Will an Insurance Company Pay for a Leaking Roof?
Some types of home insurance, such as the HO-1 standard policy, only cover a few types of property damage, while others cover most common types of damage and loss. The key to whether or not a leaking roof is covered will be the exact wording of your policy and how the leak was caused. Insurance companies may consider the leak to be homeowner negligence and deny any coverage.
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Check Your Policy
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Read your policy carefully to find out whether your leaky roof is specifically covered or excluded. If you are not sure, contact the insurance company anonymously and ask for a list of circumstances under which a leaking roof would be covered. If the cause of your leak is on the list, file a claim.
Causes Versus Symptoms
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It is more common for the symptoms of a roof leak to be covered than the roof itself. If the leak has caused mold and mildew or your wall was damaged by the water, a standard HO-3 home insurance policy will pay for the damages but may not pay for the roof unless it was caused by a specifically covered type of damage.
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Storm Damage
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If the roof was damaged by a storm, it would be covered by an HO-3 policy. If the leak is due to old shingles or missing flashing, it may not be covered under any home insurance policies. Similarly, if the roof leaks because of high winds, it would could be repaired using your insurance, but if the damage is due to leaves that have built up in the gutter for years, a claim would probably be denied.
Negligence
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If your roof leaks because of damage that could have been prevented with proper maintenance of the home, the insurance company may consider the damage as homeowner negligence and refuse the claim. Worse yet, if you file a claim denied because of negligence, you risk causing your rates to go up or even cancellation by your insurance company.
When Not to File a Claim
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If the roof leak is not covered by your insurance company, it may be best not to contact the insurance company at all. Fix the roof yourself, and then contact the insurance company about repairing any damage caused by the leak. If you do not repair the roof first, it may be difficult to settle a claim for the damages on the grounds that treating the symptom will not fix the problem and the same damage could occur as soon as the repairs are made.
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References
- Photo Credit Thunder image by Dmytro Korniyenko from Fotolia.com
