Question about Insurance on Roof/Water Damage?

Question

I had hail damage on my roof about 7 years ago...it only had minor damage...so we didn't replace but did receive some restitution from my insurance carrier to replace the roof. My question is this...if we had another hail storm and it damaged the roof again where it has to be replaced this time....because the damage is more sufficient....is there a time frame on when an insurance will consider a new claim on the same roof? Thanks....I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Answer 1

If you did not make the repair when the original damage was done, you will have a hard time collecting. It's pretty hard to determine what was original damage, what was wear on top of the original damage, and what part is new damage, after seven years. Best to call in a public adjuster and get some professional advice on how to handle this one.

Answer 2

Basically, if they paid you to replace your roof the last time but you chose not to replace it and pocket the money, they won't pay to replace it again if the old damage is still there. If your company's adjuster gets on your roof to write an estimate for a new storm and finds previous hail damage, he or she will check your claims history, see you had an old hail claim they paid you for, check to see what was paid for in the last estimate, and deny payment for anything that you had already been reimbursed for. There is no "time frame".

It would be the same deal if you backed into a pole with your car. If your insurance company paid you to replace the bumper and you pocketed the money, the next time you backed into a pole, you wouldn't receive any money for your bumper.

The purpose of insurance is to "indemify" you, or bring you back to pre-loss condition. The only way they have to indemnify you is to compensate you monetarily for the damages. If you have a roof that already needs replacing and your company came in and paid for it again, you would, in essence, be profiting from your insurance and that's not what it's designed for.