House Insurance question

[motv8tr]

Ok, my roof is leaking, I think I know why, but as a result, come spring I'm likely going to need to replace the ceiling in my bathroom and bedroom...that tells me I'm also going to need to replace the insulation and quite possibly the roof sheeting, possibly more depending on how badly it tracked before it found it's way through the ceilings. So will my house insuarance cover all of that other than the detuctible or only the basics? My policy states that I have an all risk coverage...whatever that means.

 

I have never made a claim on my insurance.

 

Thanks

Maureen

[tinbanger]

I'll be interested in the responses.

we have a similar issue but no damage to interior yet .

 

I did manage a temp repair last fall to resolve till we can afford the new roof ( this spring)

In december with the high winds we lost a 3'x3' section of shingles ( temp repaired again) and a section of fascia .

 

Never though of looking at insurance , however due to age and codnition of roof not much point.

 

I'll PM you by weeks end with Tyler prize updates .

 

TB

[Cookslav]

Yes,

 

I am in the middle of a claim right now, but its a Window, and flashing issue but...

The Insurance company will not cover the Cause...

This means before they fix the inside ceiling you will need to have the cause of the leak fixed out of your own pocket.

They cover any damage that is considered "Direct, and accidental" damage this will be the EXACT wording on your contract terms.

Anything "proven" to be damaged accidentally by the Leak is covered.

 

Be careful though,

Your insurance company will more then likely try to say the roof is in poor condition, and there fore was not kept in proper repair.

In normal peoples lanuage...they will say you didn't take care of the roof so its your fault, and they ain't paying.

 

Do your homework.

Determine the age of the shingles, and if possible the warranty life of the shingles (ie. 15 year, 20 year etc...)

Make sure your evestrough's are clear of debris, down spouts clear, and if nessasary shovel any snow build up.

Do everything possible to avoid further damage...show your efforts to the adjuster.

 

If you can prove you have been looking after your roof, and you've done every thing in your power to avoid further damage the claim should be a breeze...minus your deductable, and of course the repair to the roof(were ever the damage may be)

 

Also,

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear but...

Be ready to wait a long time for anything to happen.

The insurance companys will not repair a thing until the damage has been repaired, and no roofer will make permanant repairs this time of year being the shingles cannot properly seal.

 

Trust me I know.

My flashing needs repair but the roofers won't touch it until spring, and the insurance company won't touch any of the indoor repair until the outdoor work is complete.

It sucks but thats how it works.

[Fisherman]

Like Cookslav said, if it's damage from age or normal wear and tear, no, if a tree falls on it, yes. Snow and rain falling on the roof don't count.

[rob v]

It was a while ago , but the only insurance claim I've had to make so far (touch wood) on my home was with respect to a roof of shingles that were in need of replacement (age etc). One winter morning I woke up to see bits and peices of my shingles laying in the snow. A look up at my roof and on the wind blown side several shinges were gone/tore etc. I got up there that night with a can of roof patch and called my insurance agent the next morning - more concerned about possible damange as a result of the missing shingles until I could get them fixed more than anything else . Not to worry - they made arrangements for my adjuster to come the next day - he looked at my roof - said that can't be repaired - it needs to be replaced. Get two quotes and send them to us. The next thing I knew I had approval to replace half my roof on them less the deductible. A pleasant surprise in deed. My recommendation - talk to your agent.

[douG]

Point A: Remove the snow from your roof, at least from the south and west facing slopes, at least two feet above your eavestroughs. I taped a snow shovel to a long pole, and pulled it down. This lets the melt water to flow into the eaves and away. That got rid of the icicles hanging from the eaves, a recipe for disaster. Google 'ice dam' for more info.

 

Point #2: We had a plumbing leak that soaked the living room floor, carpet etc. I paid a plumber on Saturday to replace the worn piping. You ever hear that 'tick tick tick' as the pipes expand when you run hot water, and tick tick tick again as they cool? For me, that was two pipes laid at right angles in tight contact. After 20 years there was a groove half an inch long in each of them, caused by the expanding and shrinking pipes as they heated and cooled. Eventually there was a pinhole in one of the pipes, and we know how that goes.

 

Insurance was on the job immediately, Servicemaster showed up in two hours, hogged out carpet and underlay, and set fans and dehumidifiers to work.

 

We paid for the plumber's work, but our home insurance paid to fix the drywall where he got access, painted two rooms, and replaced two rooms of carpeting which we parleyed into a partial payment for 3/4 in maple hardwood instead.

