Homeowners insurance is a great help when you encounter incidents of any nature. However, understanding these policies is often challenging unless you seek the assistance of an professional. You must figure out precisely what’s covered in your home insurance policy and what isn’t.
Here’s all you need to know about homeowners insurance and whether or not it covers leaks in your roof.
The standard homeowners insurance policy comes with some dwelling coverage. This coverage is to protect policyholders from any loss when the home’s structure is damaged. This damage includes the ceiling or roof.
That means if a bad storm hits your neighborhood, causing a tree to fall on the roof, the homeowners insurance policy will cover the damages. Also, if the storm tears off roof shingles, the insurance policy will cover that as well.
However, it’s important to remember two things:
Homeowners insurance policies may cover roof leaks, but it depends on the reason behind the leak. For instance, if a hail storm damages the roof and causes a leak, it will cover the damage (unless the insurance policy has hail or wind exclusion).
However, if roof leaks are due to the homeowner’s negligence in conducting routine maintenance, the policy might not provide coverage for them. In other words, if your insurer traces the leak to the roof’s age or lack of maintenance, you’ll most likely not be covered.
Roof leaks that are the result of any weather event such as wind, hail storms, or tornadoes will be covered.
Capture as many photos of the damage as possible. If possible, try to take pictures of what caused the damage (fallen tree, hail, wind, etc.). Ideally, capture these images or videos from inside the home.
You can throw a tent or tarp over the affected area of your roof if it’s safe. It can help prevent further damages to your home. Don’t forget to save the receipts when buying a tarp or anything you purchase to make the quick repairs.
Call the insurer to report the damage and loss immediately.
Submit any documentation provided by your insurer. The faster the documentation is returned, the quicker the company will get to work on your claim.
Meet with your insurance adjuster to explain the incident and answer all their potential questions.
Overall, you get coverage for roof leaks if it’s a result of a disaster or storm. These exclude situations when the leak is due to a lack of maintenance and neglect.