Hurricane Preparedness for your roof and insurance

Hurricane Preparedness for your roof and insurance



With us being part way into Hurricane Season, here's some excellent information regarding being prepared in the event of storm hitting your area along with discounts you can get via your insurance company.




Have your roof inspected.


People take pictures of valuables for a future insurance claim. The same thought goes into documenting the roof. Unfortunately, many people had their claim for a roof denied after hurricane Wilma because the insurance companies took the position that the roof was flawed before the storm. It is impossible to disprove a negative. To combat this, have a licensed roofer inspect and document the roof before the storm.



While the roofer is at the property he can explain whether the home is a hip or gable. If it is a hip roof, the property owner should submit for a discount.






The roofer can also take a look at the fasteners for the roof to wall connections. Although the roofer cannot authenticate the strapping, he can let you know if an engineering report is a waste of time and money. If it is obvious that the requirements are not met for the discount, why pay money to only have this documented.









Insurance discounts



New roofs can get insurance discounts.




Whenever a new roof is put on the decking has to be re-nailed to meet the new building code requirements. This typically entitles the homeowner to discounts.



A secondary water barrier can be installed at the time of roof replacement. If this is done, many insurance companies offer discounts.



The new roof meets all the uplift resistance requirements of the Building Code. This is another potential discount.



When re-roofing, an opportunity exists to enhance the fastening of the roof to wall straps. Typically, the price for this additional work is 10% - 30% of the contract price for the roof replacement. This may or not be cost effective.



Currently, tile roofs are not getting the discounts that shingle or metal roofs are getting.



Not relating to roofs are other available discounts--shutters, masonry versus wood frame construction, windows, doors.




All of these discounts can only be validated by a licensed inspector, engineer, etc.



The roofer is only the first step of the process. By having the roofer come in first, you can get an idea if it is worth while to proceed with the official inspection.





Information contained herein was written by Steve Bates, Project Manager at PaulBangeRoofing.com and was also quoted in Sun-Sentinel article recently.