How to Get Homeowners Insurance to Pay for a New Roof

The comprehensive guide on getting home insurance to cover your damaged roof

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Last Updated: December 16, 2022 References

When will insurance usually cover roofing replacement?

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When is it not likely the insurance will cover a roof replacement?

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Contacting Your Insurance Company

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What Happens Next?

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What should I do if insurance won’t cover the costs?

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How long does it take for insurance to approve a roof replacement?

Your heart may drop into your stomach when disaster strikes and you see your roof needs work, but take a deep breath. That’s why you pay insurance! If you’ve never filed a claim with your insurance company before, the task ahead may seem overwhelming. The good news is that this is way easier than it may seem at first. The not-so-great news is that you may have to wait a while depending on how long your insurance company takes to investigate the claim. In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about what’s covered, what isn’t, and how you can game the system to get your new roof paid for.

Things You Should Know

Unexpected damage from acts of God, weather damage, and tree falls are all covered by most insurance policies.
Insurance won’t typically pay out if there’s an exception in your policy, the roof is over 20-25 years old, or you didn’t complete basic maintenance.
File your claim by calling your insurance company and filling out the paperwork they give you.
The insurance company will investigate your claim. If it’s found to be valid, they’ll send you a check to pay for repairs or a new roof.

Section 1 of 6:

When will insurance usually cover roofing replacement?

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Sudden accidental damage from acts of God. If a comet falls on your roof, a riot breaks out and your roof is damaged, or a windstorm hurls a porch umbrella through your ceiling, you’re covered—the insurance company almost positively will pay for it. Any kind of unexpected peril or random damage that nobody could have possibly seen coming is usually covered.^{[1]
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- Even if your insurance covers something, don’t take your time submitting the claim. The faster you pursue your claim, the easier it will be to get it approved.
2
Storm, ice, lightning, wind, fire, hail, or snow damage. Extreme weather is potentially the most common reason you’d need to fix or replace your roof, and insurance will typically cover all of this stuff. If there’s a major storm or some whacky weather and it damages your roof, you’re almost always going to be covered.^{[2]
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- Wildfires are normally covered unless you live in a fire-prone area (like Northern California), in which case you’ll need special coverage
- You probably aren’t covered for earthquake or flood damage—especially if you’re in an area where either of those disasters are relatively common. You typically need separate insurance for earthquakes or floods.
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3
A tree that fell on your roof and damaged it. If you’ve got a nearby tree that fell over for reasons entirely outside of your control, your home insurance should cover you. You may even be covered for the cost of the tree removal depending on your policy.^{[3]
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- So long as you weren’t being negligent during a DIY tree removal, it doesn’t usually matter why the tree fell on your roof.

Section 2 of 6:

When is it not likely the insurance will cover a roof replacement?

1
The damage is caused by an exception outlined in your policy. Every home insurance policy is different, and certain damage may or may not be covered depending on the specific policies you negotiated when you first took the insurance out. The only way to know is to contact your insurance carrier or read your policy.^{[4]
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- For example, you may have opted out of weather coverage in exchange for a lower monthly premium.
2
Your insurance has lapsed or expired. If you fail to pay your home insurance or your policy ends and you fail to renew it, nothing will be covered. If your roof happens to need replacing and you didn’t have any active insurance contract, you’ll need to pay for it out of pocket.^{[5]
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- You can usually choose to pay your insurance monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, or yearly. You can either pay it directly, or have the payments escrowed via your mortgage.
3
Your roof is over 20-25 years old. Roofs typically need to be replaced every 20-25 years, so it won’t surprise you to learn that this when home insurance companies conveniently stop covering the roof. You may have a clause in your policy that says they’ll only cover up to 50% of the cost after 20 years, or 0% after 25 years.^{[6]
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- This isn’t universal—different carriers will have different rules when it comes to how many years can pass before your roof insurance policy automatically changes or disappears.
4
You failed to complete proper maintenance. If you haven’t had the roof repaired, inspected, or maintained over the years, your insurance company can claim that your neglect is to blame for the roof damage. This can be relatively difficult to disprove, so it’s important to keep receipts from any and all repairs you’ve had done over the years.^{[7]
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- If the damage was preventable, it’s generally not going to be covered.
5
The damage is purely cosmetic. If your shingles are looking a little worse for wear or the tar is looking a little splotchy but the roof is in working condition, the insurance company won’t cover any repairs or replacements. Something has to be structurally wrong with the roof for your insurance company to pay out anything.^{[8]
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The damage was caused by insects, rats, or other pests. Squirrels, raccoons, termites, and mice can all wreak havoc on your roof. If a pest is to blame for the damage that needs to be repaired, your insurance company won’t pay for a new roof.^{[9]
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- Getting rid of pests can be a pain in the neck, but it’s well worth it if it means you don’t have to pay for a brand new roof!

