You might be panicking as your insurance company has threatened to cancel your policy if you don’t get a new roof. On the one hand, you need insurance to protect your home. But, on the other hand, you don’t want to pay for a whole new roof just to keep your current policy.
Keep reading to understand more about what you can do from here.
Find out more about roof replacement Kissimmee services.
Can My Insurance Company Force Me To Get a New Roof?
First of all, it’s important to know whether or not your insurance company can force you to get a new roof. As insurance fraud increases, insurance companies are becoming less and less willing to insure a roof that is more than ten years old.
However, this does not mean they can force you to get a new roof.
While an insurance company may warn you that they will not cover damage to your old roof, they must have an explainable reason. They can’t deny your claim because your roof is old. What they can do, however, is deny your claim because you have failed to do routine maintenance on your roof.
Your roof needs regular care, no matter how old or new it is. Unfortunately, many insurance companies won’t pay for this routine maintenance which means many homeowners won’t pay for it either. While you may think this saves you money, it can lead to problems.
If you don’t take care of routine maintenance work on your roof, insurance companies can (and will) deny your claims due to negligence.
My Mortgage Requires Roof Insurance. What Should I Do?
If you’ve made routine repairs to your roof and your insurance company still wants you to get a new roof, consider looking at different providers and getting quotes from them.
As long as you’ve been keeping up on regular roof maintenance, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a company that is willing to insure your home.
However, if you haven’t been making routine repairs to your roof, talk to your insurance company first. Ask them if getting your current roof repaired would be enough. If they say yes, then you don’t have to repair your roof. If they say no, however, it’s time to look at a new company.
Fortunately, mortgage lenders can’t specify where you get your insurance. They can require you to have it, but they can’t limit your choices. This means that even if you do have to switch insurance companies, you won’t have to worry about having problems with your mortgage.
Why Do Insurance Companies Want Me to Get a New Roof?
Older roofs are a liability in the eyes of an insurance company. Unfortunately, some roofing contractors and homeowners may be eager for the insurance payout and purposely leave their roofs to deteriorate.
While not everyone is looking to abuse the system, the few that are have made it difficult for those who aren’t. Even if you maintain your roof and take good care of it, an insurance company may be wary of it. If too many of their clients have older roofs, it could bankrupt the company after a disaster.
Conclusion
Even if you take excellent care of your roof and have never had any problems with it, insurers can still choose not to cover an old roof. As your roof reaches the ten or twelve-year mark, most companies will request you replace it entirely, or they’ll drop your policy.
While this is unfortunate, it’s not always because of something you’ve done. Try reasoning with them and ask if routine maintenance will be enough to convince them to keep your policy. If all else fails, you may have to switch companies.
Learning that your insurance company may cancel your policy can be stressful, but it’s important to remember they’re not trying to make your life difficult. Before you panic, ask what you can do to keep your policy and work from there.