Overheard a guy at the hardware store say homeowner's insurance doesn't cover certain roof damage. It stuck with me.

I was grabbing some nails yesterday and heard this guy telling his buddy about a claim he had. He said the insurance adjuster denied him because his roof was over 15 years old with existing wear, so they called it "lack of maintenance" instead of storm damage. That got me thinking about all the folks who don't read their policies carefully, you know? Around here in Portland, we get heavy rain and wind every winter, and I bet plenty of people assume leaks are always covered. So my takeaway is this: check your policy's fine print for age limits or wear exclusions before you need to file a claim. Has anyone else been hit with a surprise denial like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_carr21d ago

That's a solid point about reading the fine print. Most people just assume their policy covers everything like a magic shield, but insurance companies have gotten real good at finding loopholes. The age limit thing is a big one, especially on roofs. I've heard from a few buddies that some policies now have a straight up exclusion for any roof over 20 years old, regardless of storm damage. It's basically a built in excuse for them to deny claims on older houses. Another thing to watch for is the "maintenance exclusion" clause, where they'll call normal wear and tear "neglect" even if a storm made it worse. Keeping records of any repairs and regular inspections can help fight that. Really, the whole system is set up so you gotta be proactive with your coverage or you'll get burned.

the_william21d ago

Oh yeah, totally with @kevin_carr on that maintenance exclusion thing. I had a buddy who owned an older house, nothing crazy, just like a 1950s ranch. Tree branch took out a chunk of his siding during a windstorm. He files a claim, thinking it's a no brainer. They sent an adjuster out who pointed at a little bit of dry rot behind the siding from a leaky gutter he fixed two years ago, and they denied the whole thing saying it was "pre existing neglect" even though the storm damage was obvious. He fought it for months and ended up just paying out of pocket because his deductible was high anyway. It's wild how they can twist stuff like that. He keeps a binder now with every single receipt and photo just to cover his ass.