Many homeowners are afraid to make a claim when wind or hail causes roof damage. They have concerns about increasing insurance premiums after making a claim against their home policy. However, it is better to consider your roof as needing periodic replacement. Damage can reduce the roof’s expected life, so you will likely need to replace a damaged roof five, ten, or fifteen years earlier than expected.
Thinking about your roof as having an expected lifetime that can be shortened when damaged makes the financial picture more evident.
Having to replace your roof ten years sooner than expected can mean you only received $20,000 in value from a $30,000 roof, meaning you lost $10,000 due to the damage. Instead, by filing a claim and hiring local roofing contractors to repair or replace the roof, you can substantially extend the roof’s lifetime and avoid suffering the financial consequences of not filing a claim.
As your home’s most expensive replacement item, you must view the roof as you might view a car. You might expect to drive a car for ten years, but if it is in an accident, the vehicle’s expected lifetime likely drops, and most people would expect to file a claim. The same thinking should apply to roof damage. Make the claim and do not eat the loss.
