Is my roof covered by insurance? How do I know if my insurance company should have covered my roof?
Understanding this rule is important in Florida with the amount of storm damage we have each year. The storms come violently from March through October usually. We will have heavy rainfall, wind storms, hail storms, storms that consist of several lighting strikes central to one area, tropical storms, and hurricanes. The most severe damage is usually caused by Hurricanes and the high velocity winds that force heavy rained to uplift into soffits and into attics and down interior walls. Hurricanes also have wind-borne debris that takes flight and strikes buildings and the large object can cause severe damage to roofs, windows, pool enclosures, garage doors, and the structure of the building. Also, all storms run the risk or having your power out for long periods of time which the lack of air conditioning in such a humid tropical climate can cause severe damage in itself. The moisture from the humidity and the temperature inside the home versus the outside temperature and humidity can cause expansion of the wood inside of the walls and combined with water or moister can cause later forces to debond tiles, and the expansion and contraction of the wood framing will also cause cracks in drywall and plaster walls. Not to mention doors, openings and stucco. When this happens and you suffer these types of losses it is always imperative that you employ an engineer to provide their expert opinion to the Public Adjuster you have already hired to support their claims. You should also have all the moisture levels checked and documented by a WRT Credentialed/Florida Licensed Mold Assessor and a Florida Licensed Mold Remediation and Mitigation Company. Documentation and photographs by experts and your public adjusters are crucial to support your claim from the very beginning even we would recommend it before or at the time you call in the claim. That way when they send their usually inexperienced adjuster out you have all the supporting documentation you need but also your public adjuster has the evidence and the damages all identified to attempt to make sure that the company adjuster or insurance adjuster is not able to say they were not aware of certain damages. Also, the State of Florida just ruled in April of 2020 in a case brought before the courts by State Farm that their adjusters and appraisers have no right to privacy and can be videotaped and this is so important as most of these so-called experts have template report already written and in our opinion have a denial ready before they come to a home. However, put them on a videotape that you know can be used in court and they may think twice about turning in a fraudulent report with an opinion that they will have to testify to with a videotape in the court of their inspection. There are many different types of architectural roofs and styles that are good for a public adjuster to know but it’s not as important as the types of roofs and how different covered weather events may damage them and how to fight for coverage to get them replaced. Here are some of the styles and architectural roofs:
Sawtooth
Curved
Pyramid
Dome
CombinationGable
Hip
Mansard
Gambrel
Flat
Skillion
Jerkinhead
Butterfly
Bonnet
Saltbox
Now what is important is how to win getting the different types of roofs replaced. Here are some of the most common types or of roofs:
Asphalt Shingles
Slate Tile Roofs
Concrete Tile Roofs
Clay Tile Roofs
Tile Roofs
Barrel Tile Roofs
Metal Roofing-Metal Shingle/Shake Roofing-Standing Seam Metal Roofing
Flat Roof System or sometimes call Rolled Roofs
Wood Shingle or Shakes
Built-Up Roofing
Membrane Roofs
Synthetic Rubber Slate Tile
Now let’s discuss the 25% rule. (Some of this is an opinion that may have to be argued by experts and lawyers in litigation) We as public adjusters have the ability to build the case and argue the case and we have a high success rate of winning without litigation. First, we have to look at the repairability of a roof. Let’s take for example a barrel tile roof. Typically after 10 years, these roofs are not manufactured anymore and after sun exposure and age no longer meet can be repaired with a match of like-kind or quality. So if even one tile is damaged by a covered peril such as a fallen object, hail, or wind then the repairability to meet the language of the policy no longer requires you to meet the 25% rule for damages. Now you just have to have the support of an engineering opinion that one tile is no longer repairable or viable and is not able to be brought back to pre-loss condition in order to get the entire roof to be replaced. Now you might ask yourself how do you prove the tiles age if it can and is still manufactured, and the matching ability of the barrel tile, and this can apply to concrete tile roofs as well? An Experienced Public Adjuster knows labs that they can send samples of your roof to in order to get expert reports that give you the evidence you need to win and fight this winning strategy against the insurance carrier.
Now you may think or ask yourself does the repairability of this theory apply to asphalt shingle roofs? Of course, it does! The age of the roof just because it may not be repairable any longer is in most cases the insurance companies fault for insuring it. Unless they put an exclusion in for the roof they can’t argue even though they will try maintenance wear and tear but the bottom line is they provided coverage without requiring you to replace the roof. Shingled roofs in how they are replaced by the dimension of squares and have wood decking underneath the damaged area that may also be damaged that may cause the roof to be unrepairable. Usually, you will not require a shingle to be sent off to a lab there is a simple test that again we would suggest that your public adjuster announces in advance that he is going to videotape the inspection and ask the insurance company independent adjuster or field adjuster to preform a brittle test. If this test fails then the roof is no longer repairable and you again have the argument that only a small percentage which could be less than one percent was damaged by a covered cause of loss (Peril) in your insurance policy that would give you a new roof. A covered peril would be a falling object, wind, hail, hurricane-force winds, and any other coverages afforded to you in your insurance policy.
A good public insurance adjuster or what is commonly known to some people as a private adjusters or personal claims adjuster will always do a thorough attic inspection to see if there are water intrusion points, damages to the decking, trusses, soffits and then compare what they can document using an infrared camera in the attic to get the best possible pictures will then inspect the exterior of the roof and exterior perimeter to see if the visible exterior damages can easily be tied to the damages inside the roof. This is again where a videotaped inspection of the field adjuster that first comes out is so important. 90% of all company adjusters or independent adjuster will either not enter an attic or refuse to crawl the attic to inspect the full extent of the damages of the home. And in Florida, there is a statute that requires an insurance carrier to implement to
25 Percent Rule For Roof Replacement
Due to the fact that Florida is prone to having Hurricane, heavy winds storms, and hail storms roof damage is one of the most damaging parts to a home or business. Insurance companies have many requirements, reasons to deny roof claims, and investigative processes that are not always completed correctly when it comes to roofing leak claims in Florida.
SECTION 611.1.1 of the 2007 Florida Building Code: Re-Roofing:
Section 611 of the current Florida Building Code outlines the situations under which roofs on existing
structures need to be made compliant with the current building code. This section requires that roof
repairs to existing roofs and roof coverings shall comply with the provisions of the Code. Specifically,
the Code requires:
611.1.1 Not more than 25 percent of the total roof area or roof section of any existing
building or structure shall be repaired, replaced, or recovered in any 12 month period
unless the entire roofing system or roof section conforms to the requirements of this code.
Under section 611.1.1, if more than 25% of the roof surface is to be repaired, then the entire roof needs
to be in compliance with the Code. In most cases, this means that when filing an insurance claim the entire roof needs to be replaced.
2017 Florida Building Code-Energy
C503.3.1 Roof Replacement.
Roof replacements shall comply with Table C402.1.3 or C402.1.4 where the existing roof assembly is part of the building thermal envelope and contains insulation entirely above the roof deck.
The key is to find an experienced public insurance adjuster in Florida who can help with your claim. At Experienced Public Adjusters, we are your advocates and are here to fight for you, the policyholder. Our public adjusters offer expertise for residential and commercial roof leak claims in Florida. We will fight to help you maximize your settlement so that you can properly repair your home or business.
Call and Experienced Public Adjuster for a Free Roof Inspection and Claim Review! Contact Us at (407) 212-8669