Many property insurance companies were hit hard by hurricanes Matthew and Irma. Those companies either started denying coverage to homeowners when the roof is 15+ years old or they added exclusion clauses stating the roof was not insured, as well as collateral damage caused by a roof failure.
Those same clauses started creeping into commercial property insurance policies in 2018. We’re also aware of multiple commercial property owners whose policy renewals are being denied because their roof is 15+ years old.
This is putting many commercial property owners like you in a precarious and unfair position. Especially with hurricane season starting in just a few short weeks.
There are a handful of situations you may be in if your roof is 15+ years old:
The absolute worst case is no insurance coverage for your roof and collateral damage caused by it failing, and no roofing system warranty from the manufacturer when annual inspections and proactive maintenance haven’t been performed. Both of which are required by ALL roofing system manufacturers to maintain warranty coverage.
We also find people who can’t get their policy renewed because the roof is 15+ years old. Most of the people who fall into this category also have no warranty on their roof because they’ve neglected annual inspections and proactive maintenance.
Some people have been able to maintain insurance coverage with no exclusion clauses for their roof but have no roofing system warranty. Again, due to neglecting annual inspections and proactive maintenance. We’ve encountered this scenario enough times to know that most insurance companies will blame the roofing system failure on the manufacturer who in turn will rightfully state the warranty is not in effect. That usually results in blame being placed on the installer who in turn feels that hurricane force winds caused the damage, and rightfully so. It ends up a vicious circle of one party blaming another while the property owner is left with an exposed building.
The best position a property owner could be in is to have insurance with no exclusion clauses plus warranty coverage because they’ve had annual inspections and maintenance performed. The only people we find in this situation are our customers that we’ve proactively protected.
What are your choices and how can R&R help you?
First and foremost we offer FREE no-strings-attached roof inspections. If you’re one of the first 10 people who request an inspection this month we’ll give you $250. Your inspection will include photos, findings and recommendations. We will also contact your roofing system manufacturer to determine if the warranty is still in effect.
We work with attorneys who will review your insurance policy for a reasonable fee. Their report will indicate if your policy has any exclusions specific to your roof and/or other aspects of your property.
Based on both reports we’ll give you several potential choices:
We have a good working relationship with a couple reputable insurance companies. You may be able to change providers and rest easy.
Your roof may need repairs which we will look after before contacting the roofing system manufacturer to inform them that we have an inspection report showing the roof has been looked after. That in turn will get your warranty coverage restored as long as you undertake preventative maintenance, which we offer through our Roof TOP Assurance program. We will then contact your insurance company and provide them with documentation stating that your roof has no active leaks, is being proactively maintained and still has warranty coverage from the manufacturer. That almost always results in an exception being made by the insurance company.
If your roof is beyond the state of repair we may be able to restore it for well under half the price of replacing it. In that case both your insurance and warranty will start fresh. A restored roof is coated with silicone and has either a 10 or 15 year lifespan and warranty.
The worst case scenario is that your roof can’t be repaired or restored. That only happens in 25% of the roofs that we look at that are 15+ years old. In that case we will provide a proposal at no charge.
Florida storm season starts in a few weeks. After the Coronavirus pandemic can you afford another shutdown due to storm damage? Get protected now.
Get started today by requesting your FREE no-strings-attached roof inspection HERE.
