Roof on the house is leaking, call insurance?

Gmachine

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
We bought our home over a year ago & my wife just called to tell me the roof is leaking water into our master bedroom. She set a bucket out. The house is old & I have no record of the last time the shingles were replaced. I would like to think I could call the insurance company, but I know it's all about what you say as to if they will honor your claim. Do I stand a chance of having them cover the cost at all?
 
Its most likely going to fall under normal wear and tear . Unless theres a hole caused by a tree limb or something like that , they arent going to cover you .
 
Ok, thanks.

I know a friend called about a dead tree she wanted removed & was told that since it was known the tree was dead it was her problem unless it fell on the house.
 
normal wear and tear most likely. And, even if it was covered, its likely a "small claim" and would affect your premium more than its worth to fawk with, unless it was chronic and the rafters are rotten... (but if it was chronic, then insurance won't cover it anyway...)
 
I'll look in the attic when I get home. I'm guessing it's a bad shingle or something. I'm hoping I can patch it & we can save up for a new roof. I wish I had more free time, I'd rather do it myself, but I know a crew could probably knock it out n a day. It's a very simple roof on a small home.
 
The place I'm living in leaks just around the washing machine vent. Only leaks when it rains really hard. Just never think to get up there and redo the seal around it... Maybe you'll get lucky and that's all it is.


Sent from my Tapatalk using iPhone.
 
I'm surprised at how little people spend and how poorly most maintain their roofs. Most people spend more $ on their floors than they do their roofs.... The roof should be one of the top priority items to spend $ on and maintain as it protects everything in the house...
 
rockcity said:
I'm surprised at how little people spend and how poorly most maintain their roofs. Most people spend more $ on their floors than they do their roofs.... The roof should be one of the top priority items to spend $ on and maintain as it protects everything in the house...
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I agree, but like most things under a house, if it's not seen everyday, most forget about it.
 
You need to get up there and find out what is leaking. Since you know where the leak is it won't be hard to figure out what the problem is once you're up there. I'm not a roofing contractor, but most of the problems I've seen have been around vents. There's a rubber seal that slips over them and then the shingles go on top of the base of it. Those rubber seals tend to wear out and crack in the hot NC sun much quicker than the shingles will fail. You can buy replacements for a few bucks each and they're pretty easy to lift the shingles up and slide a replacement in. You'll need some roofing nails to hold the new one down.

As a temporary fix for most problems you can get a tube of roofing tar and pump it in with a caulk gun. It'll hold most small leaks for several months or more.
 
Most people know that thier roof is completely worn out & their just waiting on a mild wind to blow some shingles off, so they can call thier insurance carrier & claim that they need the inurance company to buy them a new roof. Then wonder why thier rates have increased & talk bad about the insurance carriers. See it all the time, it's about the lack of personaly responsiblity.
 
lefty said:
Most people know that thier roof is completely worn out & their just waiting on a mild wind to blow some shingles off, so they can call thier insurance carrier & claim that they need the inurance company to buy them a new roof. Then wonder why thier rates have increased & talk bad about the insurance carriers. See it all the time, it's about the lack of personaly responsiblity.
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Not me, I'm waiting on a hail storm.
 
i work for in claims for an insurance company and i can tell you for sure it wouldnt be covered. especially if there is evidence that it's been leaking over time. i'd get some roof tar in a caulk tube and go to town on the area that you think it's coming from then get the roof replaced ASAP
 
Turned out a nailed had worked itself up thought the shingle. I put a new nail in & goofed it up good. I also removed the lightning rods & aluminum cable. I've been meaning to for a while. I'll get a few buck for scrap from it. That will go toward a new roof as we need the shingles replaced.
 
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