Home Insurance: Covering Your Home For Wind and Hail
We all know Kansas weather can be unpredictable. One day its 85 and the next 35. During the warmer months and even over the colder ones severe weather can crop up with little or no notice. Most new clients we visit with are worried about how their home insurance policy will handle a claim from hail or wind. In our area this is the most frequently made claim on a home especially in Great Bend, Hoisington and Ellinwood. Let’s look at hail coverage on your home insurance policy.
The first thing you need to do is talk to your independent insurance agent or if you are familiar with your home insurance policy look through it. Insurance carriers in general will offer full replacement cost less deductible on rooves that are less than 15 years old. If it is older than that your roof is most likely does not have replacement cost but actual cash value.
Once the type of coverage Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value we recommend having a trusted and experienced contractor or roofer assess the damage and give you an estimate on the repair cost.
Keep in mind in central Kansas roof age is the physical age of the roofing system and not the number printed on the shingle brochure. 30 or 40 year shingles will not last that long in this climate. There are just too many extremes in temperature and weather. Insurance companies know this and will not offer replacement cost on a 25 year old roof with 30 or 40 year shingles. Your home insurance policy should state how a roof claim is settled.
Next is the deductible. Wind and hail will often times have their own deductible. It will appear as a line item on your home policy. In our area of Kansas insurance companies offer a range of deductibles ranging from flat to percentage. The deductible needs to be considered before filing a claim. If you have a $2,500 wind hail deductible and there is $3,000 in damage you will only receive $500 after the deductible.