Hey guys, I'm super frustrated here. My wife and I bought a house with an old roof that was basically falling apart. If we would have left it, it would have caused water damage in no time. We replaced the roof out of pocket, using higher rated singles. When we asked our agent to rerun our premiums, they came back HIGHER than the old, falling apart roof with the same deductibles and everything.
She claims it's because the roof is on a depreciating schedule, so before they would only cover 40% of the replacement, now the new roof they cover 100%. But we went from 100% chance of needing to file a claim soon, to near zero and used better shingles which they apparently don't even factory in (roofing people lied to us). How does being significantly better protected from damage ever make premiums more? Why didn't we just file a claim right away and taken the 40% (our agent never suggested we do this)? Help me make this make sense!
We Replaced Our Roof, Our Home Insurance Premiums Went UP
byu/stawpdahates inInsurance
Posted by stawpdahates
6 Comments
It makes no sense… Shop for a new company…. Every few years you need to shop them anyway. I had been with the same insurance company (car and homeowners) 20+ years and they kept raising our rates to outrageous amounts. Moved both policies to new companies and now pay a quarter of the old amount. They are not your friend….
You couldn’t have taken the 40% unless it started failing because of a covered peril. Merely being old and starting to fail over time is not a covered loss. And even if you could take the loss, you’d very likely get higher future premiums and be one step closer to a policy nonrenewal.
But yes, when a roof is covered by ACV rather than replacement cost, a new $25,000 roof is covered for the full $25K (less deductible) while an old roof approaching its end of life might only be covered for $5,000 (again, less deductible) and you’d eat the other $20K yourself. For many people, a very old roof wouldn’t even be covered for the deductible amount.
If you’d filed a claim right away after purchasing the house, it’s unlikely it would’ve been covered at all as you say the roof was just old. Old is not a covered cause of loss, it’s a maintenance issue.
The new roof has a higher replacement value, so if it is damaged by a covered cause of loss the repairs or replacement will cost more than the old janky roof.
Nobody is stopping you from shopping around with other carriers if you don’t like your price.
My insurance rate went down when I replaced my roof.
How were you previously at 100% of needing to file a claim soon? Your roof leaking because its old and should have been replaced is not something you could file a claim for.
Your likelihood of filing a claim hasnt changed. You’re just as likely to ha e hail damage or storm damage now as before, but your incurable value is now higher.
Find another insurance company.