It is outrageous the quotes I am receiving right now regarding homeowners. Without fail, 2% here, 2% there. Is anyone having luck finding anything else?

I'm 2% on wind/hail while 1% on the rest.

Most carriers have gone to 2% minimums for wind and hail. Not sure about other perils, but not as relevant, because the difference in premium for 1% vs 2% is negligible in comparison.

but 2% wind/hail, in most places you are guaranteed to see a hailstorm once a year that does significant enough damage to warrant a replacement... how can some people even afford this on top of the already elevated premiums? I thought the premiums were in place to account for the potential risk of activating one's policy. this is getting redamndiculous.

I moved to north Harris Co in 2013, and my deductible has always been 2% for wind and hail. I'm hearing they want to raise it to 3%.

Family in coastal MS has a $30000 deductible on hurricane damage. Katrina brought about that change.

20-year homeowner. Had to replace a roof in 2011. 2-3+% deductibles have saved me a ton of money over that time period.

Some are taking advantage. That said, I have made one claim in 25 years (last year), which the one was not a "total loss". However, it was thanks to baseball size hail which smashed my roof/chimney/any non-brick siding to hell, part of my fence, and totaled both of my kids RAV4s. $85k loss all in. So you can be damn sure across both policies I cashed in on what I spent 24 years paying for.

CS78 said:

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Ive been at 5% for years. Never plan to make a claim unless I have a total loss. We'd all be better off if everyone used that mentality. The insurance companies are going to recoup their cost somewhere and the house never loses.

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Use insurance for catastrophes and carry large deductibles.

Have $1,500-$2,000 deductibles on your cars as well.

degreedy said:

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but 2% wind/hail, in most places you are guaranteed to see a hailstorm once a year that does significant enough damage to warrant a replacement... how can some people even afford this on top of the already elevated premiums? I thought the premiums were in place to account for the potential risk of activating one's policy. this is getting redamndiculous.

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Yes, you see hail every year, but the average is probably around 10 for total loss and actually having a claim.

In thirty years on home ownership I have had two. Though I know of plenty of unlucky folks that have had more.

Mine is $1500. Didn't realize 1% was a thing, but with 2 claims in the past year I'm grateful that's not as common in boise for some reason.

And our rates are significantly lower here. I guess all the natural disasters in Texas, with none here, makes a huge difference in insurance terms.

It depends where you are at, Houston and Dallas is pretty much 2% or more across the board.

Other parts of the State there are still some carriers at 1% and I even have one I write with at 1.5%, but a lot of them are in fact now 2%.

They are just cutting into all the fraudulent roofs that have been approved for decades. Strangely, those higher deductibles haven't lowered the premiums. Nor does taking on the roof yourself and just insuring the rest of the house. Odd times.

CS78 said:

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Ive been at 5% for years. Never plan to make a claim unless I have a total loss. We'd all be better off if everyone used that mentality. The insurance companies are going to recoup their cost somewhere and the house never loses.

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Yes! Same applies to health insurance and using high-deductible plans. It's the most likely thing to help curb/bring down outrageous healthcare costs.

htxag09 said:

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The roof deal really does annoy me....

We replaced a roof on our home about 2 years ago. It was 20+ years old and had a leak. The leak was repairable but we were going to sell or rent the house and knew a new roof would be beneficial regardless. We called 5 roofers. 3 of them showed us in their system how we had a hail storm within x years and they thought we could get it covered under insurance, sending us a quote for like $25K. No, we aren't going through insurance, etc., etc., Give me an out of pocked quote. Instantly dropped to $10K.

The whole process soured me. First, roof didn't have hail damage. Second, how the hell does a job increase 2-3x simply because insurance is paying?

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Yep I replaced one roof in my life and had the same experience. I refused to share the destiny insurance rep gave me and the roofer got pissed. I explained that I expect him to come up with his own estimate and I'll compare.

He actually said "how the hell is it fair if the insurance estimate is higher than his and he doesn't get the difference???"

