[mtdjed]

For those of you looking for more reasonable home insurance and have roofs 15 to 20 years of age, this is an update of State Farm. I got a song and dance of how they do not reject simply because of age and believe that a roof is good until it is defective. They offer a program that allows you to hire one of their qualified independent inspectors ($125). I did that and got a report that said my roof was good for at least 5 more years and perhaps more if I replaced ridge caps.

Waited about 3 weeks after submitted by inspector to State Farm and got reviewed by underwriters of State Farm. They rejected the inspection report and said they would insure only if I replaced the roof.

That after I was told that no one in The Villages that they had represented previously had their roof rejected if they had a satisfactory inspection.

I just wanted to debunk that urban myth. A Villages roof was rejected under 20 years of age even though inspector said it was good for five years.

For what is worth????????

[Randall55]

What year was your house built? Some of my friends are having a difficult time getting insurance because their homes were built before 2002. Homes built before 2002 were not constructed under Florida's stricter codes.

If your home was built in 2002 or later, did you ask the agent why the roof inspection was rejected? Perhaps, you can fix the reason without replacing the entire roof.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems, at the very least, State Farm owes you an explanation.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Randall55

What year was your house built? Some of my friends are having a difficult time getting insurance because their homes were built before 2002. Homes built before 2002 were not constructed under Florida's stricter codes.

If your home was built in 2002 or later, did you ask the agent why the roof inspection was rejected? Perhaps, you can fix the reason without replacing the entire roof.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems, at the very least, State Farm owes you an explanation.

That confirms what I was told by our insurance agent. Our house was built in 1996 and State Farm won’t even give us a homeowners quote despite a new roof and a detailed wind mitigation report showing property roof truss construction.

[melpetezrinski]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

For those of you looking for more reasonable home insurance and have roofs 15 to 20 years of age, this is an update of State Farm. I got a song and dance of how they do not reject simply because of age and believe that a roof is good until it is defective. They offer a program that allows you to hire one of their qualified independent inspectors ($125). I did that and got a report that said my roof was good for at least 5 more years and perhaps more if I replaced ridge caps.

Waited about 3 weeks after submitted by inspector to State Farm and got reviewed by underwriters of State Farm. They rejected the inspection report and said they would insure only if I replaced the roof.

That after I was told that no one in The Villages that they had represented previously had their roof rejected if they had a satisfactory inspection.

I just wanted to debunk that urban myth. A Villages roof was rejected under 20 years of age even though inspector said it was good for five years.

For what is worth????????

Our insurance premiums were going to significantly increase for the coming year, so I called around and State Farm was the most cost effective. However, they required a 4 point inspection and gave me the numbers of some local inspectors. I soon realized that it would be a $150-$300 charge. I called State Farm back and said that your company is now not the best choice. They agreed to pay for the inspection, which indicated that my roof has 5 more years left. Our house was build in 2007.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by melpetezrinski

Our insurance premiums were going to significantly increase for the coming year, so I called around and State Farm was the most cost effective. However, they required a 4 point inspection and gave me the numbers of some local inspectors. I soon realized that it would be a $150-$300 charge. I called State Farm back and said that your company is now not the best choice. They agreed to pay for the inspection, which indicated that my roof has 5 more years left. Our house was build in 2007.

Do you now have home insurance through State Farm?

[Blueblaze]

I think State Farm was probably telling you the truth when they said they don't care how old your roof is. I have yet to hear a valid excuse for why any insurance company would care how old the roof is, unless it's obviously on the verge of leaking. If it was installed according to current code, a 30-year-old roof is no more likely to be ripped off in a tornado than a new one. The reason FLORIDA insurance companies don't like old roofs is because FLORIDA CITIZENS have a habit of scamming their insurance company out of a roof when they want a new one.

State Farm has always been notoriously picky about who they deal with, as well as quick to drop someone who makes a claim. I think they probably give a much bigger weight to your insurance history than the age of your roof. It wouldn't surprise me if they told you the rejection was due to roof age when the real reason was a 20-year-old insurance claim they found in your record, that they didn't want to argue about.

Nobody tells the truth these days when a lie is easier.

[Rosethorn]

What you have described in your original post is pretty much exactly what happened to me and my husband.

We purchased a house in The Villages and we were told to submit an inspection report to State Farm. Our inspection report said that the roof had 5+ years of life remaining.

