Renovating Your Roof Can Lower Insurance Premiums; 3 Materials to Consider

If you’ve replaced your home’s roof in the past few years, you might be entitled to a discount when you compare homeowners insurance rates. Of course, to get the discount, you’ll have to remember to ask for it when you’re getting the quote. It’s also important to note replacement periods vary from insurer to insurer, so be careful to determine whether your replacement falls within your company’s parameters.

Roofing Shields Against Many Hazards

Your roof is the umbrella protecting your home from a wide variety of vulnerabilities. Renovating your roof can lower insurance premiums because it gives your home a greater capacity to withstand the vagaries of fire, wind, rain, hail, snow and even tornadoes and hurricanes. However, some roofing materials can render your home more attractive to embers, which can blossom into a full-scale conflagration. If you live in an urban/woodland interface area prone to forest fires, you’ll want to avoid wood shake, as this type of roof burns quite readily.

With that said, these three materials tend to provide the best all-around protection.

Asphalt Shingles

A fiberglass foundation is coated with asphalt and ceramic granules to create asphalt shingles, one of the least expensive roofing materials available. While the presence of asphalt might lead you to believe these shingles represent more of a fire hazard (asphalt is petroleum based), asphalt shingles do a good job of resisting flames— as long as the ceramic granules are intact. This, by extension means annual inspections are important to ensure they have not been compromised. Asphalt shingles are also more susceptible to damage by high winds. So while they are one of the most affordable roofing materials, you’ll have to keep a pretty constant eye on them.

Faux Slate

While genuine slate is a highly desirable roofing material, it can be rather heavy, which could put a lot of strain on your home’s supporting structure. Faux slate offers many of the same properties as the genuine article, while also being lighter and less expensive. These are typically constructed of a composite of plastic and polymer, as well as clay, rubber or asphalt While a bit more maintenance free than asphalt shingles, faux slate does tend to crack and fade as it ages, so you’ll need to be vigilant for those changes.

Metal

One of the most soothing sounds you’ll ever hear is the gentle patter of a light rain on a metal roof. Offered in a variety of elements including copper, tin, aluminum, steel and various alloys, metal roofs tend to be quite expensive. However, they also offer the greatest longevity and fire resistance. Metal also keeps your home cooler in hot climates because it is reflective.

Renovating your roof can lower insurance premiums when you compare insurance quotes, as long as you use a material appropriate to your location. Doing so will also prevent secondary damage to your home. Aside from insurance help provided by CoverHound, a renovated roof is one of the best protection polices you can get.