How to get insurance to pay for your roof
Insurance pays for a roof when a covered event, usually hail or wind, damaged it and you can show that with photos and an inspection. It doesn’t pay for a roof that has simply worn out. How much you get back depends on two lines in your policy: your deductible, and whether the roof is covered at replacement cost or actual cash value.
Below is what to do in order, how the insurer works out your check, and what to do when the amount looks wrong.
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What insurance covers on a roof
Homeowners policies pay for sudden damage from a covered event. On a roof that usually means hail, wind or a fallen tree. They don’t pay for a roof that has worn out, leaks because of missed maintenance, or was damaged before the storm. Most of the adjuster’s visit comes down to that one question: did the storm do this, or did time? Flooding and earthquakes need separate policies.
An old roof can still be covered for storm damage, but it usually pays less. Depreciation takes more off an older roof, and some policies pay older roofs on a schedule that shrinks as the roof ages, or only at actual cash value. Read the roof section of your policy before you file. Some insurers also refuse to renew a policy once the roof passes a certain age, or ask for an inspection first. If you get a non-renewal notice because of your roof, get quotes before the renewal date, since a new roof may be what keeps your coverage.
What to do, in order
Start with photos, before anything is cleaned up. Take them from the ground: the roof from each side of the house, dented gutters and vents, shingles in the yard, and any water stains inside. Photos with the date on them are best. Don’t climb up yourself.
If water is coming in, cover the opening. Ask a roofer to tarp it, because policies expect you to stop further damage, and keep the receipt. Our notes on the first few hours cover this, along with what the repair itself should cost. Stop there, though. A full repair before the adjuster has seen the damage leaves them nothing to assess, and it’s one of the most common ways a straightforward claim gets harder.
Before you call the insurer, find two things on your policy’s declarations page. The first is your deductible, which may be a percentage of your home’s insured value rather than a dollar amount. The second is whether your roof is covered at replacement cost or actual cash value. Ten minutes with that page means nothing in the first call surprises you.
Then report the claim, and don’t wait long. Policies set their own deadlines and some states add one. In Florida, for example, you have to give notice within a year of the storm. You’ll get a claim number and a date for the adjuster’s visit.
Before the adjuster arrives, have a roofer inspect the roof and give you a written estimate. When a roofer is quoting the job, the inspection is usually free. If you can, have the roofer on the roof during the adjuster’s visit, so missed damage gets pointed out on the day rather than argued over later. You can request quotes from local roofers while you wait for the adjuster’s date.
What the adjuster looks for
The adjuster is deciding whether a covered event caused recent damage, or whether the roof has worn out over time. Hail and wind leave different marks, and adjusters are trained to tell both apart from age.
Hail on asphalt shingles shows as dark bruises or soft spots where the granules were knocked off, concentrated on the slopes that faced the storm. Many adjusters mark a test square on each slope and count the hits inside it. They also check soft metals such as gutters, vents and flashing, where hail marks are easier to see than on shingles. Wind damage shows as lifted, creased or missing shingles, mostly at ridges, edges and corners. A creased shingle can break its seal strip and let water in even when it looks fine from the ground.
The signs that count against you are granule loss spread evenly over every slope, brittle or cracked shingles, and old patch repairs. To an adjuster, those point to age rather than the storm. That’s why your own photos from the day after the storm matter: they tie the damage to a date.
How your check is worked out
Most roof claims are paid in two parts, and the first check is usually smaller than people expect. Here’s an example with round numbers: an $18,000 estimate for a 12-year-old roof, $6,000 taken off for its age, and a 1% deductible on a home insured for $350,000.
| Example claim | Replacement cost policy | Actual cash value policy |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer’s estimate for the roof | $18,000 | $18,000 |
| Depreciation held back for the roof’s age | −$6,000 | −$6,000 |
| Your deductible (1% of $350,000) | −$3,500 | −$3,500 |
| First check | $8,500 | $8,500 |
| Paid after the roof is replaced | $6,000 | $0 |
| Total from insurance | $14,500 | $8,500 |
| You pay | $3,500 | $9,500 |
An example only. Your insurer’s estimate shows its own depreciation and deductible figures.