Section 3 of 6:

Contacting Your Insurance Company

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Review your policy to determine what’s covered. As soon as you realize the roof is damaged, read through your insurance documents to see if it qualifies. Your policy will outline everything that your insurance covers, so you can figure out if you’ve got a valid claim right away.^{[10]
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- Homeowners policies can be dozens of pages long. If you have a digital copy, search the document using control + F to search for “roof.”
2
Gather all of your relevant documents and take photos. Collect every repair document and contractor receipt you have that pertains to your roof. Get your policy number. Then, go outside and take photos of your roof from multiple angles. If you can see the damage from inside of your home, take photos of that as well.^{[11]
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- Get a “before” photo of your roof. It can help prove just precisely how bad the damage is. If you don’t have one, pull one off of Google Earth or look at your bank’s loan documents.^{[12]
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Get a damage estimate from a roofing company. Contact a roofer and ask them to give you a quote for the repair or a new roof. The estimate will help you negotiate when it comes time to ask the insurance company to actually pay. It should also give you a better sense for how much this may cost if insurance refuses to cover the cost.^{[13]
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- Don’t get more than one quote. If you get multiple quotes, the insurance company will just use whatever the lowest quote was.
4
Call the insurance company to submit your claim. Once you’ve got everything you need, reach out to your insurance agent or call the company and tell them you have a claim to file. They’ll give you the paperwork you need to fill out. Give them all of the required documentation and the completed form to submit it.^{[14]
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Section 4 of 6:

What Happens Next?

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Wait for the insurance adjuster to process your claim. The insurance company will process your claim and assign an adjuster to your case. The adjuster will investigate your claim to determine whether your claim is valid. This can take a couple of weeks depending on how busy the company is and how complex your claim is.^{[15]
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- Smaller insurance companies tend to move a little faster than the bigger firms—especially if there’s a big natural disaster and the larger firm has to send all of their adjusters out at once.
2
Allow the insurance company to pay for the new roof. If your claim is approved, they’ll send you a check for the cost of the repair or the price of a brand new roof. Once you have the check, hire a roofing company to either put your roof back together or replace it entirely.^{[16]
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- Whether you opt for a repair or a full roof replacement depends entirely on the extent of the damage.
- If the insurance company doesn’t pay you the full amount necessary to cover the repair/replacement, you’ll need to go out of pocket for the rest of the bill.
- You can file an appeal with the insurance company if they deny your claim, but it’s going to be extremely time consuming and it’s unlikely to work.
3
Expect to pay the difference if the roof has depreciated. Most insurance companies will refuse to completely cover the cost of repair if the roof has aged beyond a few years. This is fairly standard, so you may end up footing a portion of the cost if your roof is old.^{[17]
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- The reason for this is that roofing insurance doesn’t cover normal wear and tear. Since it’s impossible to know just what percentage of the damage can be chalked up to the age of the roof, the insurance company will just make a small adjustment.

Section 5 of 6:

What should I do if insurance won’t cover the costs?

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Hire a roofing company to fix the roof if you can afford it. Without insurance, you’re going to have to pay for the repairs yourself. Contact a reputable roofing company in your area, get multiple estimates, and pick a company to complete the work.^{[18]
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- A new roof will cost anywhere from $5,500 to $22,000 depending on the size of your roof, the height, and the material.
- You typically have to make repairs within 6 months of the damage if you want to keep your current insurance policy. Don’t leave your roof open to the elements for too long.^{[19]
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2
Contact your city’s emergency services if you need temporary help. Most major cities and states have some kind of public service for homeowners who need roof coverage ASAP. Look online or contact your city’s housing department to ask if they provide any kind of support for folks in need. The odds are very high city will at least temporarily cover your roof.^{[20]
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- Contact Operation Blue Roof if your roof is damaged as the result of a national disaster. Operation Blue Roof will temporarily fix your roof free of charge.
3
Take out a personal loan or HELOC to pay for a new roof. If you don’t have the cash on hand to repair the roof, contact your bank and ask them about taking out a loan. You may get a better rate taking out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which backs the loan with your house as collateral. Use the loan money to repair or replace the roof and then pay the loan back over time.^{[21]
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- It’s better to take a small financial hit now and pay the interest on a loan than it is to let your property depreciate and become uninhabitable, which is what will happen if your roof goes unrepaired for too long.

Section 6 of 6:

How long does it take for insurance to approve a roof replacement?

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They have to acknowledge the claim within 30 days. In most states, insurance companies are legally required to respond to your claim within a month. They’ll either send you an email or give you a call to let you know they’ve started processing the claim.^{[22]
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- Once the claim is acknowledged and you’ve submitted everything you need, this is a pretty hands-off process. They have a bunch of stuff to do on their end, but you shouldn’t have to do anything.
2
Unfortunately, the actual check itself can take a while to arrive. There are typically no time limits on how long an insurance company can take when it comes to paying out or investigating claims. If it takes them more than a few weeks, start calling them regularly to see why they’re dragging their feet. The extra little nudge can go a long way—especially if you work with a larger insurance company.^{[23]
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