What type of roof damage is covered
by insurance in Augusta?
The type of roof damage covered by your insurance company will mostly rely on what policies you have in place inside of your plan. Most home insurance companies cover a variety of damages and have different policies, for example your deductible for hail and wind damage may be different compared to a medical expense due to a car accident. The best way to find what kinds of damages are covered is to contact your agent. In this article we will help provide some more details and insight to potential coverages you may have with your company.
Hail/wind damage to the roof
Wind damage and hail damage are among the most common claims that insurance companies receive across the country. Hail storms can damage property extremely fast if golf ball and baseball sized pieces of ice are dropping from the sky at over 60 mph. It would be the equivalent of a tiny piece of ice slamming into your home at freeway speeds. Due to the intensity of hail It makes sense why hail damage claims are the most popular, your roof literally takes the entirety of the storm to protect the inside of the property.
There can be exceptions for roof coverage depending on how bad the damages are. For a smaller damage such as 4 missing shingles it will probably be better to pay out of pocket for a roof repair service in Augusta compared to filing a claim for the damage. If the cost of the repair is cheaper than your deductible we usually recommend paying for the repair yourself. In many instances your deductible may go up after you file a claim and offset the costs it would have required to do the repairs yourself or hire a roofing contractor in Augusta, GA like ourselves. .
There are some things you can do to mitigate hail damage and wind damage claims. Installing impact-resistant shingles will help protect the home from hail damage (to a certain extent) and protect the home much better over the years. These shingles are designed to be much stronger and can be resistant to both structural damages and cosmetic damages such as hail. Having these shingles on your roof will lower the chances that you have to file a claim for roof damage which will save you time and money. Many insurance companies offer discounts or incentives they will give you if you install safer and more durable shingles on the roof. Check into your policies and endorsements by calling your insurance agent or looking on their website.
Fire Damage and Lightning
If your roof was struck by lightning, had a section blown off due to intense winds your insurance will almost always accept your claim as long as the roof was not 30 years old. In some cases even small damages such as a leak or broken corner can be reimbursed if you can prove it was not just from normal wear aging of the roof and shingles. If lightning struck the home it will usually result in a fire which can cause much more damage than a hail storm or strong winds. In these types of situations the entire roof (including framins, joists, OSB boards and underlay) needs to be replaced. Almost all insurance providers will cover the cost required to fix the home, be sure to have constant contact with your insurance agent throughout the process.
Roof leaks
Having a leaky roof can really be a pain in the butt. Leaks can appear in random locations of the home and often show up on the ceiling or corners of the walls. If your roof started leaking “out of the blue” then there is a good chance that your roof was damaged by something on the outside such as a tree branch, wind or hail. Your insurance provider may cover the cost of roofing leaks but only if the leak was caused by peril (an event that just occurred). If your roof is 35 years old and has not been maintained over the years, then starts to leak there would be little chance the insurance provider would cover the cost of repairs. This means that if your leak has slowly built over several years then the roof repair cost would be your full responsibility.
Like mentioned above some insurance companies will cover a leaky roof while others will not. For example let's say that you live in an area which receives inches and inches of rain each year and your roof has been getting bogged down in flat sections with water build up. You don’t notice any signs of leaks though you can tell the roof does look old and aging. One night a large storm blows through and dumps heavy rainfall for hours and your roof begins to leak on the inside. You may think it was a leak that happened all of the sudden which was caused by a falling branch etc. However, during inspection with the insurance company they found that the leak was actually caused by lack of maintenance and the storm would not have damaged the home had the roof been maintained properly earlier. This would be an example in which you would need to pay for the repair and potential roof replacement cost. Even though the big storm was the event that caused the leak your insurer may determine the leak was caused from gradual damage and deny the claim.
Hail/wind damage to the roof
Wind damage and hail damage are among the most common claims that insurance companies receive across the country. Hail storms can damage property extremely fast if golf ball and baseball sized pieces of ice are dropping from the sky at over 60 mph. It would be the equivalent of a tiny piece of ice slamming into your home at freeway speeds. Due to the intensity of hail It makes sense why hail damage claims are the most popular, your roof literally takes the entirety of the storm to protect the inside of the property.
There can be exceptions for roof coverage depending on how bad the damages are. For a smaller damage such as 4 missing shingles it will probably be better to pay out of pocket for a roof repair service in Augusta compared to filing a claim for the damage. If the cost of the repair is cheaper than your deductible we usually recommend paying for the repair yourself. In many instances your deductible may go up after you file a claim and offset the costs it would have required to do the repairs yourself or hire a roofing contractor in Augusta, GA like ourselves. .
There are some things you can do to mitigate hail damage and wind damage claims. Installing impact-resistant shingles will help protect the home from hail damage (to a certain extent) and protect the home much better over the years. These shingles are designed to be much stronger and can be resistant to both structural damages and cosmetic damages such as hail. Having these shingles on your roof will lower the chances that you have to file a claim for roof damage which will save you time and money. Many insurance companies offer discounts or incentives they will give you if you install safer and more durable shingles on the roof. Check into your policies and endorsements by calling your insurance agent or looking on their website.
Fire Damage and Lightning
If your roof was struck by lightning, had a section blown off due to intense winds your insurance will almost always accept your claim as long as the roof was not 30 years old. In some cases even small damages such as a leak or broken corner can be reimbursed if you can prove it was not just from normal wear aging of the roof and shingles. If lightning struck the home it will usually result in a fire which can cause much more damage than a hail storm or strong winds. In these types of situations the entire roof (including framins, joists, OSB boards and underlay) needs to be replaced. Almost all insurance providers will cover the cost required to fix the home, be sure to have constant contact with your insurance agent throughout the process.
Roof leaks
Having a leaky roof can really be a pain in the butt. Leaks can appear in random locations of the home and often show up on the ceiling or corners of the walls. If your roof started leaking “out of the blue” then there is a good chance that your roof was damaged by something on the outside such as a tree branch, wind or hail. Your insurance provider may cover the cost of roofing leaks but only if the leak was caused by peril (an event that just occurred). If your roof is 35 years old and has not been maintained over the years, then starts to leak there would be little chance the insurance provider would cover the cost of repairs. This means that if your leak has slowly built over several years then the roof repair cost would be your full responsibility.
Like mentioned above some insurance companies will cover a leaky roof while others will not. For example let's say that you live in an area which receives inches and inches of rain each year and your roof has been getting bogged down in flat sections with water build up. You don’t notice any signs of leaks though you can tell the roof does look old and aging. One night a large storm blows through and dumps heavy rainfall for hours and your roof begins to leak on the inside. You may think it was a leak that happened all of the sudden which was caused by a falling branch etc. However, during inspection with the insurance company they found that the leak was actually caused by lack of maintenance and the storm would not have damaged the home had the roof been maintained properly earlier. This would be an example in which you would need to pay for the repair and potential roof replacement cost. Even though the big storm was the event that caused the leak your insurer may determine the leak was caused from gradual damage and deny the claim.