Does Building Insurance Cover Commercial Roof Replacement?
Does Your Building Insurance Cover Replacing Your Commercial Roof?
The Time To Check Is Before You Need To Use It
Commercial building insurance in the Houston area is a lot more complicated than homeowner’s insurance. Business owners have to monitor their policies for changes constantly, and their reporting responsibilities are extensive. Tracking and reporting changes to the property can mean the difference between an issue being covered or solving it on your dime.
Commercial Building Policies
Commercial building policies are rarely one size fits all. They are complicated documents that only cover items and situations that are explicitly stated in the policy. If there are any additions or changes to your property after the policy has been put in place, there’s an excellent chance that they won’t be covered unless you add them to your policy.
More than that, if those changes cause damage to items already listed in your policy, the insurance won’t cover the damage.
So, it is essential that you not only report every new piece of equipment or change to your insurer, but you must also closely monitor any work done on your building, especially on your roof.
If an equipment installer accidentally impacts the integrity of your roof, you can bet your bottom dollar that your insurance adjuster will notice it and invalidate your claim. Then you’ll have to rely on the courts to recoup your expenses from the company that installed the equipment, and the result of a lawsuit is never certain.
Ensuring Your Commercial Roof Coverage
The first step of making sure that you have ample insurance coverage for your commercial roof is to perform a careful reading of your policy, paying particular attention to verify that roof replacement and wind damage are covered under your policy.
Once you’ve taken steps to make your roof coverage as comprehensive as possible, you’ll need to maintain that coverage through careful record keeping covering items such as:
- Annual roof inspections by a certified commercial roofing contractor
- New equipment such as air conditioning units, signs, or communications equipment (anything attached to your roof or fascia)
- Logging all personnel that enter the roof area and their purpose for being there
- Any repairs that are done to the roof (due diligence)
- Warranties on all materials and equipment on the roof
A failure to keep records or properly maintain your commercial roof is a chance that any damage claim you file will be rejected, so it pays to be as detail-oriented as possible.
Filing A Commercial Roofing Claim
When you experience damage to your commercial roof, it’s always a good idea to call your insurer right away and then have your roofing contractor inspected it as soon as possible.
A professional inspection will give you a better idea of the extent of the damage to your roof, and the inspector will often spot damage that a building owner or maintenance staffer might miss.
Hopefully, the company you’ve been calling for damage assessment has been maintaining and inspecting your roof for some time. In that case, their familiarity with your roof and the records of their inspections will make your claim more likely to be accepted by your insurer.
The more detailed the records on your building, the better off you will be when disaster strikes.
If you own a commercial building in the Houston area and want to ensure that your roof stays in good condition, contact us at Houston Roofing and Construction to schedule an inspection. Our inspectors are thorough, and we maintain excellent records for all our commercial clients.