Roof age has become increasingly more important over the past 3 years to home insurance companies due to the amount of money they’ve paid for hail damage claims in north Texas. Knowing when it was last replaced can have a positive or negative impact for the home buyer. Here are 4 ways the roof’s age can impact a home buyer.
I sat in a meeting with one of our carriers last week and heard an interesting statistic. On average, insurance companies who wrote Texas home policies in 2016 paid $1.30 out in storm related claims last year for every $1.00 of premium they received. That doesn’t include non-storm related claims such as fire, theft, water damage, etc. The issue facing all home insurance companies is how to remain profitable without raising rates astronomically. One method carriers are examining is roof depreciation schedules.
Hail season arrived in north Texas early this year with a storm which swept across north Texas from Justin to McKinney. The hail was from softball to golf ball size with the larger hail occurring around the Denton area and becoming smaller as it traveled toward McKinney. Initial estimates will be forthcoming in a few days, but I expect the insurance claims to be significant given the size of the hail and how widespread the storm was. I received several calls, text and email messages from clients affected by Sunday night’s storm. Let’s review what to do in handling an insurance claim after such a storm.
MSN posted an interesting article earlier this year noting changes home insurance companies are making. These changes tend to affect older homes in general, and homes with older roofs specifically. These changes are popping up across the US impacting home owners in the Gulf coast states, Midwest, as well as California and Colorado.
One of my clients called me two weeks ago. She’d heard a heavy crash the previous night which startled her. She conducted a quick review of the interior of her home but did not find the source of the noise so she went on to bed curious about what she’d heard. Her question was answered the next morning when she ventured outside; a tree had been blown over onto her home.
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