Our clients need to be aware of these statutory changes to roofing laws that were put into effect to stop fraudulent insurance claims.
News COMMERCIAL ROOFING By Riolit Martha On Sep 6, 2021
New Florida roofing laws affect insurance mainly due to hurricanes and strong storms, Florida is one of the few states with extensive roofing regulations.
Now the laws of how to get your roof repaired or replaced have changed. A new law in Florida went into effect July 1 that changes the way roofers and insurance companies handle claims and how homeowners can file claims. The focus is on the containment of fraud in roofing claims.
Amanda Smith, director of marketing for R / J Group Inc., outlined the key changes homeowners and business owners need to know.
• Property insurance claims, supplementary claims and recovery claims must be made within two years.
• Property insurers must completely replace roofs under 10 years of age.
• For roofs that are more than 10 years old, property insurers can now use a “roof area compensation plan” for the sale of policies, which essentially offers reduced coverage depending on the age and type of roof and adjusts claims to the actual cash value (this does not apply to a Total loss caused by a “covered risk”).
• Property insurers can offer homeowners the option of purchasing a government ceiling for roof cover.
• Owners must give the insurance company 60 days notice before filing a lawsuit.
• Lawyers filing lawsuits on behalf of contractors are now restricted from charging insurance disputes.
• Building contractors and public appraisers can no longer incentivize property owners or accept incentives for referrals. RELATED POSTS ABC Supply Co. Inc. Recognizes Two Associates with Company’s… Sep 28, 2021 Solar Integrated Roofing Corp. to Present at LD Micro Main… Sep 28, 2021 Global Composite Slate Roofing Market Report 2021 Sep 28, 2021
• Roofers are no longer allowed to advertise door-to-door, which is crucial for some roofing companies in their marketing plan.
Aside from soliciting and offering no incentives, roofers and contractors in central Florida are minimally affected. For the R / J Group, the new law doesn’t change anything for them, as the company doesn’t believe in these practices anyway.
Kyle Johnson, R / J Group’s Sales Director and Service Manager, added, “Shortly after the law was passed, the roofing industry was questioning it to some extent. They are reviewing the law and are going to have to make some very big changes. There is actually a law about how roofers can approach customers about their insurance. It is strictly a law to curb fraud claims in the roofing industry. “
He said the law touches on some freedom of expression concerns, such as roofers advising clients on insurance benefits. Roofers know what to look for in order to cover roofing problems with insurance, with some developing “a whole bunch of sales tactics”.
However, Mr Johnson stressed that the R / J Group is solely focused on being a quality roofer and generating its business through word of mouth.
One type of clapboard is known as lifelong clapboard, but Mr Johnson stated that some home insurance companies would not take out policies on roofs that are more than 10 years old.
“We saw a lot of it,” he said. “This is very worrying considering that your roof is no longer good, even though the manufacturer says you still have a long life expectancy. You need to take out home insurance. As the roofs get older it becomes extremely difficult to get the insurance writer to wear these policies.
“ He recommended annual roof inspections during which potential problems could be identified and corrected. So if a storm does significant damage, the paperwork will show that the roof was fine before the storm. Some guarantees require roof audits and are serviced annually anyway. “There are significant cost savings when doing this proactively rather than reactively,” he said.
Regardless of which roofing company you hire, at least an annual inspection with necessary repairs is a good idea to reduce the chance of catastrophic storm damage while staying up to date with new roofing laws.