On a replacement cost policy, the insurer first pays the roof’s actual cash value minus your deductible. The depreciation it held back, called recoverable depreciation, is paid once the roof is replaced and you send the final invoice. Ask your insurer how and by when to claim it, because homeowners who never send the invoice never get that money. On an actual cash value policy, the depreciation isn’t paid at all, and the gap comes out of your pocket.
Percentage deductibles change the numbers more than anything else. In much of Texas the wind and hail deductible is now 2% of the dwelling value, which on the same $350,000 home is $7,000 before insurance pays anything. Our Dallas roofing guide shows how that plays out after a hailstorm. A claim pays to replace what you had, so any upgrade you choose, such as impact-resistant shingles or metal, is usually your cost on top of the deductible.
When the payout is too low or the claim is denied
Start by getting everything in writing. If the claim is denied, ask for the reason in writing. If it’s approved for less than your roofer quoted, ask for the adjuster’s line-item estimate, so you can set it next to the roofer’s quote and see exactly where they differ. Then take the cheapest step that fits the gap.
Most gaps are missed items, such as drip edge, flashing, vents, code-required work, or a second layer of old shingles to tear off. Your roofer can send a supplement: a request for the missing items, backed by photos and measurements. Insurers review supplements as a normal part of a roof claim. Knowing what an itemized estimate should include makes the missing lines easier to spot.
If you disagree about what’s damaged, ask for a reinspection and have your roofer there. Adjusters often approve only the slopes that faced the storm, and a second visit with someone pointing at the damage can change that.
If you agree the damage is covered but not on what it costs to fix, look for the appraisal clause in your policy. Most homeowners policies have one. You and the insurer each hire an appraiser, the two appraisers choose an umpire, and an amount agreed by any two of the three is binding. You pay your own appraiser and split the umpire’s fee. It settles the amount, usually within a few months and without going to court, but it doesn’t decide whether the damage is covered.
A public adjuster is the next step if you want someone to run the claim for you. They work for you, not the insurer, and are usually paid a percentage of the settlement, so they make most sense on larger claims. If the insurer has denied coverage outright, or you think it’s handling the claim in bad faith, talk to a property insurance attorney. In Texas, you have to give the insurer 61 days’ written notice before suing.
What your roofer can and can’t do in a claim
A roofer can inspect and document the damage, give you a written estimate, meet the adjuster on the roof, send supplements for missed items, and do the work once the claim is settled. Roofers who do a lot of insurance work know how insurers lay out an estimate, which makes the supplement process smoother. Ask any roofer how many insurance jobs they handled in the past year.
A roofer can’t run your claim. Negotiating the settlement or representing you against the insurer is a public adjuster’s or attorney’s job, and some states write that into law. In Texas, a roofer can’t act as your public adjuster, and can’t waive, rebate or absorb your deductible (see our Texas roofing guide). In Florida, assignment-of-benefits agreements that hand your claim to a contractor are void on policies issued from January 1, 2023. A roofer who offers to “take care of everything” with your insurer, or to cover your deductible, is one to avoid. Our list of questions to ask a roofer covers the other warning signs.
Claim deadlines that differ by state
Texas puts deadlines on the insurer. Under Chapter 542 of the Texas Insurance Code, it has to acknowledge your claim, start investigating and ask for anything it needs within 15 days. Once it has what it asked for, it has 15 business days to accept or reject the claim, and it can take up to 45 more days if it tells you in writing why it needs them. After approving a claim, it has 5 business days to pay. When the Texas Department of Insurance declares a weather catastrophe, each of those deadlines gets 15 more days. The Office of Public Insurance Counsel explains the rules in plain language.
Florida puts deadlines on you, alongside Florida’s roof rules on roof age and reroofing. Under section 627.70132, notice of a claim has to reach the insurer within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months. For storms, the date of loss is the day the storm was verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the day a hurricane made landfall.
Other states set their own deadlines, and your policy may set shorter ones. Your state insurance department’s website lists the rules where you live.
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Questions about roof insurance claims
This page is general information about how roof claims usually work, not legal or insurance advice. Your policy and your state’s rules decide your claim.
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