I was shocked at his boldness but it was also stupidity. He didn't understand why that gravy shouldn't be his.

I see the trend! Somehow insurance companies F everything they touch up in their quest to make a profit and we all pay for it!

Really doesn't make any sense. Why do we let it continue?

How many squares of roofing for 25k estimate ?

Was it metal or shingles ?

Honestly don't remember. But wasn't large. Two story townhome in Houston.

Shingles.

No. Call Kin Insurance.

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...how the hell does a job increase 2-3x simply because insurance is paying?

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I am not here for arguing. This is not meant to be combative. I am both a roofer and an aggrieved homeowner paying way more than I think I should, so I can appreciate both sides of this exact situation you are referencing and am simply offering my perspective.

I don't know if 2-3x is serious or exaggerated. It doesn't matter for the sake of discussion, though. The insurance price is the average price for doing like for like. Since 9/10 roofs I do are over 10-15 years old, that install by todays standards is mediocre at best. So....

Folks manage to find a roofer who could do an 'average' install for 2-3x less than the insurance says it will cost? Do you think if the insurance thought they could do an adequate job for 2-3x less, they would be willing to pay 2-3x more like your estimate says?

Here's how they do it. I confirm this nearly monthly by talking to roofing reps on the street and watching their installs while talking to nosy neighbors. Salesmen love to talk about how great they are and how they closed that tough customer and that nice old lady across the street peeking through her blinds always has information, too.

When you tell a roofer that you aren't showing him your insurance scope, he goes from "I can do this roof comfortably" to "Dang, I'm going to lose this customer if I don't go cheap". For a new salesman that needs that check, they will do whatever they need to do to get the check and get someone to sign up. I can assure you that taking a hit on profit is not part of their plan.

What the customer thinks he is doing is making that roofer reduce his profits so he can win the job. But, what the customer is actually doing is making that roofer figure out how to make the same profit and still put a roof on that will look OK to the customer and be good enough. He can make that happen by using cheaper materials, cutting corners on install techniques, overlays, not doing drip edge, or any number of things that add up quickly. You are getting a cheaper price, but he isn't losing money. You have only shifted the profit margin from coming out of the insurance side to coming out out of you and your home.

I use the insurance price and I upgrade everything I can because the next time that roof is replaced, the carrier will have to pay my customer for all of those upgrades...remember..."like for like"...and when I get his roof the second time, I can add even more upgrades hopefully, maybe impact resistant roofing, and again....if that gets totaled, insurance has to now pay for that the next go round. I have always approached my work as a means to better a customers roof. His entire situation is left better than I found it.

Why do roofers suck?

The problems people see with roofers is the 'everyone's roof is trashed' claim regardless of hail size. That's the scam. If you can send 100 houses through a claim process, and 5 come back approved, it was worth the effort and that's what these roofers rolling in your hood try to do. Always insist on pictures of damage. If they don't have damage, I tell them that. If they do, I SHOW them the damage. I have some homeowners that want to walk their roof with me. I'm happy to do that because I want people to trust what I'm telling them. I don't operate on contingencies.

Where do I see the future of insurance?

I can't be sure, but my opinion is "right to repair" clauses and customers don't usually even know they are built into their policy. The insurance controls costs and quality by selecting your contractor....but does that keep costs down? I don't think so.

We are a preferred contractor of a few carriers. The projects I get are "right to repair". When they decide you need a new roof they send me and other preferred roofers a bid request. Then they go through the bids and select one. Kin, for instance, selects on quality and materials, not price. I can tell you a $700 per square price point is on the low end of what most carriers select through these programs. It covers everything and there are no supplements or BS to deal with. The adjuster calls me to contract with John Smith. John Smith has no choice in contractor. He can select colors of roofing or lose coverage on his house, end of story. There are no supplements. No BS.

I roof it. Customer pays me the deductible. The insurance check usually comes to me directly. Easy peasy.

