Homeowners Insurance Guide

At PITCH Roofing, we understand that navigating Florida homeowners’ insurance can be challenging, especially when it comes to roof replacements. That’s why we have a licensed insurance adjuster on staff, ready to assist you through every step of the process. Our expertise ensures you receive the guidance and support you need to manage your claim smoothly, helping you secure the coverage you deserve for your new roof. Trust PITCH Roofing to be your partner in protecting your home, from start to finish.

The Pitch Roofing Difference

At PITCH Roofing, we believe in fair and transparent pricing, no matter the circumstances. Unlike others, we will never price gouge you or your insurance company after a hurricane. Our prices remain consistent whether it’s before or after a storm, no matter how busy we get. We prioritize integrity and trust, working on a first-come, first-served basis to ensure every homeowner receives the attention and service they deserve. With PITCH Roofing, you can rest easy knowing you’re in honest, reliable hands.

Homeowners insurance is a big deal everywhere, but in Florida especially. Between the homeowners insurance crisis, major hurricanes becoming more common, and confusion about how to use insurance, Floridians have a lot of questions about their homes’ coverage.

PITCH Roofing is here to give clear, reliable answers. As veteran Florida roofing contractors, we’ve been working with both homeowners and their insurance companies for years. In this comprehensive guide to Florida homeowners insurance, we’re covering how Florida homeowners insurance got to where it is, how to make a claim that will be approved, and how to lower your insurance premium.

But first, let’s start with some background about how Florida got into its current homeowners insurance crisis!

The History of the Homeowners Insurance Crisis in Florida

Since 2017, more than a dozen major homeowners insurance companies in Florida have been liquidated. And this number doesn’t even include the dozens of insurers who have pulled out of Florida entirely or stopped offering homeowners insurance policies in the Sunshine State.

The result is fewer options for consumers and much higher premiums. Clearly something is wrong in the world of Florida homeowners insurance, but what is it?

There are several causes behind the homeowners insurance crisis, and we’re going to look at each one individually so you can have the complete picture.

Natural Disasters

Florida is seeing more and more major hurricanes, especially those coming from the Gulf of Mexico. Homeowners are seeing extreme damage to their property as more powerful storms continue to batter Florida. And fixing that damage is not cheap. In 2018 alone, the federal government released an estimate that Florida had spent between $5 and $10 billion recovering from major storms.

Most of this damage is a direct result of high winds during hurricanes. Shingles can rarely withstand winds exceeding 110 mph, so when a major hurricane comes to town, it’s normal for homeowners to find shingles in their yards the next morning. In the worst-case scenario, you may even lose enough shingles to require a roof replacement, which is a major expense for insurers.

The high winds from hurricanes aren’t the only problem, though. Flooding is becoming a larger issue thanks to storm surge, as Tampa Bay saw with Hurricane Helene. Areas that have not traditionally flooded are now seeing significant flooding during major storms, which further increases the amount that insurance companies have to pay out to their policyholders.

Property insurance providers have taken notice of Florida’s natural disasters in a big way. Year after year, they find themselves having to pay out more and more to undo the damage of Florida’s frequent storms. This has led to thinner profit margins, and some insurance providers have had to liquidate as a result.

Even for insurers who are still making enough to keep operating, though, this situation isn’t sustainable. Insurance providers are businesses first, so as profit margins get thinner, they see less reason to stay. And with so many other states where natural disasters are less common, many insurers are deciding that the safe bet is to leave Florida before they go under.

High Property Values

The above problem is especially bad because of Florida’s ever-rising property values. It’s no secret that homes have gotten expensive in Florida, especially the Greater Tampa Bay region. In fact, the median cost of a home in Florida was over $415,000 in 2023. Since most homeowners take out policies worth at least the value of their homes, insurance providers have been paying out larger and larger sums after major storms.

In this way, the Florida homeowners insurance crisis compounds on itself over time. Natural disasters lead to more frequent payouts, and those amounts only get higher because property in Florida is extremely valuable right now. This leaves insurance companies in a tight spot, but it also makes life harder for Floridians who just want affordable coverage to protect their homes.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the full extent of Florida’s homeowners insurance problems. “Storm chaser” roofers have caused a lot of the damage that Floridians are still dealing with.

