Will My Insurance Cover A Roof Leak?
Your Roof is a Serious Investment, One that Insurance Can Help Protect
However, home insurance won’t cover all types of damage. The first step is to determine why the roof is leaking and from where. That isn’t as simple as it sounds. Where it is dripping down an interior wall may not be where the leak originated. Leaks can migrate along your ceiling. Finding the entry point of the leak will give you a good idea of the condition of the roof where the leak first broke through.
You probably already know about the importance of maintaining a roof. Keeping things like tree branches and other debris off your roof is just common sense. Regular maintenance can extend the life of your roof and protect your initial investment. But even great maintenance won’t stop Mother Nature from tearing a portion of your roof away in a bad wind storm. Severe weather does the most damage to a roof.
What is the Roof Damage and How Did it Happen?
If you live in Marin, Sonoma or San Francisco counties, severe weather isn’t as likely. Extended periods of extreme heat can age a roof faster than mild weather, so if you live in a micro-climate that exposes your roof to a lot of sun and high temperatures, you’ll want to do inspections more often, just to be safe. When you catch problems early leaks don’t get started.
Call a roofing professional to examine your roof, determine the damage and locate where the leak actually originated. Roofers can often recommend someone to help repair or mitigate any interior damage that might have taken place, too. The harmful interior problems may also be covered. Get estimates. Know why the damage occurred. Then call your insurance company to start a claim, since some or all of the damage may be covered by your homeowner’s policy.
If the roof damage happened due to a storm that tears off shingles, or a tree branch crashing through your roof, it will very likely be covered by insurance. Those are often considered unavoidable occurrences.
Click for a Free Roofing EstimateNow, Back to that Question – Are Roof Leaks Covered by Insurance?
Kendra Cochran, with State Farm Insurance explains it this way, “Clients often call me hoping that problems in their home are covered by their insurance policy. I like to be the hero and say yes! However, it’s important for homeowners to understand that insurance is there for the immediate onset occurrences such as a tree falling on a roof. Wear and tear or home maintenance related issues are usually the responsibility of the homeowner and not the insurance company. Talk with your agent and understand what your homeowner’s policy does and does not cover before something goes wrong. Even a homeowner’s claim inquiry can cause a ding on your homeowner’s claim record, whether or not the claim is paid. Understanding your policy and covered losses is vital to keeping rates low and filing only likely payable claims.”
So, as Kendra indicates, an adjustor may reject your claim due to neglect and poor maintenance of your roof. That might even be the case with a tree branch, if the tree is located near the roof and is old, and needed dead branches thinned out before it fell on your roof. The best protection is prevention.
Our professional roofing staff are experts at finding potential problems. In fact, you don’t need to wait until a leak occurs. Learn how to protect yourself and your home. Contact us today to save you from unnecessary headaches tomorrow.
Click for a Free Roofing Estimate