You have suffered damage to your roof and want to know how your home insurance compensate ? We take stock to define, depending on the context, how you will be refunded.
Storm, storm: what insurance for your roof?
Slate or broken tile, leak in the roof, roof blown away, a climatic event can cause quite heavy roof damage. Rest assured, if you have taken out home insurance with the right guarantees, you can expect compensation.
If you have taken out multi-risk home insurance including the storm guarantee, you can be compensated. In the event of a damaged roof, this insurance covers you by taking charge of the repairs carried out by a roofer. Please note, however, that your contract may impose a deductible. This is the amount remaining at your expense after compensation from the roof insurance.
If you are not the victim of a severe climatic event, the water damage warranty can intervene. Please note: in this context, in the event of infiltration through the roof, this insurance only covers your interior repairs (walls, infiltrators, damaged furniture, etc.).
Roof insurance: the amount of the deductible
The deductible of a home insurance policy may apply to water infiltration damage related to your roof (broken tile, loose slate, etc.). This deductible can be fixed or percentage.
Examples:
- you have taken out a home insurance contract with a fixed deductible of €150. Repairs cost €1,000. The insurance company only reimburses you €850;
- you have a percentage deductible by 10%. The repairs amount to €2,000. The amount of the deductible is €200. When the deductible is calculated in this way, be aware that insurers generally set a ceiling for the remainder to be paid (500 € for example).
Roof and natural disaster insurance
If the weather event is significant (storm, hail, torrential rain, etc.), your municipality may be subject to a natural disaster order. If an interministerial order has been published in the Official Journal to this effect, you can expect compensation from the insurance for damage to your roof only, subject to having taken out the natural disaster cover.
Be aware that this time the deductible is legally fixed. It is €380, whatever your contract and the level of your guarantees.
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Does roof damage insurance cover ancillary damage?
If you have a water infiltration in the roof, the insurance covers you (according to the guarantees taken out) and pays for the repairs. In the event of a roof leak, does the insurance cover additional damage (damage to insulation, walls, etc.)? The answer is yes. Your contractmulti-risk home insurance can compensate you if you carry out all the necessary repairs for the damage caused by a roof problem.
Naturally, it must be the consequences of a guaranteed act (storm, hail, etc.). Without external cause, if you have a dilapidated roofthe insurance will not cover anything insofar as it is negligence.
Roof damaged by a third party and home insurance
If the insurance intervenes in the event of roof leak following a climatic event for example, it can also occur in other circumstances. Let’s take a simple example: your neighbour’s tree is uprooted and falls on your roof. In this case public liability of your neighbor is engaged. He must make a statement to his insurance so that it can compensate you.
If you have taken out comprehensive multi-risk insurance, you can be compensated by your own insurer. The neighbour’s insurer will then reimburse your insurance company.
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Damage to a roof and insurance: tenant or owner?
The question of the tenant’s or landlord’s liability often arises in matters of home insurance and claims handling. Broken tile, roof leak in case of heavy rain, it is the tenant’s insurance that will cover the accommodation. Remember for all intents and purposes that all tenants are obliged to take out a home insurance contract. Its only obligation is to take out a contract against rental risks including water damage, fire or explosion.
At first glance, one might think that depending on the origin of the damage to the roof, the insurance may not compensate you and that you must have taken out multi-risk home insurance with more comprehensive guarantees in order to consider coverage. . In reality, any home insurance contract includes storm cover, as stipulated in article L 122-7 of the Insurance Code. The tenant’s insurance can intervene to repair damage caused inside the accommodation if the cause of the damage is not a violent climatic event. It can also reimburse damage to the roof.
In revenge, if the dilapidated of the roof is the cause of damage to the accommodation, the owner is held liable and will have to pay for the repairs. His insurance will not be able to intervene, negligence being part of the exclusions to the contract.
Frequently asked questions about insurance and roof damage
How do I report a roof damage?
In order to declare a claim on your roof, you must notify the insurance company within 5 working days. The declaration can be made by telephone, in an agency, by post or via your customer area, depending on the insurers.
In the event that the state of natural disaster is declared, you have 10 days from the publication in the Official Journal to make your claim declaration.
Who is responsible for the roof?
It’s the owner who has to carry out the major work and who is responsible for renovating and maintaining the roof of a dwelling. In case of damage to the roof, the tenant’s insurance intervenes.
On the other hand, if the damage results from the dilapidated of the roof, the insurance does not cover you, the owner will have to assume the repair work.
How to calculate the age of a roof?
During the intervention of the insurance following damage to the roof, your insurer can apply a coefficient of dilapidation. For example, for a roof worth €20,000, if a rate of obsolescence of 20% is applied, the compensation for redoing the roof will only be €16,000.