What are the best tips for keeping your roof covered by insurance?
Build a roof file
- The contract, invoice, permit and warranty paperwork from your last replacement. Insurers ask for roof age, and proof beats an estimate.
- Yearly photos of each slope, the flashing and the attic. A baseline makes it far easier to prove what a storm changed.
- Receipts for repairs, gutter cleaning and tree trimming. They show the roof was maintained, which matters when an adjuster leans on a wear and tear exclusion.
Fix the small things
Cracked pipe boots, a few missing shingles or lifted flashing are cheap repairs and are usually not insurance claims. Left alone, they let water rot the decking, and rot is excluded. Overhanging limbs that scrape shingles cause the same problem.
Answer the insurer
If your carrier sends a letter asking for photos or an inspection, respond on time. Many nonrenewals over roofs start with an unanswered letter. A roofer can give you a condition report with photos to send back.
Read renewals carefully
Georgia's Insurance Commissioner has reminded residential insurers that a reduction in coverage must come with a separate notice titled NOTICE OF REDUCTION IN COVERAGE in capital letters. If you get one, call your agent before the renewal date and ask exactly what changed, especially a switch from replacement cost to actual cash value on the roof or a new percentage deductible. Our page on roof age and insurance explains what tends to change as roofs get older, and ACV vs RCV explains why that switch matters.