Roof inspections in Florida City, FL

Florida Statute 627.7011(5) bars an insurer from refusing a homeowner policy only because the roof has not yet reached 15 years. Once a roof is 15 or older, your insurer has to allow an inspection by an authorized inspector, paid for by you. A result of 5 or more years of useful life left takes age off the table as the sole reason to drop you.

An authorized inspector can be a roofing contractor, a licensed home inspector, a building code inspector, an engineer or an architect, once your insurer accepts that person. Citizens wants a 4-point inspection once a property passes 20 years. The roof part of that form lists the covering, age, remaining life, last permit date, and damage such as curling, granule loss, soft decking and attic leaks.

Citizens wants documented remaining life of at least five years for shingle roofs older than 25 years and hard roofs such as tile or metal older than 50 years. What your own policy covers is a question for your insurer or agent to answer.

• Buying or selling: an inspection records age and remaining life before the contract closes.
• After an insurer letter: a roof of 15 years or more can be inspected before any replacement is required.
• After a storm: Miami-Dade sits in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, and Hurricane Andrew's August 1992 damage here shaped that code.
• Before wind mitigation: the form OIR-B1-1802 asks about deck attachment and roof-to-wall connections, which are in the attic.

Mind the deadlines after a storm: a Florida City owner has 1 year from the date of loss to give the insurer notice of a new claim, and 18 months for a supplemental one. A roofer who inspects for you may not offer anything of value for the inspection, and may not advise you on coverage, per Fla. Stat. 489.147.