By: Christina M. Diaz | Ansbacher Law
Is the roof on your home more than 10 years old? The cost of roof replacements have recently changed after Florida Senate Bill 76 became law. Under Florida SB 76, if your roof is older than 10 years and destroyed in a hurricane, your insurance company may pay you only the value of the old roof at the time, not 100% of the replacement cost. You would be stuck with the cash value of your old roof and not the cost to replace it. So, if hurricane damage requires an entire roof to be replaced, the insurance company would only have to cover a small percentage of the roof. This includes your deductible. Insurance will provide for reimbursement amounts of no less than 25 percent of the cost to replace the roof if not a metal type roof, a concrete or clay tile roof, wood shale or wood shingle roof.
This could also impact the cost of insurance coverage, as companies can charge more the for the coverage of older roofs. However, Florida Senators hope that with time, the insurance rates will ultimately come down after fraudulent claims become more infrequent.
Florida SB 76 is sponsored mainly by insurance agents or insurance executives. This bill decreases coverage and consumers were generally unaware of it being passed.
Ansbacher Law is here to help in the event that this impacts you. Please call us at 904-737-4600 or email us at info@ansbacher.net to speak to us about how we may be able to assist.
CHRISTINA M. DIAZ is a litigation legal assistant at Ansbacher Law. She has been with the firm for more than 7 years, and focuses her work on construction defect litigation.
