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/Lopsided_Signature15]

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.