There is a lot of confusion surrounding exactly when homeowners insurance will help with with repairing or replacing your roof. So, how can you know when to make a roof claim? Keeping in mind this one key factor will help: homeowners insurance is very different from health insurance.
Health insurance isn’t just for when you’re sick. You can actually use it to maintain your health. On the contrary, homeowners insurance is not designed to help with routine home maintenance. Homeowners insurance typically covers damages caused by perils, such as fire, wind, hail or lightning strikes.
My roof just started leaking. Should I call my insurance company?
Remember, routine home maintenance is not covered. Just like oil changes aren’t covered by auto insurance. Both those items considered the owners responsibility.
If your roof is leaking, the first priority is to stop it. Call a professional roofer to help with your leak issue ASAP. When your roof tech is on site, ask him to assess your roof for wind/hail damage. A properly trained technician will know how to identify damages caused by perils, like wind and hail. And he should be willing to meet with your adjuster to point out exactly where storm related damages are.
Our home was hit with heavy winds and large hail. Should I call our insurance company?
Maybe. But first you should probably have a trustworthy Charlotte roofing contractor out to assess your roof. A skilled and experienced roof tech can determine whether or not your roof actually sustained storm damage. Door to door “storm chasers” have a tendency to think everyone has storm damage and should make a claim. After all, it’s no skin of their nose if your insurance company determines you don’t have a claim. But filing frequent claims can become an issue for you, even if your insurer doesn’t approve them or pay out. That’s just the way the industry works.
Get to know your insurance before filing a roof claim.
It’s probably a good idea to get more familiar with your insurance. Give your agent a call, before you’re considering whether to file a roof claim. Depending on your carrier, your agent could be obligated to report you to the insurer – if you even discuss a potential claim and decide not to file. So, don’t want to wait until a potential claim arises to have a conversation with your agent.
Blue Fox never encourages the filing of a claim unless our roof pros can clearly identify legitimate storm damage.
Will filing a claim make my rates go up?
Regardless of your situation, minimizing the number of claims you file is key to keeping your insurance rates lower. One experienced broker explains rates are linked to the likelihood a homeowner will file a claim. Home insurance companies give weight to past home insurance claims submitted by the homeowner. So the frequency and severity of the claim play a role in determining rates.
Insuring a home that has had multiple claims in the past three to seven years can bump your home insurance premium up. For that reason, Blue Fox never encourages the filing of a claim unless our roof pros can clearly identify legitimate storm damage.
What can you do now? If you have any reason to think you might have storm damage schedule your free roof evaluation today. It’s fast and easy. Blue Fox is here to help!
