm over his head to avoid a concussion from “hail of unusual size” through a crowded parking lot was probably Fail Army type footage. I got in my car and watched helplessly as the hail beat my 2017 Fiesta ST to death (totaled).

 

[Rct851]

Take multiple quotes. Don’t feel pressured into using the first roofer that knocked on your door and give him the job for making an easy call to file a claim for you. There is massive margin in a roof replaced through insurance so ask what upgraded shingles and warranties can be offered from the roofer so he isn’t holding out on you and just trying to maximize the profit.

 

[craigD]

A buddy of mine was able to claim for a roof replacement and some window glasses even with the windshield of his vehicle. I'm not sure what was his home insurance, but with his vehicles it was Bindright.

 

[specracer]

All I was thinking was, has an experienced painless dent guy (PDR) looked at it..... Oh, right, the roof of your house......

Good luck hope you get a positive resolution.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Yeah, I was spotting red flags when the sales guy (for roofing) asked me to NOT contact my insurance company. So, when I chatted with my insurance company, the agent advised me to get 3 independant estimates to see if the damage exceeded my deductable (1% of the home's value - ouch).

I do believe there's damage, but what I still don't understand is if the damage will affect the roof's ability to shed water (outside, not in thank you.)

 

[SweetSVT99]

I had a full replacement roof and gutters done by insurance in 2021 and it didn't impact my rates. It started from having an appraisal done on my house and the guy said I should contact my insurance because I had storm damage. I did, insurance confirmed and told me to find the contractor I'd like to use. The contractor I chose and the insurance company came to an agreement on the cost, insurance sent me a check and that was that.

The month without gutters causing water in my basement is a whole 'nother story though.

 

[PhoenixM3]

I had a full replacement roof and gutters done by insurance in 2021 and it didn't impact my rates. It started from having an appraisal done on my house and the guy said I should contact my insurance because I had storm damage. I did, insurance confirmed and told me to find the contractor I'd like to use. The contractor I chose and the insurance company came to an agreement on the cost, insurance sent me a check and that was that.

The month without gutters causing water in my basement is a whole 'nother story though.

Thanks for the feedback.