How much does a new roof cost?

Ultimately, the cost of your project will completely depend on the complexity, material choice, and steepness and size of the project.

With all the different factors involved, there isn’t an overall price point that can be applied to every roofing project. However, Davidson Roofing & Construction offers free estimates upon request. Contact us to schedule an appointment and one of our roofing experts will come out for a free consultation.

Insurance claims are handled in an entirely different way. If you file a claim with your insurance provider for storm damage to your roof, then an adjuster will come out to inspect the property to determine the overall repair needed to bring your home back to its pre-loss condition. It is vital that you have a knowledgable contractor present for your adjustment meeting to ensure all damage is documented correctly by the insurance adjuster. This is also an opportunity for the contractor to build rapport with the person working on your claim. Being present for your adjustment meeting is part of our free service as the contractor chosen to assist you through the claims process.

Once a claim has been approved your insurance adjuster will be the one to provide you with an estimate for the damages. This estimate is built using a computer program that determines fair market pricing for each component being replaced and is updated by region on a monthly basis. Therefore, it is not us or your insurance carrier that determines the final price of your project. Our concern is what components are on your estimate, does it include everything it should, and are the quantities correct. What needs to occur next is to review their estimate to ensure it includes everything it should. Anything missing from their estimate will be added to our supplement and sent back to the insurance carrier for review. Anything your policy covers will be added to the estimate and your personal financial responsibility remains your deductible.

If you believe you have suffered hail or wind damage from a recent storm, then you should immediately contact us to schedule a free roof inspection before contacting your insurance provider. Our roof assessments are complimented with a free photo report sent directly to your email for your records. This can be sent to your insurance if requested or be used to show you’ve had regular maintenance checks on your roof, which is a requirement included in your policy.

Why do I need a new roof if I don’t currently have any leaks?

There are a few different reasons someone may need a new roof for their home or business. Having interior leaks is just a simple way to understand it requires immediate attention, but could have been avoided with regular inspections that would have identified an issue before it allowed water to infiltrate.

A roof reaching the end of its lifespan is an obvious reason for replacement, but there are circumstances that shorten a roof’s lifespan that warrant a need for a premature full replacement.

• Manufacturer defects will hinder a roof’s performance and present a need to replace. This circumstance should be covered by your roof’s manufacturer warranty. Not all warranties are the same and some may not cover the full cost of materials and labor if it depreciates over time.

• Improper install can lead to several issues also shortening a roof’s lifespan and creating the need to fully replace it early. For example, proper ventilation is required to allow a shingle to perform efficiently and maintain its integrity. Improper ventilation can lead to premature granule loss, blistering, thermal cracking, and more. All will hinder the shingle’s performance and put your home at risk for interior damage.

• Weather elements will contribute to a roof’s diminished condition overtime, however this is normal for a shingle since they are not designed to last forever or remain in perfect condition for their expected lifespan. However, storm damage is different than the expectant elements a roof will endure over the reasons. Storm damage like hail or wind can cause an immediate need for early replacement and is defined as damage that hinders the shingle’s water shedding capability or the remaining service life of the roofing material. While high winds can cause shingles to unseal and even tear off to expose the nails underneath, damage from impacts can break the matting and expose fractured fibers and both types of damage hinder the roofing system’s water shedding capability. Furthermore, when granules are displaced from impacts or fall out due to wind damage they are no longer capable of serving their function to protect the matting underneath. When the matting is exposed it will deteriorate prematurely from UV radiation in the sunlight and other weather elements, thus shortening the lifespan of the roofing material.

After severe storms that include high winds, hail, or both, you should always call to schedule a free roof inspection to find out if there are any concerns you should address. Each member of our team is trained to identify storm damage, understand its severity, and provide an expert recommendation.

Davidson Roofing & Construction offers free, honest assessments that include photo documentation so you can see the condition of your roof yourself. We don’t want you to just take our word for it!

Will filing a claim increase my premiums?

To answer this particular question, a better understanding of the current state of the insurance coverage as it pertains to roof claims is required.

In 2003 Jack Stanton, State Farm Insurance Company’s Loss Mitigation coordinator said, “Last year, property insurance carriers spent over $5 billion on wind and hail-damaged roof claims.” And, the funds paid out to customers who suffered storm damage has only increased since then. In 2022 the NOAA reported 4,436 hail events across America. In 2023 the number of hail storms increased to 6,962.

More and more carriers are altering their policy coverage, specifically for roofs, to avoid paying their customers so much on roof claims. While they are pursuing ways to offer less coverage or charge significantly more for full coverage, CEOs like State Farm’s Michael Tipsord are making bonuses of over $20M on top of their annual salary of more than $2M.

With that said, insurance companies are not allowed to increase a customer’s premium for filing a claim due to events out of their control. However, insurance providers have loopholes in order to increase them regardless. For example, most policy holder have a “no claim discount” if they have never or at least haven’t recently filed a claim for a loss. Once a claim is filed, you lose this discount and your premium is increased. An action taken by insurance providers after a large hail storm has hit a region is to increase the premium of every policy holder in and around that storm affected area regardless if they have filed a claim or not. Therefore, whether you have the no claim discount or not, you wouldn’t receive any special treatment for not filing a claim for storm damage.

While a policy holder may not choose to file a claim for something less severe that they could maybe afford to repair out of pocket, not everyone can afford a $15,000-$30,000 (or more) roof replacement. Therefore, we recommend considering if a claim is worth filing or not. The roof is your home’s first line of defense and one that has been compromised by hail or wind will need to be addressed before it allows water to infiltrate a home and lead to further damage inside. You should also consider the cost of a new roof weighed against an increased premium and how long it would take for the increase to equal the cost of replacing your roof.

