Roof Storm Damage and Insurance in Ontario: What Is Usually Covered, What Is Not, Depreciation by Roof Age, and the Order to Do Things In

Roofing

Storm Damage and the Roof Claim: What Insurers Usually Pay For, and the Order to Do Things In

A windstorm takes forty shingles off a 12-year-old roof. That is usually a claim. The same wind takes forty shingles off a 26-year-old roof whose seal strips let go in 2019. That is usually a conversation. Home insurance covers sudden, accidental damage and not the roof wearing out, and the line between those two is where most roof claims are won or lost. Here is how it generally works, with the caveat that your policy is the only document that counts.

General information about how Ontario home policies typically treat roofs. Not insurance advice; read your policy and ask your broker.

Usually covered, usually not

Usually covered (less your deductible)

Wind that lifts or removes shingles. Hail that bruises or cracks them. A tree or branch through the roof. Weight of ice and snow that collapses or damages structure, on most policies. The interior damage that results from a sudden covered event (ceiling, floor, contents), often with a separate water-damage limit.

Usually not covered

Wear and tear, age, granule loss, curling: the roof reaching the end of its life. Slow leaks that have been going on for a while. Ice dams, on many policies, because they are considered a maintenance and heat-loss issue (some policies cover the resulting interior damage; many exclude it; read yours). Mould. Defective installation. Cosmetic hail dents on a metal roof, on some policies.

The roof-age question

Many Ontario insurers now ask the roof’s age at renewal and treat it in one of three ways. Replacement cost: a covered loss pays for a new roof of like kind, less the deductible, regardless of age; the standard on a roof under about 15 to 20 years. Actual cash value (depreciated): on an older roof, the payout is the replacement cost minus depreciation for the roof’s age, so a 22-year-old shingle roof with a 25-year life might be paid at 12% of its replacement cost, which does not re-roof a house. Some insurers move roofs to ACV at a set age, some add a roof-specific deductible, and some will not renew a policy on a shingle roof over 25 without an inspection. If your roof is over 15, find out which you have before the storm, because it changes whether a claim is worth making and whether replacing it on your own schedule is the better plan.

The first 48 hours

  1. Make it safe and stop the water. Bucket, breaker off near wet fixtures, move things. A tarp from a roofer ($300 to $700) is “mitigation,” which policies require of you, and it is usually reimbursed. Keep the receipt.
  2. Photograph everything, dated. The roof from the ground on every side, the debris in the yard, the ceiling, the wet floor, the weather (a screenshot of the forecast or a news report of the storm is useful). Do not clean up until it is photographed. Do not get on the roof.
  3. Call your broker or insurer and report it with the date and what happened. Ask what the deductible is, whether the roof is on replacement cost or ACV, and whether they want their adjuster to see it before repairs beyond the tarp.
  4. Get your own roofer’s estimate with photos and a written description of the damage and its cause. You choose the contractor; the insurer pays an amount, not a roofer. The hiring page applies exactly as it would without a storm.
  5. Keep the storm chasers off the property. Anyone offering to “handle the claim” or waive the deductible is on the scams page, and the waived deductible is fraud you would be party to.

When a claim is not worth it

A $1,500 deductible against a $1,100 repair: no claim, and the repair comes out of your pocket at the repair cost page prices. A $2,500 repair against a $1,000 deductible on a policy that may raise your premium or count against a claims-free discount: ask the broker what the claim does to the premium before deciding; sometimes a $1,500 net payout costs more than that over the next three renewals. A 24-year-old roof on ACV with forty shingles gone: the payout is small, the roof is due, and the honest move is to replace it on your schedule and skip the claim. A tree through the roof of any age: claim, and that one is why you have insurance.

The adjuster’s visit

The adjuster looks for storm damage as distinct from wear: creased or torn shingles with fresh asphalt showing (wind), bruises with loose granules in a random pattern (hail), broken branches and the hole they made. They note the roof’s age and condition. Have your roofer’s estimate and photos ready, and if your roofer can be there, better. If the adjuster’s number and your roofer’s number are far apart, you can ask for a re-inspection, provide a second estimate, and on a large claim retain an independent adjuster. Most roof claims are settled without any of that; the ones that are not are usually about age.

Ice dams, specifically

The damage an ice dam does inside (ceiling, wall, floor) is covered on some policies as sudden water damage and excluded on others as a maintenance issue, and the dam itself and its cause never are. If you have a claim-worthy mess from an ice dam, call the broker and ask; do not assume either way. Then fix the attic, because the ice dam page is right that it will happen again and the second claim is harder than the first.

Questions people ask

Does home insurance cover a new roof in Ontario?

For sudden damage from wind, hail or a tree, usually, less the deductible, and at replacement cost on a newer roof or depreciated value on an older one, depending on the policy. For a roof that is simply old, no.

Can insurance deny a roof claim because of the roof’s age?

Not for age alone on a covered event, but an old roof may be paid at depreciated value, may have a higher roof deductible, and damage that the adjuster attributes to wear rather than the storm is excluded. Find out your roof’s treatment before you need to.

Can I choose my own roofer for an insurance repair?

Yes. The insurer pays an agreed amount; you hire whoever you want to do the work. Some insurers have preferred contractors, which you may use or not.

Is ice dam damage covered by insurance?

Depends on the policy: some cover the resulting interior water damage, many exclude ice dams as a maintenance issue, none cover the dam or fixing the attic. Ask your broker rather than assuming.

What should I photograph after roof storm damage?

The roof from the ground on every side, debris and shingles in the yard, the ceiling and floor inside, any tree or branch, and something showing the date and the weather. Before cleanup, from the ground, never from the roof.

Tarp, photograph, call, then your own roofer

In that order, with the deductible and the roof’s age in mind before deciding whether to claim at all. And nobody who came to your door gets near the claim.

What the repair should costThe storm chaser script

Sources and further reading