Fraudulent Storm Chasers

First, let’s define what a storm chaser is. Storm chaser roofers are people who blow into town after a storm and offer very low-cost roofing services. If you’ve ever had someone knock on your door after a storm and offer to take a look at your roof, there’s a very good chance that you’ve met a storm chaser.

On the surface, they offer a great deal — local contractors can get busy after a disaster and have wait lists, while storm chasers are readily available almost always have the lowest prices. There are a couple of crucial problems with storm chasers though. And because of these problems, storm chasers have caused countless headaches for Florida homeowners and their insurers.

For one thing, storm chasers rarely do quality work. They’re often unlicensed, and getting a new roof from unlicensed roofers is a fast way to run into problems with your insurance provider. In the rare cases where they have valid licenses, they often rely on cheap labor and materials. This means that their work is shoddy, prone to failure, and likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Another major issue with storm chaser roofers is that they’re often dishonest. They’ll promise you a free roof because your insurance will cover it then bill your insurance company for much more than the value of their work. This further increases the financial strain on insurers, who then have more incentive to leave Florida.

The worst part? Storm chasers don’t stick around. By the time you can complain about the leaks in your roof or your troubles with your insurance policy, they’ve already moved on to the next area and there’s nobody to hold accountable. This leaves you with little recourse, which is why it’s important to pick reliable, local roofing contractors when you need roofing work done.

The Future of Homeowners Insurance in Florida

The good news is that steps are being taken to address the homeowners insurance crisis in Florida. In 2022, the Florida legislature passed measures to create a fund for homeowners insurance providers to use to pay out policies in the event of a natural disaster. This means that you will still be able to submit a claim in the event of a natural disaster.

There are other ways that Florida is trying to lessen the damage from the crisis, too. Citizens Property Insurance is one example. Often called the “insurer of last resort,” Citizens covers homes that wouldn’t qualify for coverage on the private market. Citizens is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt entity. This means they help homeowners maintain coverage as other insurers leave the state.

The My Safe Florida Home program is another crucial part of fighting the homeowners insurance crisis. This publicly funded program allows homeowners to make hurricane-proofing upgrades to their homes while paying only a fraction of the total costs. By making homes more secure, homeowners enjoy lower insurance rates and insurers are less likely to have to pay out policies, which helps everybody.

Later in this guide, we’ll give you tips for lowering your insurance premium using the My Safe Florida Home program. But for now, we want to focus on how you can make the most of your coverage and submit an insurance claim that has a high chance of being approved.

How to Get Homeowners Insurance to Pay for a New Roof

There are clearly problems in Florida’s property insurance industry. But that doesn’t change the fact that when a storm damages your roof, you need and deserve to use your policy to pay for the repairs or replacement. If you’re not sure how to go about filing an insurance claim for a roof replacement or repairs, PITCH has got you covered.

While your policy documents can look complex and confusing, the truth is that you can submit a claim in as little as four easy steps. Now, let’s talk about how you can start filing your claim for a roof replacement or repairs!

1. Review Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

With Florida’s high homeowners insurance premiums, it’s tempting to think that having insurance means you never have to pay for roofing services. Unfortunately, the truth is a bit more complicated. With homeowners insurance policies, your coverage only kicks in under certain set conditions.

The good news is that most homeowners insurance policies cover storm damage. To be sure, though, it’s best to review your policy. If you can’t find your policy or the technical language isn’t helpful, you can also reach out to your agent with any questions about your policy.

Generally speaking though, you can expect your homeowners insurance policy to cover you if your roofing damage is due to any of the following:

• High winds (e.g., missing shingles)
• Water damage (e.g. leaks caused by a hurricane)
• Hail (e.g., damaged shingles or cracked tiles)

Once you’ve confirmed that your policy will cover your roofing damage, you can get ready to make your claim to your insurance provider. Insurers receive many claims, though, and they hire people specifically to look for situations where they don’t have to pay out your policy. That’s why it’s essential to start gathering evidence for your home insurance claim.

2. Gather Proof for Your Roofing Insurance Claim

Because of dishonest storm chasers, insurance providers are more cautious with paying out claims than ever before. So when submitting your claim, you need to prove two things. First, that your roof has sustained damage. And second, that a storm caused that damage.

