Roof inspections in Carrollwood, FL

Statute 627.7011(5) bars an insurer from dropping a homeowner solely over a roof younger than 15 years. After 15 years, you may hire an authorized inspector to check the roof at your own expense. A report showing 5 or more years of useful life left limits age as the reason for refusal or non-renewal.

The statute names who can inspect: a roofing contractor, a licensed home inspector, a building code inspector, an engineer or an architect, plus anyone the insurer recognizes. Your insurer must sign off on the person you pick, so get its list before you book.

If your home is more than 20 years old and you apply to Citizens, it requires a 4-point inspection. Its roof section records the covering, roof age, remaining useful life, last permit date and any damage. Citizens asks for five years of remaining life on shingle roofs over 25 years old.

• Buying a home: get the roof checked before closing, since the seller's reroof date may be a guess.
• Selling: a written report with photos answers the buyer's insurer early.
• After a letter from your insurer about roof age: the 15-year rule lets you answer with an inspection.
• After a storm: a claim notice must reach the insurer within 1 year of the date of loss.

A roofer's inspection covers what the forms ask. That means covering condition, age, remaining life, leaks and damage such as curling, granule loss, soft decking and exposed felt. Wind mitigation adds attic items you cannot see yourself, like deck nailing and roof-to-wall connectors.

Hurricane Irma in 2017 passed between Tampa and Orlando as a category 1 hurricane, and Eta in 2020 put up to 10.64 inches of rain on parts of Hillsborough County. After storms like those, an inspection documents what changed on your roof.