Roof Leak Damage Attorneys in Florida
Roof leaks can turn into expensive claims in Florida, and it’s not always easy to get the insurance company to honor roof leak damage claims. Your home’s roof is an expensive component to repair or replace. Roof repair and reroofing can often result in bills in the tens of thousands of dollar range.
The ancillary damages that can spawn from roof leaks, such as mold growth, electrical damage, damage to your home’s interior, pest and vermin infestations and even structural damage, can approach or even exceed the cost of repairing or replacing a roof due to roof leaks.
Even a minor roof leak can lead to extensive damages that may include:
- Ceiling or drywall staining and cracking paint
- Swelling or rotting of ceiling material, walls, support structures, baseboards and even flooring
- Personal property damage, including ruined clothes, furniture, electronics and art
- Potentially dangerous mold and mildew growth
The insurance company has a lot of monetary incentive to deny your claim, undervalue it or drag it out and avoid paying you.
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Does Your Homeowners Policy Cover Your Roof Leak
What can often complicate a roof leak claim are the are excluded perils listed in your policy. For most homeowners, your policy should cover roof leaks caused by:
- Wind, including hurricane and tropical storm winds
- Hail
- Falling branches
- Vandalism or human-caused roof damages due to mischief
Some of the excluded perils that the insurance company may try to use to deny your roof leak claim include:
- Damage caused by vermin, birds or insect infestations
- Mold or fungus infestations
- Natural home expansion and shrinking/settling
- Maintenance neglect by the homeowner
There’s some grey area when it comes to the exclusions and interpreting the cause of roof leaks. Improper categorizations happen all the time.
If you believe your roof leak should be covered and the insurance company is trying to tell you that the source of your roof damage is an excluded damage type, you may benefit from speaking with a property damage attorney.
Does It Make Sense to File a Claim?
It doesn’t hurt to do a few things before you begin the claim process, because filing a roof leak claim may not always be in your best interest.
Your claim could be subject to one of several potential deductibles. Some policies have a separate deductible for roof leaks related to hail or wind damage. Many policyholders in Florida also have a “named storm” deductible based on their home’s valuation. The named storm deductible only applies if the damage is caused by a named hurricane or tropical storm. If your home is worth $500,000 and you have a two percent named storm deductible, then you’d need to pay $10,000 out of pocket before your coverage would kick in.
Also keep in mind that filing a claim has the potential to raise your premium. Filing two claims within a handful of years of each other could even result in a 20 percent or more increase to your premiums.
Schedule a Consultation with a Roof Leak Insurance Attorney
If you’ve done the math and have determined the extent of the damage and the cost of repairs justifies filing a claim, and the insurance company is being difficult, there are people who can help.
Insurance companies are often quick to tell policy holders that their claim won’t be honored because the damage source is excluded from their policy. When this occurs, it may be in your best interest to speak with a property damage attorney or independent claims adjuster.
Kanner & Pintaluga is one of Florida’s leading hurricane damage and property damage law firms. Our attorneys are very familiar with roof leak damage. We work with knowledgeable claims adjusters and contractors to make sure our clients’ legitimate claims are properly paid. You can call us at 800-586-5555 to schedule a free case evaluation.