File an Insurance claim on roof replacement?

[Lucy Smi]

Our roof is 22 yrs old. We received the “replace roof or we will drop you in 2 months” letter from the insurance company. A recent storm led to a new kitchen ceiling leak. We have evidence of storm or wind damage on the roof according to the roofing company that quoted us.

Now we are struggling to decide if we should file an insurance claim for a new roof. Three things to note:

1. We started the insurance as “owner-occupied” when living in the house years ago. It is now an out of state “rental”. We never updated the insurance.

2. Our tree brunches are overgrown. It’s hard to tell if the brunches caused some of the damage.

3. We were told an insurance claim for a new roof takes 6 months, and that’s beyond the 2 months we are given, especially when we have an active leak.

Question: Should we file a

Claim for a new roof or should we pay for a new roof ($12k)? Will our insurance premium increase after this claim?

[Nathan Gesner]

You shouldn't file an insurance claim on a 22-year-old roof. Yes, it saves you some money but it drives up insurances rates and puts you in a precarious situation if you later have a more important claim.

Example: one of my owners filed an insurance claim in 2018 to replace three roofs. No problem and saved him a ton of money. In 2019, he had two major water leaks in upstairs apartments, both causing over $20,000 in damages. We filed insurance claims for them. In 2020, I was contacted by the insurer and told they could no longer cover the property because he had filed too many claims on his policy.

Save it for true emergencies, not a roof that is at the end of its life expectancy.