What percentage of roof damage is covered by insurance?
Short answer. If the damage is from a covered peril and your roof is insured at replacement cost, insurance pays the full reasonable cost of the covered repair or replacement minus your deductible. Actual cash value coverage subtracts depreciation for good, and a roof payment schedule pays a set percentage based on the roof's age.
Three settlement types, three answers
- Replacement cost (RCV): effectively 100 percent of the covered cost, minus the deductible. You may get it in two checks, with depreciation released after the work is done.
- Actual cash value (ACV): the replacement cost minus depreciation and the deductible. On an older roof, depreciation can be a large share of the cost and is never paid back.
- Roof payment schedule: a table in the policy that pays a percentage of the roof's replacement cost based on age and material. The older the roof, the lower the percentage.
Compare them in ACV vs RCV and roof payment schedules.
An example on a $16,000 roof with a $2,000 deductible
- RCV: insurer pays $14,000 in total.
- ACV with $7,000 depreciation: insurer pays $7,000.
- Payment schedule at 50 percent for the roof's age: insurer pays $8,000 minus the deductible, or $6,000, depending on how the policy applies it.
A common mix up
A "2 percent" deductible is not a coverage percentage. It is 2 percent of your dwelling limit, subtracted from the claim. See percentage deductibles.
What reduces the share further
Damage the adjuster attributes to wear, items left off the estimate, and code upgrades without ordinance or law coverage. Missing items can be added with a documented supplement.