Should you file a roof insurance claim? Do the math first

A storm came through, your roof looks rough, and your first thought is the reasonable one: that’s what insurance is for. Sometimes it is. But a roof claim isn’t automatically a good deal, and a lot of homeowners find that out after they’ve already filed.

I spent 15 years in insurance, first as a State Farm agent and then running my own independent brokerage. Now I own a roofing company. I’ve watched this from both sides, and the math surprises people more often than you’d think.

How much will I actually get after the deductible?

Start here, because it’s the number most people skip.

Roof deductibles aren’t the $500 they used to be. A flat $2,500 deductible is common now. Plenty of policies use a percentage instead, usually 1% or 2% of your dwelling coverage. On a home insured for $350,000, that’s $3,500 or $7,000 before the insurance company pays anything.

Pull your declarations page and find your wind and hail deductible. It’s sometimes different from your all-other-perils deductible, and it’s the one that applies to most roof claims.

Why did my insurance company depreciate my roof?

This is where it gets confusing, and where most of the surprise comes from.

There’s a big difference between replacement cost and actual cash value. Replacement cost means the carrier pays what it costs to replace the roof today. Actual cash value means they pay what your roof was worth the day it was damaged, which is the replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear.

More carriers are moving older roofs to actual cash value or to a roof payment schedule based on age. Kentucky Farm Bureau, for example, starts depreciating a roof at 7 years. After that, the older the roof, the smaller the share of the cost they pay. Whether labor gets depreciated too, or only materials, depends on the policy, and it makes a real difference in the check.

What does the math look like on a real roof?

Here’s a simple example. The numbers are made up to show how it works, not a quote.

Say the roof costs $12,000 to replace, and because of its age your policy pays 60% of that. That’s $7,200. The depreciation comes off first. Then your deductible comes off what’s left.

• With a $2,500 deductible, your check is $4,700. You pay $7,300 of the roof yourself.
• With a 2% deductible on a $350,000 home, that’s $7,000, and your check is $200.

In the second case you’d be filing a claim, putting it on your record, and possibly raising your premium for the next several years, all for $200.

Run it with your own numbers: replacement cost, the percentage your policy pays at your roof’s age, and your deductible. If what’s left is small, that’s your answer.

Will filing a claim raise my rates?

It can, and the claim doesn’t have to pay much to count.

Start with the part most people don’t know. Asking your insurance company to send an adjuster opens a claim. If they look at the roof and pay nothing, that’s a zero-paid claim, and it still goes in your claim history. It can affect your insurance score, and it counts toward your claim frequency when the carrier looks at your policy at renewal.

A claim that does pay can cost you a no-claims discount if your policy has one, and it can show up as a rate increase at renewal. Your claim history is reported to an industry database called CLUE, and other carriers check it when you shop for a new policy. So a claim follows you even if you switch.

Many carriers also look at how many claims you’ve had in the last few years. One claim is rarely the problem. A second or third in a short window can mean higher rates or a non-renewal. If you’ve already filed recently, think hard before filing a small one.

When does filing actually make sense?

When the damage is real and the numbers work. If you have a replacement cost policy, the roof clearly has storm damage, and the cost is well above your deductible, a claim is what insurance is for. Don’t talk yourself out of it because of a vague fear of rate increases.

It’s also worth knowing that not every damaged roof needs replacing. If the damage is limited, a repair may cost less than your deductible. It’s an honest option, and you should know it exists.

What should I do instead of filing a small claim?

Pay for it the way you’d pay for any other home project: cash, savings, or financing you’ve compared on your own terms. Then keep your claim history clean for the day you really need it.

One more thing to ask your agent about. Some carriers give a discount for a newer roof or for impact-resistant shingles. If you’re replacing anyway, find out what your carrier offers before you pick a shingle.

What should I know before I call my insurance company?

Get an inspection first. Calling for an adjuster opens a claim whether they pay or not, so you want to know there’s real storm damage, and roughly what it costs to fix, before anything goes on your record.

When we inspect, we photograph what we find and show it to you. We’ll tell you what we see and what the work would cost. Whether to file, and what’s covered, is between you and your insurance company. But you’ll have the numbers to do the math. Here’s more on how we handle storm damage claims.