Limitations of Your Home Insurance for Hail Damage
Home Insurance May Not Completely Cover Roof Damage
Your homeowner’s insurance policy is meant to provide protection for any disaster that damages your house. If you live in a place that hail is a common occurrence, your home insurance has probably paid out a few thousand dollars to replace or repair your roof. However, insurance companies have recently started to look for ways to lower their costs, which tends to include limiting the amount of roof coverage that they are providing.
Keep in mind that not all insurance companies are limiting roof coverage. To find out if your roof coverage has decreased, call your insurance agent, or look for these new changes when you renew your policy:
- Addition of a separate hail deductible that will be subtracted from what you are paid for a hail claim.
- Refusal to cover roofs that are over a certain age, such as 10 years old or older.
- Exclusions for cosmetic damage, such as dents in siding, metal roofs, or copper trim.
- Requiring a roof inspection to prove the condition and age of your roof before a policy is written.
- Only doing partial repairs to your roof instead of replacing your entire roof after damage, which could possibly lead to a patch of your roof being a different color.
The biggest change that is coming out of this insurance coverage deduction is that insurance companies are paying actual cash value instead of replacement value for damage that is done to your roof. Paying out only the actual cash value means that your insurance company will pay out your claim based on the age of your roof, which means that you may be left digging into your own pockets to ensure your roof is properly repaired.
For all of your home insurance needs and to ensure that you and your house are protected from any unfortunate situation, contact the insurance professionals at American Advantage – IFS in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
