How Insurers Are Pushing Roof Repair Costs Back on Homeowners
A new federal rule has given insurers cover to shift roof-replacement costs to homeowners, right as storm season heats up.
If you've been dreading the idea of a hail storm tearing through your neighborhood, here's some news that won't help you sleep: insurers have found a way to pass more of the roof-repair bill directly to you, and a new federal rule is helping them do it. The timing couldn't be worse — hail season and hurricane season are essentially knocking on the door at the same time.
So what does this actually mean for you as a homeowner? Basically, if a storm chews up your roof, you're now more likely to be on the hook for a bigger chunk of the replacement cost than you were before. That's a significant shift from the way things used to work, where your insurance policy was expected to cover most of a roof replacement after a covered event.
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The tricky part is the corner homeowners get backed into when damage does occur. You can file an insurance claim — but doing so risks triggering a premium hike that could cost you more in the long run. Or you can simply pay out of pocket for the repairs, which on a full roof replacement can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Neither option feels great.
This is the kind of policy change that tends to fly under the radar until the moment you actually need your coverage, which is exactly when you don't want any surprises. If you haven't reviewed your homeowner's policy recently — specifically the sections dealing with roof coverage and depreciation schedules — now is genuinely a good time to do that before the first big storm of the season rolls in.
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