My Roof Insurance Claim Was Denied. What Now?

Short answer: Get the denial in writing and find the specific reason. The common ones are wear and tear rather than a covered peril, damage below the deductible, a maintenance or exclusion clause, or missing documentation. Wear-and-tear denials on genuinely storm-damaged roofs are the ones most often reversed with better evidence.

Not legal advice, not a coverage determination. United Developers is a licensed roofing and general contractor. We are not a public adjuster, not an insurance agent, and not a law firm, and adjusting or negotiating a claim on a homeowner's behalf is a separately licensed activity that we do not perform. Nothing on this page decides whether your loss is covered. Coverage depends on your specific policy, its endorsements and exclusions, the cause of loss, and your carrier's own determination. Read your policy, talk to your carrier, and consult a licensed professional about your particular situation. What we do is document the physical condition of your roof accurately and scope the repair honestly.

Step one: get the reason in writing

The common reasons, and what each one means

"Wear and tear, not a covered peril"

The most common denial on roofs, and the one most often worth a second look. The carrier is saying your roof failed because it is old, not because a storm damaged it. That is sometimes correct. It is also the default finding when the inspection was quick, the evidence was thin, or the damage is the kind that does not photograph well from a ladder at the eave. Better documentation — close-up dated photographs of impact marks, lifted courses and creasing, plus the collateral evidence on gutters, downspouts and soft metal — addresses this directly.

"Damage is below your deductible"

Not really a denial so much as arithmetic. Check whether you have a separate wind or hail deductible, because it is frequently a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat figure, and it is frequently much larger than your standard deductible. Also check whether the estimate missed line items, because a scope that omits flashing, drip edge, ventilation, disposal and permit fees can land under a deductible that a complete scope would clear.

A specific exclusion or a maintenance clause

Read the cited clause. Some policies exclude cosmetic damage to roofing, particularly to metal. Some limit or exclude coverage for roofs over a certain age. Some exclude damage that resulted from a pre-existing condition you were on notice about. These are the hardest to move because they are contractual, and the honest answer is frequently that the carrier is right.

Late notice, or insufficient documentation

Sometimes fixable by supplying what is missing. This is the argument for documenting before you clean up.

What actually helps

Better evidence, not louder argument. Dated, addressed, close-up photographs; a written line-item scope; the collateral damage on soft metal; and where relevant, weather data for the date of loss.
A line-by-line comparison of the carrier's estimate against a complete contractor scope, so omissions become visible and specific rather than a general feeling that the number is too low.
Asking for re-inspection with your contractor present. This is a normal request, not a confrontation.
Escalating within the carrier before escalating outside it. Claims supervisors exist.
Your state regulator. Maryland's Insurance Administration and Virginia's Bureau of Insurance both take consumer complaints about carrier conduct, and it costs nothing.
A licensed public adjuster or an attorney if the amount justifies it. Those are the people licensed to advocate on your behalf in a claim. We are not, and we will tell you when you have reached the point where you need one.

Where the line is

There is a real difference between a claim that was denied on thin evidence and a claim that should not have been filed. If your roof is worn out, no amount of documentation turns that into a covered loss, and anyone encouraging you to press it anyway is either wasting your time or steering you somewhere you should not go. We will tell you which situation you are in, and if the answer is that your roof is simply at the end of its life, we will talk about replacement on its own terms instead.

My Roof Insurance Claim Was Denied. What Now — common questions

Can I re-open a denied claim?

Carriers will generally reconsider on new information, and better documentation is new information. Ask specifically for a re-inspection with your contractor present rather than simply resubmitting the same material with a stronger tone.

Should I hire a public adjuster?

Sometimes. A licensed public adjuster works for you rather than the carrier and is licensed to negotiate on your behalf, which a contractor is not. They take a percentage, so the amount at stake has to justify it. On a larger loss with a genuine dispute it can be the right call.

Does a denied claim still count against me?

A reported claim is generally part of your claims history whether or not it paid, which is one more reason to find out whether you have documentable damage before you file rather than after.

My neighbours all got new roofs and I was denied. Why?

Adjusters are individuals looking at individual roofs, damage is not uniform even within one hail swath, and policies differ house to house. It is genuinely worth a second look with better documentation, but the fact that a neighbour was paid is not itself evidence about your roof.

Get the damage documented, free

Whatever you decide to do about a claim, the useful first step is knowing what is physically on your roof. Our inspection and dated photo report are free and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us — hand it to your carrier, to another contractor, or to nobody at all. We inspect across Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick and Baltimore counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.