Homeowner insurance coverage changed after closing?

[lucky4341]

I bought a house last Friday and had an insurance policy that included shingle coverage on the roof of the home. Today, I was contacted by an insurance agent who said they sent a roof inspector to my house (without my knowledge) and they are not willing to cover the shingles on my roof due to what their inspector determined. Before I bought the house I had the roof inspected by a different, but accredited and licensed, roofer who did not work for the insurance agency and he said the roof has 10 years of life in it. In my opinion, the roof looks fine.
Do I have to agree to pay the same premium for homeowners insurance if the shingles (not the whole roof) are excluded? At my closing, I paid a year's insurance premiums in advance, and so for five days, the shingles were covered. Now, they're saying they won't cover them because their inspector was late, and I lost the opportunity to negotiate roofing repairs with the seller of the house. What will happen if I refuse to sign the paper excluding the shingles from my coverage? What are the odds I can get my insurance company to fix my roof because they had it covered on the day of my closing?

[acermill]

The odds of getting your insurer to pay are zero or less, since insurers do not cover worn out shingles. They cover accidental (storm, fire, wind) damage to your roofing. You were not in any position to negotiate roofing repairs with the sellers. Your OWN inspector indicated that the roofing is fine, and has about ten years of life remaining. You can't expect to negotiate such a scenario simply due to an insurer's refusal.

An appropriate move for you ? Contact a DIFFERENT insurer to apply for coverage. Another may well provide full coverage with no roofing exclusion. Once you have procured different coverage, simply cancel your initial coverage and ask for a refund of the remaining unearned premium you paid.

[Ginger]

Unless you had a sudden and accidental loss to your roof since the inception of your policy, you have no claim to roof damage. You bought the home with the bad shingles included. Insurance companies are not in the business of maintaining your home. They are there to help you recover from a sudden and accidental loss.

Insurance companies have the right to inspect your home at any time without your knowledge. As a matter of fact, they randomly and purposely inspect your home without your knowledge. They are looking for the risk your property poses and are trying to prevent a claim.

I'm curious as to why you stated you lost the opportunity to negotiate roofing repairs with the seller and at the same time, you state your inspector found the shingles had 10 years of life remaining. If that's the case, why would you have negotiated repairs? Seems like a contradiction, especially if the insurer is stating the shingles are in bad enough shape, they want to exclude.

As for refusing to sign the exclusion, if you do refuse, the policy will be cancelled. They are offering you coverage with the exclusion, without it, no coverage. Those are the options.

Call other insurers and they will also give you quotes and randomly inspect your home. If they find the shingles are in disrepair or have a short life span, they may likely decline coverage. I've never seen a company exclude shingles, usually they give you the opportunity to repair them or cancel the policy entirely. If it were me, I'd sign the exclusion and call a roofer to repair my roof.

[mbrcatz]

I've never, ever seen a homeowners policy to exclude ONLY the shingles on the roof. That just tells me something else is going on, that you didn't mention - and maybe that you don't know.

If you refuse to sign the exclusion, the insurance company is going to cancel your policy. There's NO WAY that the roof is covered, because nothing HAPPENED to it. That's the whole point - the insurance thinks you need a new roof, and thinks you're going to put in a claim for it and want them to pay. Insurance does NOT pay for maintenance items, and they think the roof needs to be maintained.

So, if it were me (and you didn't ask, I know) what I would do, is call the agent. Explain you have a report from a licensed roofer stating the roof is in good shape, can he send that in, and get the insurance company to accept that, without the roof exclusion. You flat out do NOT want a "roof exclusion" on your policy - and I haven't even READ it, but I'll tell you, you don't want it anyway.

If the agent has no luck, do NOT tell them you're not going to sign it. What you need to do, is IMMEDIATELY start shopping out for new house insurance. Call some more agents, be honest, explain the situation - you have a licensed roofer that says the roof is ok, but your insurance company wants it replaced anyway (hmm. How old is that roof? Average roof life for a shingle roof on a 8% incline or greater, is going to be about 15 - 20 years). Get your new coverage BEFORE the cancellation notice is issued on the old policy. Leave lots of time to shop, because you might need it.

When the old company cancels your policy, they WILL return your premium.