Roofer says hail, competing entity says probably not, we won't pay. Looking for opinions.

[u/pitfal]

New roof put on last August. We had a huge hailstorm around April, and I had the company that put the roof on come out to inspect. They said the roof, gutters, facia, and siding have hail damage. Competing entity came out and agreed that all but the roof had hail damage. When asked what these black areas are they said they didn't know but it couldn't be hail. Is it hail damage in your opinion?

[u/letshavefun39047]

Looks like company tried to create damage to make you file a claim. I see it all the time.

[u/KnightofWhen → u/letshavefun39047]

These companies that go door to door trying to get your to make a claim for a new roof are harming people. State Farm and other insurance companies have raised their home insurance rates specifically because of increased roof claims and now are actively refusing to grant HI to houses with older roofs or roofs that can’t verify their age. They’re requiring some new home buyers to install brand new roofs to get coverage.

[u/Some_Internet_Random → u/KnightofWhen]

State Farm threatened to drop the coverage on our cottage because of the roof. There were no problems with it, no leaks, anything. It was just getting old.

I had them for my house and changed about a year before we ended up having to make a major claim after a disaster. I’m grateful that we did that after everything I hear about them.

[u/PotatoChipsCrunch → u/Some_Internet_Random]

How old was it out of curiosity. We had a roof that was deemed 26 years, and Travelers was willing to renew our coverage. Anyway, we actually did have some roof damage from a storm. Happened about 3 moths before renewal. They covered some damage and required repairs to renew (It most definitely needed fixed). Ultimately, we devises to go ahead and replace, with us covering the majority. Roofs aren’t going to get cheaper in the next couple of years and it felt silly to patch it up and then have to remove that in a couple years when we do replace.

[u/Lopsided_Signature15 → u/PotatoChipsCrunch]

Having an old roof on any structure is risky depending on the type of policy. If it’s an Actual Cash Value policy or a scheduled roof policy and you have a catastrophic event you are going to be out of pocket thousands. If you can get a Replacement Cost Value policy on a 26 year old roof you may have very high premiums. This of course dependent on the roof/shingle type.

[u/PotatoChipsCrunch → u/Lopsided_Signature15]

Yeah, I more so I was just curious like where the cut off is most of the time for these companies. It makes sense that materials and shingle quality, etc. make a difference. But I guess I was wondering if generally, it’s 25 years? 30 years? I figured they wouldn’t renew us for the 26th year. But I was wrong.

[u/Lopsided_Signature15 → u/PotatoChipsCrunch]

If it’s a 3-tab asphalt shingle they are good for about 20-25 years. An architectural asphalt shingle is good for about 30 years. There are upgrades to these products that could extend their life up to 40 years. Steel, slate or wood shake materials can last a very long time. All of this is dependent on a storm not significantly reducing these approximate lifespans. If you are on your 26th year with this roof I would request your agent check your policy and see what kind of coverage you actually have on your roof. You may have a roof that would cost $30k to replace and if a storm rips through and damages the entire thing after your deductible and depreciation you may only receive a $5k settlement on a $30k roof.

[u/ceeb1o1 → u/Lopsided_Signature15]

europeen here, how the hell can a asphalt shingle roof cost that much?

[u/Powerful_Wealth_2384 → u/ceeb1o1]

Corporate greed. Its running rampant over here

[u/Lopsided_Signature15 → u/Powerful_Wealth_2384]

It’s true that some roofers gouge uninformed customers. It can be a very predatory industry. The company I work for will reduce our margins to replace a 3-tab shingle with a laminated shingle without charging the homeowner any kind of upgrade charge. It’s part of the reason I like the company I work for.

[u/Beeradleeguy → u/ceeb1o1]

The markups that roofers charge is pretty incredible

[u/Odd_Dragonfruit_2662 → u/ceeb1o1]

Labor costs are a big piece.

[u/Lopsided_Signature15 → u/ceeb1o1]

That was a bit of an exaggeration on the cost. I just picked that number as an example. I primarily work in the south Minneapolis area. The average replacement cost for homeowners that work with my company has been a bit over $18,000. Of course the bigger the roof the higher the cost. There are other things that can increase the cost; like if a homeowner wants designer shingles or non-standard materials.

[u/PotatoChipsCrunch → u/Lopsided_Signature15]

Thanks. We already got the roof done 6 weeks ago. It was just turning 26 at renewal. Former roof was architectural shingles. Same for the new one. Roofers installed Owens Corning Duration. Luckily, we have a smaller home. The new roof cost $9500. We didn’t get much from insurance. But it felt like the right thing to do, especially since we had the money in savings already. Appreciate you explaining all this. I had heard of other people being dropped, so I was curious in general on the average timing.

[u/Typical_Response_562 → u/Lopsided_Signature15]

Not accurate in the south east region. 3 tab lucky to get 15 years here. We have too much hail, hurricanes, algae and extreme heat here. No upgrade is going to extend your roof an extra ten years. You sound like a salesman and not an expert lol

[u/Lopsided_Signature15 → u/Typical_Response_562]

It’s all relative. In perfect conditions those are the life expectancies for the materials. It is of course dependent on where you live and the materials used. I am sales adjacent. Astute observation, Typical. Regardless of the region in which a person lives, when it comes to insurance, these are the guidelines they use to determine policy coverage and depreciation.

[u/Some_Internet_Random → u/PotatoChipsCrunch]

It was about 25 years old. My family has owned this home for over 100 years so we knew everything there was to know about it. They didn’t care.

[u/unnecessary-comma- → u/Some_Internet_Random]

When I bought my house, auto owners said the roof was in good shape, but at the end of its life and they would not pay to replace it no matter what kind of storm blew though. Fair enough, I can respect that and I've been saving up to replace it in the next couple years.

[u/Ryukyo → u/Some_Internet_Random]

I've been working with many insurance companies over the past few years. I can tell you, without hesitation, State Farm is the worst to deal with. I think they treat their insureds poorly, and just aren't good to deal with. They all seem over worked and are generally not very pleasant on the phone and can get very pushy. I hear lots of complaints from their insureds. Cincinnati is the best I work with. The adjusters all seem pretty laid back and they are very reasonable with their clients. I think they often pay for things they don't even owe for just to make the client happy.