As many homeowners navigate the policy changes for their homes, prices have shot up. The cost of rebuilding a home has risen in the past 5 years. The insurance world has risen with it. It's a frustrating position when you budget for a policy and it doubles in 5 years. As a contractor for over 30yrs, let me tell you what I have found helps many of my clients who have found themselves swimming thru hoards of agents looking for a better policy with the same coverage.
The uptick in calls and emails I get on the insurance problem, isn't shocking, but the reasons are. The standard call is the inspection says our roof is older than 11yrs and they will not cover the roof anymore. If it's a past client, we have paperwork that most of the time I can pull out and send to the property owner that verifies the age and quality of the roof. If necessary we can go out, walk the roof and see what could be the issue for the inspector being concerned with the roofs age. Sometimes it's a plumbing vent going bad, stains, lichen, varmint damage, you get the drift. I can write up a professionals report and send it in and most of the time, the insurance company will accept it. It's much more difficult when I have no idea the age of the roof. It also has me asking whether to advise my clients to buy roofing materials that last longer if insurance is going to declare them insufficient at 11yrs. Who knows. I spoke with an agent and asked, what necessitates the inspection? He told me it's literally just like reaching in the spinning wheel and pulling out a ball for Bingo. They pull so many and if you happen to avoid it, good for you. I'm sure technology is catching up, because now most insurance companies ask you for a roof receipt when shopping or if you replace it to add this to the file.
If your roof is looking pretty rough, don't think about shopping for a better cost on your policy. I've seen so many owners end up getting a new policy with a better rate, only to have the new carrier send the inspector out and they find the roof portion of the new policy will be dropped for a decayed roof. Lots of these old roofs are still functioning fine. The elements in the air, ventilation and trees can make a 5-8yr old roof, look like it's at the end of life. You're better off keeping your existing policy. If you have to make some changes then I would first look at the deductible portion of your policy. If you are in a 1% situation, ask what the changes would be for a 2 or 3% deductible. This will help you get a few more years out of the roof and save some cost. If you find your self in a no win place, you can find help here. I've talked my way out of 100's of roof jobs by helping people get policy coverage with the roof they have. https://www.texasfairplan.org/
The insurance world is moving towards an IBHS, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. I heard about it in the summer of 2025, but it hasn't been confirmed by many carriers. I have a feeling it's probably coming, but we will have to wait and see. To keep from boring readers, it is essentially the same installation guide roofers follow when we have a Texas Windstorm installation. We have a material, decking and completion inspection by engineers. In over 30yrs in roofing, I have my own ideas about what works and whats a waste of good men's time and money. Don't waste your money on hype of a salesman talking about 200mph shingles. From all the Hurricanes and tornado damaged homes I've been on, the shingles are still stuck to the decking, while the decking blew off the house. Be smart. If Texas Discount Roofing can help you, let us know.
936.756.9223 discountroofing@gmail.com
Here is the disclaimer garbage. This is all my professional opinion. I don't sell insurance but I have common sense.
