Metal Roofs and Home insurance
Depending on where you live, an investment in metal roofing can lower the cost of your homeowner's insurance. Typical discounts include a reduction in premiums associated with fire damage.
Because steel roofing is fire-resistant, many regions of the country have implemented insurance discounts for the owners of homes with roofs designed to prevent damage by airborne cinders. This is especially important for people living in areas prone to wild fires where fire insurance premiums can be very high.
Note that insurance discounts may not be automatically applied. Your insurance agent typically will not know what type of roof you have unless you say something. It's up to you to ask your agent and make sure that you are getting applicable discounts: your agent should have all of the information that you need in order to understand and take advantage of these types of discounts.
Owning a steel roof may affect your homeowner's insurance. But how much and why? Here's a list of questions you might want to consider asking your insurance agent.
- Metal roofs add resale value to my home. Does that mean my insurance premiums will go up in the meantime?
- A metal roof withstands all weather conditions, including snow, freeze/thaw cycles, hail damage, and hurricane force winds. Will I receive a discount for having a steel roof that protects my home so well?
- Steel roofs carry a Class A fire rating (most resistant) as established by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Will that lower my insurance costs?
- Does my current homeowner's policy offer a discount on insurance premiums for homeowner's who install or buy a home with a metal roof?