I have a leak in the roof from last few days of rain. Can I file an insurance claim, would they consider this a weather related issue. The home is 20 years old. I know in the past there was hail storm in Fairfax area and insurances had covered many roof replacements in this area.

No

Fix it yourself. What a pussy.

Who is your insurance company? If it's anyone other than Erie or All state then you should get up on roof and tear off or damage a bunch of shingles...call insurance tell them you have a roof leak from wind damage and water in the interior. They will send out an adjuster to determine if roof is "repairable" or if they are going to but you a new roof. If shingles are too old or brittle to be repaired....voila new roof for the cost of your policy deductible.

Technically, insurance fraud but pretty standard and essentially you're Robbin hooding the evil insurance company.

^ I wouldnt follow this advice. Insurance fraud is serious business and can get you thrown in jail.

If you have an all risk policy, it will cover any interior water damage from a roof leak. It will not pay for a deteriorated roof which is what you most likely have.

Stabitha Wrote:
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> ^ I wouldnt follow this advice. Insurance fraud is
> serious business and can get you thrown in jail.
>
> If you have an all risk policy, it will cover any
> interior water damage from a roof leak. It will
> not pay for a deteriorated roof which is what you
> most likely have.

That's correct. Depends on the policy of course, but standard homeowner coverage would be that the water damage is covered but the leaky roof is not. There may be a remaining warranty on the roof, but after 20 years, it would not be worth much. A homeowner should expect (and be prepared) to replace the roof every 25 years or so in any case, and a little less than that with a builder-installed roof would not be far from normal. This is just one of the costs of doing business if you own your own home. Things like the furnace, a/c, and water heater are on a similar timeline with major appliances and exterior paint on somewhat shorter ones, Still, it's possible that a patch-job for the roof is all that's needed at the present time. A new roof could easly run $15K and up while a patch would cost much less than that. Best either way to have a reputable roofer or two come over and tell you what they think.

Meanwhile, insurance fraud is always a bad idea as you say, but many low-lifes do like to think of and portray themselves as randy little bad boys who are expert at beating the system and coloring outside the lines. In their minds, outsmarting such dummies as the police, insurance companies, the IRS, or the DMV is child's play. Serious folks of course grew out of that silly phase by like the 4th grade.

The insurance industry is one of the few that share information with competitors. They have an industry-wide shit list for morons like the OP.

You might scam them once, but once you're on that list, you won't get insurance on anything, anywhere, for any price.

^ Very true. Once you get thrown out of the club, it's a long road back in.

uninsure Wrote:
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> The insurance industry is one of the few that
> share information with competitors. They have an
> industry-wide shit list for morons like the OP.
>
> You might scam them once, but once you're on that
> list, you won't get insurance on anything,
> anywhere, for any price.


This is true and it goes beyond just claims. Virtually ANY substantive discussion that you have with your company likely will be entered. I learned this when my own company accidentally sent me a print-out from whatever system it is that they used (don't recall the name now). They had a detailed record of every time that I'd called with any little question. I suppose that they want a record if you, for example, call about coverage and then later report some related event and/or to determine potential indications of added risk.

tl/dr version being, be cautious re when you talk to your insurance company, don't get into hypotheticals, and be aware that there very likely will be a record made.

depends what kind of insurance you have its not covered in the basic plan though