Lastly, the changes to the insurance vs roof claim industry have caused carriers to respond prematurely to homeowner policy. Carriers are actively decreasing coverage and even sending their employees out to perform roof checks for properties who may have older roofs. Many customers call us, because their insurance carrier has sent them a letter stating they must replace their roof or risk being dropped from their policy. This has occurred to customers with architectural roofs as young as 10 years old. When an insurance carrier is considering a new policy for a customer, a brand new roof will be viewed as low risk and create an opportunity to receive a lower premium with better overall coverage.

How long from the time of a storm do I have to file an insurance claim?

The amount of time given to file a claim for storm damage is outlined in your policies “conditions” section under “duties after loss”. If you cannot locate the verbiage explaining this provision, then we recommend contacting your agent to confirm this for you.

Most carriers allow either 12 or 24 months to file a claim from the date of loss (DOL). However, most are changing their allotted time frame to 12 months upon their customer’s policy renewal.

If you’ve suffered storm damage, then it is vital to schedule a free inspection with one of our experts to help determine whether a claim is necessary. Our team has received training from previous insurance adjusters to understand their process, how they perform their inspections, and what is considered enough storm damage to warrant a full roof replacement covered by your policy.

Waiting until you see leaks inside means running the risk of filing an insurance claim too late and being held financially responsible for the repairs or roof replacement, as well as the interior damage.

What does my homeowner’s policy cover?

Most of our clients are surprised when we tell them they should have their roof replaced through an insurance claim and only pay the cost of their deductible. Who wouldn't want an 80-95% discount? But the fact is, the average policy holder doesn’t know everything about their policy, what it covers, or even what kind of damage is considered significant enough to warrant repairs or even replacing the entire roof.

We are going to explain two main types of policies, what they cover, and what general language your policy typically uses to describe damage and their responsibility when it occurs. Before we dive in, understand there are different kinds of policies other than these two that are most common. Some reduce the amount the insurance company owes under certain circumstances and some include exclusions that don’t pay for specific types of damage. There are even policies that abruptly change their type of coverage for only the roofing section. We highly recommend you schedule time with your agent to review and understand your policy better. Hopefully this information will provide good talking points and questions to ask.

• RCV - or Replacement Cost Value

  An RCV policy is generally considered the best and the type of policy you should want. In short, this kind of policy covers the entire cost of repairing or replacing whatever on your home suffered damage. Just like any vehicle will lower in value the more you drive it, roofing materials depreciate over time as they age and normal wear occurs. The depreciation is determined by the age and condition of your roof and is separated from the insurance proceeds designated as actual cash value, or what the roofing material is currently valued at. The most important takeaway from this is to understand the difference between recoverable and non-recoverable depreciation. With an RCV policy the depreciation can be recovered after the work is completed and your contractor, or you, submit the appropriate documents showing the work was completed according to the scope you were provided from the insurance adjuster. Depreciation is non-recoverable if you choose not to have the work done, take too long to complete the work, or have a policy that does not cover depreciation.

• ACV - or Actual Cash Value

  As mentioned previously, not all policies afford the same amount of coverage and in some cases do not provide sufficient funds to complete the work. In those cases, customers are responsible for paying a portion of the costs on top of their deductible to the contractor. In these situations, Davidson Roofing & Construction does our best to keep those costs down without sacrificing the integrity of our workmanship and the quality of your roofing system. A roof claim through an ACV policy will take the total cost of the roof replacement, determine the amount of depreciation, and subtract that amount from the total leaving you with the “actual cash value” of your roof.

  This does NOT mean you shouldn’t file a claim if you’ve suffered significant storm damage. Tennessee insurance has rules they must follow and only certain component’s depreciation cannot be recovered. This generally pertains to the shingles and underlayment. Other components considered collateral damage are not depreciated and those funds can be useful by covering necessary costs to replace the roof, which is the most important and necessary part of your structure needing replacement in these situations. Other components that may have only suffered mild cosmetic damage can be replaced at a later time. We have helped plenty of clients with these policies and many did not have to pay more than their deductible.

Important note: All insurance policies with TN Farm Bureau are ACV policies. This is something Farm Bureau does for every client in Tennessee. However, our experience with their claims has been good.

So, what does an insurance policy cover? In general terms, your policy covers “direct physical loss.” You signed up and pay monthly premiums for an insurance policy that includes the responsibility of putting the policy back to their pre-loss conditions.

There is no definition pertaining to level of severity that is covered. When the adjuster pays for a shingle that has been ripped off by the wind, that same adjuster under that same claim pays for a shingle that has lost its seal and is slightly creased, because damage is damage. The same applies to hail damage. It does not have to be substantial. It just has to be damaged to be covered by the policy.

With that said, a small amount of damage does not always mean a full roof replacement. Generally younger roofs still possess the ability to be repaired without consequential damage occurring the the roofing material surrounding the repair. However, included in you policy coverage, and in order to be properly indemnified for a loss, some components that are not damaged must be removed to properly repair certain components at times. While they aren’t damaged, they often need to be replaced due to damage suffered when removing them. Our trained professionals understand what is necessary to recommend an insurance claim be filed. Our inspections follow a step by step guide designed by the insurance carriers to help us provide a competent and accurate assessment with our recommendations.

More Q&As to come! If you have a question you’d like answered, please call our office or send us a direct email. We are always happy to help!