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to prove that your roof has been damaged. Start by taking photos of the damage — as detailed as you can get. If you can get up on your roof to take close-up photos, great. If not and you can’t see the damage from your yard, most roofing companies will be happy to take photos of the damage as part of a routine roof inspection. When taking these photos, it’s best to have both close-up shots and far-away pictures. This ensures that your insurer can see the details of the damage as well as its overall effect on your roof.

Your next step is to prove that a severe weather event damaged your roof. This is pretty simple for hurricanes. All you have to do is send a news article showing that your area was affected by a major storm. Alternatively, if, say, a tree fell on your roof, it would be enough to take a photo of the tree from the ground to show where it was and how it fell on your roof.

Once you’ve collected evidence for your claim, you’re ready to submit it. After a hurricane, you’ll want to submit a claim ASAP. Lots of other homeowners in your area are likely also trying to get insurance to pay for their roofs, and processing all of these requests takes time. The sooner you start, the sooner you can get approved.

But even if your insurer agrees that you’ve met the requirements of your policy, your work isn’t done quite yet. After all, you still have to establish exactly what kinds of roofing services you need and who’s going to perform them.

3. Get a Roof Inspection to Determine What Your Roof Needs

At this point, you’ve already proven that a severe weather event damaged your roof. Now you just need to determine what kind of roofing services you need. For most insurers, the only acceptable way to determine that is by scheduling a roof inspection.

As part of your inspection, a roofing professional will take a look at your roof to assess the damage. If your roof is structurally sound, they will access your roof to take a closer look at the issues. They probably won’t need to enter your home to inspect your roof. However, they may need to talk to you about the issues you’ve noticed or look at a leaking ceiling from the inside.

Once they’ve completed the inspection, your roofer will recommend either replacing your roof or repairing a smaller section of damage. You’ll then submit this recommendation to your insurer so that they can approve the repairs or replacement that you need.

It’s important to be choosey when picking roof inspectors, though. For one thing, if your inspector isn’t affiliated with a licensed roofing company, your insurer probably won’t accept their report as valid. It’s also useful to pick roofers who know the insurance process and have done this before. Submitting a vague, unofficial report is almost as bad as not submitting any report at all.

A roof inspection is a crucial part of making a homeowners insurance claim for your roof. That’s partially because your insurer needs to know what services you need, but also because your insurer needs to know how much those services are going to cost.

4. Collect Roofing Estimates

At this point, the only thing left to do is find out how much your roofing services will cost your insurer. Since you’ve already gotten a roof inspection, this should be no problem! When talking to your insurance agent, they should be able to tell you about their requirements for roofing estimates.

For instance, some insurers only want to see one estimate and will pay that. For others, they may require estimates from multiple roofers. Other insurers might want multiple estimates from the same roofer. For example, if you need a roof replacement, they might want estimates for shingles, tiles, and metal. Generally speaking though, we wouldn’t recommend expecting your insurer to cover the cost of upgrading your roof from shingles to metal.

As mentioned above, storm chasers are infamous for over-inflating their roofing estimates. That’s why it’s important to get an estimate from local roofers you can trust. At PITCH, we offer free, no-obligation roofing estimates so you can know exactly what you’re paying for and compare your options apples to apples. With insurance companies so wary of paying out more than they have to, this directness and transparency is exactly what your insurer is looking for! And with licensed insurance adjusters on staff, there is no better crew to help you navigate the insurance claim process.

Lowering Your Insurance Premium Through Roofing

In Florida, homeowners insurance premiums are higher than ever. And for most Floridians, those numbers are only going to increase. But there are ways to improve your roof and thus lower your premium, and some of these methods don’t even require much up-front investment on your part.

Because of the state of homeowners insurance in Florida, insurers are extremely risk averse. Every old, worn-down roof makes them worry about potential payouts they could have to make. That’s why upgrading your roof can significantly lower your homeowners insurance premiums — by giving your insurer assurance that your home is protected, they’ll see you as a lower risk and offer you better rates.

There are many different ways to upgrade a roof, though. Let’s talk about some of the ways you can lower your homeowners insurance in Florida by taking care of your roof!

Roof Replacements

If you have a 20-year-old shingle roof, you’re probably paying a lot to insure that roof. In some cases, you may technically be able to get by for another couple of years before time or a weather event forces you to replace it. But in others, the right call could be installing a new roof to lower your insurance rates.