We were given insurance, subject to review by the underwriter. After the underwriter reviewed the pictures of the house (about three weeks later), they said they’d drop us unless we replaced the roof within 60 days.

The house was built in 2010, so I had a feeling this was coming but the fact is State Farm doesn’t like roofs that are more than 12 years old.

Originally Posted by mtdjed

For those of you looking for more reasonable home insurance and have roofs 15 to 20 years of age, this is an update of State Farm. I got a song and dance of how they do not reject simply because of age and believe that a roof is good until it is defective. They offer a program that allows you to hire one of their qualified independent inspectors ($125). I did that and got a report that said my roof was good for at least 5 more years and perhaps more if I replaced ridge caps.

Waited about 3 weeks after submitted by inspector to State Farm and got reviewed by underwriters of State Farm. They rejected the inspection report and said they would insure only if I replaced the roof.

That after I was told that no one in The Villages that they had represented previously had their roof rejected if they had a satisfactory inspection.

I just wanted to debunk that urban myth. A Villages roof was rejected under 20 years of age even though inspector said it was good for five years.

For what is worth????????

[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

I think State Farm was probably telling you the truth when they said they don't care how old your roof is. I have yet to hear a valid excuse for why any insurance company would care how old the roof is, unless it's obviously on the verge of leaking. If it was installed according to current code, a 30-year-old roof is no more likely to be ripped off in a tornado than a new one. The reason FLORIDA insurance companies don't like old roofs is because FLORIDA CITIZENS have a habit of scamming their insurance company out of a roof when they want a new one.

State Farm has always been notoriously picky about who they deal with, as well as quick to drop someone who makes a claim. I think they probably give a much bigger weight to your insurance history than the age of your roof. It wouldn't surprise me if they told you the rejection was due to roof age when the real reason was a 20-year-old insurance claim they found in your record, that they didn't want to argue about.

Nobody tells the truth these days when a lie is easier.

I have been a homeowner for over 55 years and have never submitted a claim.

[Randall55]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

I have been a homeowner for over 55 years and have never submitted a claim.

Were you able to get insurance through another company? Did you have to replace your entire roof?

[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

The reason FLORIDA insurance companies don't like old roofs is because FLORIDA CITIZENS have a habit of scamming their insurance company out of a roof when they want a new one.

And THAT right there is the *real* truth.

They want you to buy a new roof out-of-pocket so you have no incentive to scam them for same.

I was able to get insurance with no problems on my 12 year old new home. I went with Tower Hill Exchange, reasonable price considering the shannanigans going on these days.

Talk to Fay at The Villages Insurance. She was great to work with.

[hollyrich2]

I’m an Allstate agent working remote. Allstate is not writing property insurance however; I can provide a quote from one of our Allstate partners. We write with Tower Hill as well. I’m happy to help anyone looking for insurance. Please call 954-437-9220 ext. 308 or email hrichardson4@allstate.com.

[MidWestIA]

This all got started when some "roofers" ran around giving free inspections then told people you need a new roof but your insurance will pay when they didn't need it. Foolish people said oh yah and forced the insurance to pay years too soon

[Switter]

Originally Posted by Randall55

What year was your house built? Some of my friends are having a difficult time getting insurance because their homes were built before 2002. Homes built before 2002 were not constructed under Florida's stricter codes.

If your home was built in 2002 or later, did you ask the agent why the roof inspection was rejected? Perhaps, you can fix the reason without replacing the entire roof.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems, at the very least, State Farm owes you an explanation.

I would also call State Farm and demand my $125 back since they were the ones who recommended you go that path. That would royally p!ss me off. It's not a lot of money, it's the principle of the thing.

[Blueblaze]

And, by the way, OP, if they rejected you after confirming that the roof is good for another 5 years, they are blatantly breaking the Florida law passed in 2022 that specifically says they can't do that.

Not that it matters, since Florida doesn't enforce its own laws. The legislature also passed tort reform, but Morgan and Morgan is still blasting the airwaves with their pleas for new scammers. Try calling what passes for an Insurance Commission in this state and see how far you get (I'm still waiting for a call back, almost 2 years later).

My rental has a perfectly beautiful 20 year old roof. I got a decent quote and switched to Kin because their policy protects them from scammers by covering the roof as a depreciating asset instead of"full replacement value". At least it's covered. The reason I called the insurance commission is that "American Integrity" literally wrote the roof out of the policy entirely, practically on the day after the new law was passed.