When an issue befalls your roof, your first thought it likely to be whether it is covered by your insurance policy. Only your specific policy will have the exact answer for you. However, we can still walk you through what kinds of roof damage are likely to be covered and what that coverage could look like. At least it will help you when shopping for your next home insurance policy.

Typically Covered Roof Damage

Here are the main types of roof damage that are covered by typical home insurance policies:

  • Fire damage: If your home catches fire or the building or forest next to your home catches fire, your homeowner’s insurance will typically cover this damage.
  • Wind damage: If the wind does damage to your roof, including blowing shingles off or, in extreme cases, actually pulling the roof off, then your policy will typically cover the damage.
  • Hail damage: Hail damage is often covered by homeowner’s insurance policies. Some hail damage is considered an aesthetic issue, as it’s small, but other hail damage can be quite serious. It’s wise to work with an experienced roofer when you’re making a hail damage claim.
  • Tree damage: Depending on whose tree it is, if a tree falls on your roof, your home owner’s insurance policy typically covers the damage.
  • Vandalism: If a kid jumps up on your roof to spray paint something, the replacement is typically covered by insurance.

While these types of damage are often covered, you might find that your policy includes a second wind and hail deductible that you need to spend before you get coverage. Of course, you may also find that these types of damages are not covered by your policy at all–in many areas with hail and hurricanes, you need to pay extra in order to get coverage for those threats.

How Are You Compensated?

Many people assume that their insurance will cover the full replacement cost of the roof in the event that it is damaged. However, this is, more often than not, not the case. Firstly, many policies will cover only partial replacement or will only pay to have a roofer replace the sections of the roof that were damaged. If you’re close to needing to replace your entire roof, you may not get very much value out of partial replacement (although it is still a wise idea to pursue partial replacements to protect your home.)

Other insurance policies will also only pay for the roof’s cash value and not its replacement cost. That means if your roof was damaged, but it’s so old that you were about to replace it anyway, it’s not worth anything in cash and won’t get you very much money if any at all. On the other hand, that also means that if your brand-new roof gets damaged, the cash value is very high, and you’ll be well compensated for the damage.

It is worthwhile to reach out to your local roofer to get help when considering whether it’s worth your while to make a claim about your roof damage.