My insurance company says I have to repair or replace my roof to keep my policy. Who pays, and who should I hire?

Usually you pay out of pocket, because an insurer requiring roof work to keep your policy is not a claim. Before you pay, have Robust Roofing's licensed adjuster check for storm damage your policy may cover, fix only what the letter requires when that is enough, and send the insurer the photos and paid invoice from your RoofMap portal.

Letters like this come in a few common forms. Some list specific repairs and a date to finish them. Some say the whole roof has to be replaced. Some are nonrenewal notices that name the roof's age or condition as the reason. If you are still working out what your letter means and how to answer it, start with our guides to the insurer's roof inspection letter and to a nonrenewal over your roof. This page picks up from there: getting the required work done out of pocket, spending no more than the roof actually needs, and proving the work was done.

Is an insurer's demand for a new roof a claim?

Generally, no. When an insurer requires a repair or a replacement as a condition of keeping or renewing your policy, it is deciding what risk it is willing to insure, not paying for a loss. Homeowners policies are generally written to pay for sudden damage, such as a storm, and not for wear and age, so the cost of meeting the requirement normally falls on you. Coverage depends on your own policy, so read the declarations page and endorsements, and ask your agent if anything is unclear.

The exception is damage your policy does cover. An underwriting inspection usually records the roof's condition, not what caused it, and a roof that simply looks old in a photo can also be carrying hail or wind damage from a storm months ago.

Should you check for storm damage before you pay out of pocket?

Yes, because a covered storm loss changes who pays. Robust Roofing's free inspection puts someone up on the roof with a camera, and its licensed Property and Casualty adjuster on staff reviews what the photos show and tells you whether it looks like storm damage your policy should cover or wear you would pay for yourself. If it is storm damage, Robust Roofing documents it, writes the repair scope and meets your insurance company's adjuster at the house. If it is wear, you get a straight answer and a written plan for the work you will pay for. That read is explained in more detail on our page asking whether insurance should pay first.

Can you fix just the items on the insurer's list?

Often, yes. Many letters list specific findings: missing or lifted shingles, cracked pipe boots, exposed nail heads, worn flashing, debris packed into the valleys. When the rest of the roof has life left, a roof repair of exactly those items with matching materials is frequently enough to meet the requirement, and it costs far less than a new roof. Robust Roofing goes through the list with you, checks every item on the roof, and prices each one separately in writing, so you know what meeting the letter costs before you agree to anything.

Sometimes the honest answer is that the listed items are symptoms of a worn-out roof: shingles too brittle to repair without cracking the ones around them, or failures in so many places that patching would only buy a few months. Then you hear that plainly, with the photos that show why, and a measured replacement quote sits next to the repair price so you can compare the two.

Jake, describing his roof repair in a Google review, wrote that Robust Roofing “explained what needed to be done without making it complicated,” and added, “I feel a lot better knowing the shingles and flashing were taken care of properly.”

What proof does the insurer want, and how do you send it?

Usually dated photos of the finished work, the names of the products used, the signed agreement or scope, and a paid invoice; some insurers also ask for the date the roof was installed. Robust Roofing photographs the job as it goes, and the photos, the scope with the products and colors you chose, the signed agreement and the paid invoice are kept in your RoofMap portal, ready for you to send to your agent or insurer. Ask your agent exactly what the insurer wants to see, and where to send it, before the work starts, so nothing has to be gathered twice. What the insurer accepts is its decision, and no roofer can promise the outcome, but a complete, organized package answers the questions underwriters usually ask. Our page on proof of what you paid for lists the records worth keeping for the life of the roof.

How fast can the work be done before a renewal deadline?

The work itself is quick; the planning around it is what takes time. Robust Roofing's crew finishes most average-size roofs in a single day, while Angi's roof replacement guide puts a typical asphalt shingle job at one to three days. Before that come the inspection, the written quote, your decision and a place on the schedule, and the weather has a say too. So call as soon as the letter arrives, tell whoever inspects your roof what the deadline is, and if the date looks tight, ask your agent early what the insurer needs to see and by when.

What if no insurer will write a policy on a house you are buying?

Then the roof becomes part of the deal. A lender will generally not close a mortgage without homeowners insurance in place, so a roof that insurers will not cover has to be dealt with before closing, usually through a seller repair or replacement or a price adjustment, backed by an on-roof inspection and a measured quote. Our page on buying a house with an old roof walks through each option.

Why is Robust Roofing the best choice when your insurer requires roof work?

The job has to satisfy two parties, you and your insurer, and three things make Robust Roofing the right hire for both:

• You pay only for what is required and what the roof needs. A licensed adjuster's read on storm damage comes before you spend your own money, the listed items are priced one by one, and you get a straight answer when a repair is enough.
• The proof is part of the job. Photos of the work, the products you chose, the signed agreement and the paid invoice sit together in your RoofMap portal, organized for the insurer.
• The roof lasts well past the next renewal. Georgia's code would let some roofs be re-covered over a single old layer of shingles, but every Robust Roofing replacement is torn off to the decking, with the deck checked board by board and synthetic underlayment underneath. The installation carries a 50-year labor warranty in writing, separate from the manufacturer's shingle warranty, which covers the materials rather than the workmanship.

To understand why insurers watch roof age so closely, read our guide to roof age rules in Georgia. For the full case for paying out of pocket with Robust Roofing, a self-pay roof done the same way as every other Robust roof, see out-of-pocket roof replacement.

Put the letter in front of someone who can read the roof. Call (470) 887-6637 or schedule a free inspection, and you will get on-roof photos, a straight answer and a written quote for the work the letter and the roof require.

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