How many years of depreciation does insurance take on a new roof?
How the years are counted
Depreciation equals the roof's age divided by the expected life the carrier assigns. A 3 year old architectural shingle roof given a 30 year life is 10 percent depreciated. At 10 years it is a third. The insurer takes the age from its own records, a home inspection at purchase, permit data or your answer on the phone, and an error of a few years shifts the number.
Prove a newer roof's age
- The contractor's final invoice and completion date
- The building permit, if your city or county issued one
- The manufacturer warranty registration
- Dated photos from the install
Send these to your agent when the roof is finished so the policy reflects it. Roof age also affects how some policies settle a roof loss at renewal; see roof age and insurance.
Why newer roofs still have claims
Hail does not care how old the shingles are. A 2 year old roof with bruised or fractured shingles is a valid claim, and with little depreciation the first check comes close to the full replacement cost. On a young roof the deductible matters more than depreciation, especially a percentage wind and hail deductible.
If you meant tax depreciation
For taxes the answer is different: a new roof on a residential rental is depreciated over 27.5 years, and a roof on your own home is not depreciated at all.