What can i do if my insurance won't pay for new roof.?

Question

Every time the wind blows (>40mph) I loose shingles. I've got

4 bids from contractors saying it needs replaced but insurance

says not enough damage. You can lift the shingles, they never

sealed. House is 8 years old.

Answer 1

You don't have an insurance claim here.  Insurers won't pay for such damage UNLESS the winds reach what is called "gale force", which is somewhere near 60MPH.

If your shingles never sealed, that's a roof issue, not an insurance issue.  You might try contacting the installers of the roof and/or the manufacturer of the roofing.  If the material was properly applied, it should have sealed down within a few months of installation.

Answer 2

If the on-going damage was caused by bad workmanship - then go to the contractor who replaced your roof!

They may offer to replace free (or cheaper)

But the damage is on-going....so it's not ONE occurance for homeowners insurance to cover - it would have to have all happened at once...and then you would have to pay your deductible - and if the damage is less than the deductible - you have no claim for insurance...

Insurance was designed for "catastrophic" situations such as a house-fire or a hurricane...If you are using your policy for regular maintenance - most larger companies will cancel you after a few claims

Answer 3

Insurance won't pay for normal wear and tear.  It has to be damage from a specific event.  Sounds like your house had a lousy roofing job.

Answer 4

call your state ins. commisioner

Answer 5

Insurance doesn't cover poor workmanship, but the company that installed them better. If the shingles weren't properly installed in the first place, you need to get the contracting company to deal with the damage.

Answer 6

Shingles, whether they be asphalt, fibreglass or wood, should not be lifting in 40 MPH winds after eight years if they were installed properly. The fact that they are indicates they were not installed properly. A Homeowner's policy never pays for faulty workmanship, so the shingles that are still on your roof would not be covered. You will have to go back to the company who installed the shingles and get them to do a decent job.

As for the shingles that blew off, there are two problems. The first is what I mentioned before regarding the faulty workmanship. The direct cause of loss is both the wind and the faulty workmanship. Since one of the causes is excluded from the policy you might have some insurers who will exclude the entire loss. There are some insurers who will choose to cover the claim since one of the perils is covered (most judges would also agree with this) and then go after the roofing contractor. The second problem is that the damage did not occur in one occurrence but several, and your deductible applies at each occurrence. Therefore if the damage occurred by four separate windstorms, and your deductible is $500, you would have to pay the first $2,000 of the repair bill, therefore it's quite possible that the amount of damage is less than the combined deductible.

Answer 7

Well, you can go after the original roofer, who clearly didn't do the job right.  But you can't make the insurance company pay.

There is an exclusion in your policy for shoddy work - they won't fix someone else's shoddy work.  Which is what you have.

Your insurance company will also be able to deny future claims, as you're CLEARLY not doing anything right now to prevent a future loss - one of your policy conditions.  Your roof is in bad shape.  You need a new one.  Any storm/water damage you get to the inside of the house, is now EXPECTED.  

But you will have to take care of this YOURSELF.