When your insurer says the roof is older than it is

Why age changes the check

The Oklahoma Insurance Department defines actual cash value as the amount it would take to repair or replace damage after depreciation. Depreciation grows with age, so an insurer that assumes a 40 year old roof pays far less than one that accepts a 12 year old roof. Some policies go further and pay roofs past a certain age on an actual cash value basis or on a schedule by age, even if the rest of the house has replacement cost coverage. ACV vs RCV, worked through.

When nobody wrote down when the last roof went on, the insurer's default is often the year the house was built. In a metro where about 49% of homes were built before 1980 (Census ACS), that default can be decades off.

What can prove a roof's age

1. The roofer's invoice or contract from the last replacement. Check your closing papers and old email; the previous owner may have passed it on.
2. A re-roof permit. Ask your city's permit office whether it has a record for your address. Not every past roof was permitted, so a missing permit is not proof the roof is original.
3. The seller's disclosure and the home inspection report from when you bought the house. Inspectors often estimate roof age.
4. A prior insurance claim. If an earlier owner had a roof claim paid, the insurer or the claim history may show it.
5. Dated photos and aerial imagery. Listing photos, old street-level imagery and dated aerial photos can show a roof changing color or style between two dates.
6. A roofer's written opinion on the shingle line and its condition, which can at least show the shingle was not available when the house was built.

If you have nothing on paper

Ask the insurer in writing what evidence it will accept, and ask for the depreciation and age assumptions behind the estimate. Ask for a re-inspection if the roof's condition does not match the age they assigned. In a 2010 bulletin, the Oklahoma Insurance Department said a roofer must be licensed as a public adjuster to negotiate your claim or act as a go-between with your insurer. A roofer may give you an estimate to submit and may be present when the adjuster inspects. Your agent or a licensed public adjuster can push on the claim itself.

Start the file now

If your roof is replaced, keep the contract, the final invoice, the permit if there is one, and photos of the finished roof in one place, and send a copy to your agent. The next owner, or the next adjuster, will thank you. The Oklahoma Insurance Department says replacement cost policies require the work to be completed within six months of the date of loss. Check your own policy for its deadline.