Insurance claims
Home insurance covers sudden storm and wind damage — not a worn-out roof. Here’s how to tell which one you have, how to document damage properly, and how a measured roof scope helps your claim. We give you the evidence; we don’t file claims or touch your deductible.
Is it a claim?
Most denied roof claims come down to one thing: age and wear aren’t a covered loss. A sudden, datable event usually is. Here’s the honest split.
How to claim
This is general guidance, not legal or coverage advice — your policy and your broker are the final word. But this is the order that protects you.
Your policy expects you to limit further loss. Contain interior water, move valuables, and have a temporary cover (a tarp) put on if it’s safe — keep the receipts. Don’t make permanent repairs before the damage is documented.
Photograph the roof damage, any interior water damage, and keep any debris (like a fallen branch). Note the date of the storm or event. Dated, event-linked evidence is what separates a covered claim from a denied one.
An itemized measurement and scope shows exactly what’s damaged versus the whole roof, so you and the adjuster are working from the same facts. Roofprint gives you that measured planning scope from your address — not a claim filed on your behalf.
Report the claim promptly and understand your deductible and coverage type before the adjuster visits. Bring your photos and measured scope. You’re allowed to have your own contractor’s assessment alongside the insurer’s.
Have the approved work done to code by a licensed, insured, WSIB-covered roofer, with documentation for your claim file. Keep the paper trail — some policies release depreciation (recoverable holdback) only after the work is completed and invoiced.
Honest notes
We don’t inflate damage or file claims for you — we give you an honest, measured scope you can bring to your own insurer.
If your roof is simply worn out with age, that isn’t an insurance claim — financing is usually the better path, and we’ll tell you so.
Actual cash value vs replacement cost, and depreciation, materially change your payout — read your policy or ask your broker before you assume a full roof is covered.
Be very wary of “free roof” or “we’ll cover your deductible” pitches: waiving or absorbing a deductible to inflate a claim is insurance fraud in Ontario, and it puts you at risk, not the roofer.
Questions
Home insurance generally covers sudden, accidental roof damage — such as a windstorm tearing off shingles, hail, or a tree falling on the roof — but not replacement due to age or normal wear. If your roof was damaged in a specific, datable event, it may be a claim; if it simply wore out, replacement is typically an out-of-pocket or financed cost.
Almost never. Insurers treat age-related wear — curling, granule loss, and general end-of-life — as maintenance, not a sudden loss, so it isn’t covered. Some policies also reduce or exclude coverage on roofs past a certain age. If age is the issue, financing a planned replacement is usually the realistic route.
Replacement cost coverage pays what it costs to replace the damaged roof today. Actual cash value pays that amount minus depreciation for the roof’s age and wear, so on an older roof the cheque can be far smaller. Which one you have is in your policy and often matters more to your payout than the damage itself.
It helps. A measured scope and dated photos let you understand whether the damage is worth more than your deductible, and give you your own set of facts to bring to the adjuster. Roofprint provides a measured planning scope from your address — we don’t file the claim, we give you the evidence.
A reputable roofer can document and measure the damage and provide a written scope and estimate you bring to your insurer. What a roofer should not do is file the claim for you, inflate the damage, or offer to “cover” your deductible — those cross into insurance fraud in Ontario.
No. In Ontario, a contractor absorbing or waiving your insurance deductible — often by padding the claim to make up the difference — is insurance fraud, and it exposes you as the policyholder. Treat any “free roof, we’ll handle the deductible” pitch as a red flag.
Enter your address for a measured roof plan you can bring to your insurer — what’s there, and an honest planning range. If the damage is storm-related, that scope helps you and the adjuster start from the same facts.