A roof at the end of its life is extremely vulnerable to storm damage, and insurers know that. That’s why insurers charge more for old shingle roofs, even if there’s technically nothing wrong with them. By getting a new shingle roof put on with high-quality architectural shingles, you can greatly strengthen your hurricane protection. While this requires some up-front investment, it could be cheaper in the long run by saving you money on insurance premiums.

And that’s just for replacing a shingle roof with new shingles. There is one way to get an even boost to your home’s protection: you can save money by upgrading to a metal roof.

Going from shingles to metal roofing is a big improvement to your roof’s security. Whereas shingle roofs start to lose shingles at around 110 mph, metal roofs can easily withstand winds of 140 mph or more. Metal roofs also last much longer — three times as long as shingle roofs in some cases.

Your insurer knows all of this, so by upgrading to a metal roof, you can drastically lower your level of risk and enjoy cheaper premiums. If metal roofing is in the budget, it could save you a lot of money in the long run!

Hurricane-Resistant Roof Improvements

You don’t have to replace your entire roof to lower insurance premiums and keep your home safe. In fact, there are several simple improvements you can make to your roof that will greatly improve how well your home stands up to tropical storms and hurricanes.

Some of the best ways to upgrade your roof without fully replacing it include:

• Hurricane Straps: These strips of metal re-adhere your roof to your home’s walls. This means that, even in the event of a hurricane, your roof isn’t going anywhere. These have been a requirement of new constructions since 2002, but your roof may not have them if it hasn’t been replaced since then.
• Secondary Water Barrier: Every roof comes with a water-resistant underlayment. But adding a secondary water barrier can further improve water resistance and reduce your risk of leaks in the event that your roof loses shingles during a storm.
• Roof Deck Attachments: Similar to hurricane straps, roof deck attachments help adhere your roof to the rest of your structure. This ensures that in all but the most severe weather, your roof will stay put.

Making any of these roof improvements can protect your home in the event of a disaster and lower your homeowners insurance premiums. But at PITCH, we know the funds for roofing upgrades aren’t always there. If you’re interested in a way to save money while upgrading your roof, the My Safe Florida Home program could be exactly what you need.

My Safe Florida Home

For years and across multiple rounds of funding, the My Safe Florida Home program has been helping Floridians improve the hurricane resistance of their homes. But how does this program work, and how do you use it?

There is one important note to make at the start. At the time of writing in October 2024, My Safe Florida Home has used up all of its funding and is not accepting new applications. That said, the program has run out of funding before and was then replenished in future legislative sessions. This means that there is every possibility that this program will receive more funding in 2025 and the coming years.

Here’s how it works: For every $1 you spend on approved improvements (including the roof upgrades above), the program will give you $2, up to $10,000. For example, if you spent $15,000 on roof upgrades, My Safe Florida Home would give you back $10,000.

That’s why this program is so popular among Florida homeowners. You can make significant roof upgrades while paying only a third of the total roofing costs. And when you consider the lower insurance premiums you’ll have after improving your roof’s safety, the savings could be even greater.

When My Safe Florida Home receives more funding, you can find details on how to apply on their website. Historically, though, the program has given priority to low-income households as well as seniors. You can also check our website for future updates — as experienced local contractors, we’re the first to hear about changes to these programs, and we’ll always keep you informed of the latest roofing news in Florida!

Choose Roofers Who Know Florida Homeowners Insurance

If we’ve proven anything here today, it’s that the state of Florida homeowners insurance is complicated. Because of these complexities, you need local roofers who understand the insurance market to handle your roofing work. While quality workmanship is extremely important, it’s not the only thing you need in roofers. You also need local expertise and knowledge of problems that really matter to Florida homeowners.

As licensed Florida roofers, nobody knows local roofing better than the dedicated team at PITCH. We even have great roofing reviews to back that up. With excellent local standing and decades of experience, our crews can help you navigate any insurance hurdles and give you high-quality roofing services that you can count on to last.

If you have any questions or want to talk about how we can help with your roofing problems, call us at 727-607-4511. Alternatively, you can schedule a free roofing estimate online. For roof replacements, you can even get an online-only estimate that skips the in-person inspection! This way, you can get a reliable roofing quote without any inconvenience or hassle.

Dealing with homeowners insurance headaches can be confusing and overwhelming. But with experienced pros on your side, you’ll have a reliable crew of professionals watching out for you and helping to answer your questions about roofing and insurance!