What insurance should I choose and how do I keep these costs down? What do you do?

For me and my home, I carry a very high deductible through TFB. I can cover my metal roof completely out of pocket If I need to and those are the dice I throw every spring to keep my costs down. My roof has a few dents from this year from 2" hail, and I am perfectly OK with that. That's my answer...save your money and try to self insure to some degree to keep those costs down. Make sure your house is accurately appraised. USAA will allow you to reduce your appraised cost to 80%. Do it.

$700 per square for shingles ?

JP76 said:

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$700 per square for shingles ?

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Yes, but you have to keep in mind with these programs, roofers pay to participate. So, that cost is built in, profits are built in, they require extended warranties which are then built in, and then a bunch of stuff 'just in case' so the roofer doesnt lose his margin if the house is a POS and needs 45 sheets of plywood because the roof hasn't been maintained in 20 years. So, your roofer does it for 700/sq, doesn't reap the profits of 700/sq., but the carrier PAYS 700/sq.

Why? The customer only sees an easy fix. Customers don't see the price. Contract is set. Scope is set. They don't even have to vet contractors. They are all good and all qualified. The customer pays the deductible, he gets a roof and there is no additional BS for him. In other words...ITS EASY. It's also easy for the insurance because they won't be spending 6 months negotiating supplements.

For the roofer, he's on board because it's a simple sale. The carrier calls him. The customer can't change his mind, he can't decide to use another roofer, he can't back out. Once the roofer is selected, it's a go.

Everything about insurance is a scam, but unless you can afford to self insure, that's what we got.

what are roofers going to do when deductibles end up costing the entire price of a roof?

May have to start making some deals….

Well at that rate i can see why insurance premiums are through the roof. Is this just one ins company ? Because I have never seen that on any insurance roof jobs I have completed.

Or when you say $700 is this a 2 story house with 18/12 pitch ?

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...Make sure your house is accurately appraised. USAA will allow you to reduce your appraised cost to 80%. Do it.

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How does this work? Is it the appraised cost to rebuild?

jenn96 said:

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...Make sure your house is accurately appraised. USAA will allow you to reduce your appraised cost to 80%. Do it.

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How does this work? Is it the appraised cost to rebuild?

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Yes but don't just do it blindly. Ive had a few of mine that weren't out of line and I leave them at 100%. Most are pretty heavily inflated though.

How can I find a realistic PSF cost to rebuild? I know it's a lot more than the average PSF price if I were to sell. I'm in cypress 77429.

jenn96 said:

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How can I find a realistic PSF cost to rebuild? I know it's a lot more than the average PSF price if I were to sell. I'm in cypress 77429.

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I know where I live (West Texas), you use to be able to comfortably build a new home for $150/sqft (10-15years ago). Realistically, to build that same quality home, it's closer to $200-225/sqft. Doesn't answer your question directly, but gives some level of insight into what others are seeing.

JP76 said:

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Well at that rate i can see why insurance premiums are through the roof. Is this just one ins company ? Because I have never seen that on any insurance roof jobs I have completed.

Or when you say $700 is this a 2 story house with 18/12 pitch ?

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That particular one was 2 story, yes. The price was high because of the amount of fingers in the pie.

Not all carriers are doing this, I've just never seen as many before as I have. I've only been involved with 3 carriers. The 'right to repair' is something I have not personally worked until this year. The first one I did was a customer that said he wanted my estimate, and he already has a roofer that will cover his deductible since he can't afford it. The agent had to call him and explain that he will be doing his with me, and that I would not be providing any estimates to the customer, and that if he can't afford his deductible then he is compelled to finance through me or a third party. He was given 365 days to make this happen before policy cancellation. When I finish a roof like this, I have to photography completion, the insurance inspector comes out to verify quality and specs.

Yikes, if that's the case I'm already probably at 80%. $225 PSF x 3000 (my sf) to rebuild is less than my quoted coverage.