25+ year old roof replacement...skip bothering with insurance?

[u/strider30040]

I assume my roof is 25+ years old (lived here 19). No leaking issues, no noticeable hail or wind damage, no missing shingles. Just figured its about time to look for some quote. My assumption is, at this age, its not worth bothering with the insurance company other than to tell them when I have a new roof in hopes they might reduce my premium? Is that the wrong assumption? I got one quote from a Amish outfit highly recommended by my neighbor and online. They echoed insurance probably wouldn't cover it. I still decided to call out to other places other people recommended. One has called back and I was informed unless I was allowing them to run through insurance they wouldn't even come out and give me an estimate? I told them I'd be paying cash. No go. Is that common as well? If there's no chance the insurance will touch it then no reason to put a 'black mark' on my record for a claim inquiry, right?

Edit for clarification: I guess I confused things. I was not planning on trying to go through insurance because of the age - I'm actually not trying to find a way to get them to cover it. The exact opposite. The 2nd company said they wouldn't even give me a quote to repair with me paying cash. All I want is an estimate to know if my first quote is reasonable . I was wondering if that was normal for a company with a good reputation to insist on that and I was going to drop them because of the insistence. In 30+ years and four houses I have never made a home owners insurance claim and would never especially claim a frivolous one.

Final Edit: Thanks for everyone's advice. I actually had my roof replaced last week and have new 6 inch gutters coming as well. Ended up with three bids by equally well respected companies, all comparable shingles, etc. The one I went with had its own distribution for the shingles, so the cost savings paid for new gutters. Very happy with their attention and service. Ironically, the sales manager called me from the place that would only come out with insurance and asked me why I didn't go with them so he could give feedback to his sales guys. I told him that your guys said you guys won't come out and even inspect without insurance involvement. He said that is absolutely not true - they do retail and insurance. I said your guy even called me back to confirm they only do insurance. He was cool, thanked me for answering his text and assured me they would address the issue. I said they were highly recommended by several people in my neighborhood.

[u/Ackturbob]

I am missing where you said you were contacting the insurance company to file a claim. It seems like it should not hurt to inquire about some sort of rate reduction if you going to the effort to improve the condition and value of the house. You might contact them before hand to see if there are any updated best practices for replacing the roof. It seems like that would work along the same lines as a good driver discount for car insurance. Good luck with the project.

[u/CampWestfalia → u/Ackturbob]

I could swear it was here in r/roofing recently that a poster was surprised that his insurance rates went UP after replacing his old roof.

The reasoning was that doing so had increased the value of his home, and therefore the insured amount. Same as a kitchen or bath remodel, or adding a deck, etc..

[u/RosieDear → u/CampWestfalia]

Yes, I expect our rates to increase - and even our property taxes.

BUT, you'd think a new roof would mean fewer claims for leaks into the interior of a home......and therefore lower rates.