 

So, push your insurance agent. You paid money to have this fixed many times over, your turn now.

 

Good Luck, Maureen.

[motv8tr]

thanks for the replies guys, that's kind of what I figured I know the roof is barely 10 yrs old, it used to be steel, but the previous owners decided to replace that with a shingled roof . I suspect the problem lies in a valley where the roof of the porch meets the roof of the house....or at least that's one of the problem areas....seems to me that a few short cuts were taken in a few places in this house

 

The shingles are in good shape generally speaking, there is no eavestrough, but I do have ice damning....the snow has been cleared from most of the roof twice now.

 

Maureen

[Joey]

Maureen, we are dealing with ice damming right now also. We removed the snow from the roof, took off the eaves and broke off all the ice and icicles and drilled holes in the soffits, but it was still damming up. Just last weekend we decided to put a fan in the attic and so far it is not dripping anymore and seems to be drying up. That is only a quick fix until we can get to the problem head on once the weather heats up a bit. I believe a "whirlygig" on that section of the roof, for venting, is what we'll have to install once spring hits. Our shingles are in good shape also, so that is not the problem. Venting is the problem.

 

Hope some of these tips help, but the fan was the major fixer in this situation.

 

Joey

[motv8tr]

Thanks Joey, I have two whirlygigs as well as a vent at the end of the house....I think piss poor insulation is part of the problem, but I can't easily access the attic to confirm this, or even to add a fan. I need to try and get someone to put in a proper access for me come spring but I expect it will cost me big time

 

I'll try and talk to my agent next week when I'm on vacation and see what he says....that at least won't cost me...this morning it looks like the ceiling in my bedroom is going to come down soon...I'm thinking of taking part of it down before that happens....it's the origional ceiling, tiles not drywall and it's saturated now

 

Maureen

[aniceguy]

Right now as we speak I am in the middle of what appears to be a 20g claim resulting from back up of an icejam that started to melt Sunday at my mother in laws. Roof is 10 yrs old, and the entire interior and the cause the leak will be repaired. They are pulling drywall carpets on 3 floors and working within 2 bathrooms

Edited February 3, 2009 by aniceguy

[Roy]

Right now as we speak I am in the middle of what appears to be a 20g claim resulting from back up of an icejam that started to melt Sunday at my mother in laws. Roof is 10 yrs old, and the entire interior and the cause the leak will be repaired. They are pulling drywall carpets on 3 floors and working within 2 bathrooms

 

A roof leak has done 20K in damage on 3 floors including 2 bathrooms in 2 days????

[gdelongchamp]

I feel for all of you regarding your roof problems.

 

I used to be a maintenance supervisor for a housing corporation that had approx. 80 homes throughout the city.

 

Every roof was different, every attic was different, every shingle job was different and every remedy for leaking roofs was different. The main thing is to watch for ice jambs.

 

If your roof design, lack of insulation or too much insulation causes ice jambs you will eventually have leaking roofs. The best deterrent for leaks is to use heat traces on the eaves of your roof in the areas where ice jambs occur. The heat traces can be turned on for 24 hours three or four times during the winter. That is all that is required to prevent water accumulating behing the ice jambs under the snow on your roof. Make sure the heat traces line the eavestroughs and travel down the downpipes to the ground.

 

In worst case scenarios it is best to leave the existing roof intact and build a complete new roof overtop the old one with a large airspace with no insulation at all but with adequate venting on the ridges to allow warm air to release to the atmoshere which would prevent icebuild up near the eaves. As I said every roof is different every tile job is different and every solution is different.

 

Using turbines etc are completely useless if your attics are full of insulation to the rafters and above. The most important thing is to have a good airflow of cold air under the roof. It that's not possible, go to heat traces. If that's not possible install a new roof over the old one. It can be done by your self or a very expensive contractor. I coud go on and on with this but you have to figure out the roof ot your problem and attack that. AND DONT INSTALL SATELITE DISHES ON THE ROOF.

[aniceguy]

no roy the initial leak went through the roof migrated and caused major damage the carpets alone in the dining room are about 6k.

the bathrooms are stacked on eachother and the water has made all the walls where tile are soaked and to be removed. the tiling job for both baths is around 4k alone....Its actually amazing how much water damage can happen in a short time. We were emptying a small garbage can every hour.

[Roy]

Well...sorry to hear that but if I can offer you a piece of advice. DON'T sign off on an insurance settlement of that nature until well into spring or early summer.

[aniceguy]

I was told just now the roofers will be coming as soon as this melt happens this weekend to pull things off...