Why Insurance Pays for Roofs

Sometimes, homeowners or property owners are resistant to using their insurance, even though they’ve been paying their premiums month after month.

There’s fear about making a claim, which, oftentimes, means we LOSE those deals.

Sometimes, those deals are for more marginal or smaller damage because the homeowner doesn’t see it as significant. They think:

The roof seems fine. It’s not leaking. I don’t want to do anything about it now. I’ll handle it later.

Well, guess what?

That’s on us because we did not communicate, educate, and inform our property owners on how to make a wise decision regarding what to do about their roof.

So, I’m going to teach you a sales style based on this popular saying:

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

I’ll be teaching you how to:

1. Lead the horse to water
2. Get the horse really thirsty while leading them up to that water, so they WANT to drink it

How & Why This Roofing Sales Style Works

Now, this approach can work REALLY well if you’re patient and you really care about your customer’s experience.

But if you take a more forceful or aggressive sales approach — meaning you take command and tell your homeowners what to do, pushing them into getting that claim filed — that’s kind of like holding the bucket of water and tossing at the horse.

Those are two VERY different approaches.

And, in my opinion, the education approach works a whole lot better because we’re guiding the horse and getting the horse thirsty. In other words, it’s a way of getting that homeowner to feel confident about making a decision and to get them to feel as though they did it out of their own free will.

That way, they’ll think, Hey, I made the right choice. That means:

1. They don’t cancel on you.
2. They LOVE working with you.

We’ll dive into all of this in a moment, but first, I just want to say welcome or welcome back. My name is Adam Bensman, The Roof Strategist. Everything I do here — and on my YouTube channel, Instagram, my podcast (on Apple and Spotify) and in my all-in-one sales training, sales strategy, and sales system, the Roofing Sales Success Formula & Complete Sales Strategy — is designed to help you and your team smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And that amazing experience starts by

• Winning the customer over
• Informing them about what they’re actually facing

So, I’m going to cover:

1. The 3 reasons why insurance companies cover roof replacements
2. Some mock roleplay to show you exactly how I explain this to homeowners

3 Reasons Why Insurance Companies Cover Roof Replacements

First, I’m going to lay out the foundation for you, explaining each reason why insurers pay for roofs.

Then, we’ll get into a story to bring it altogether.

Reason #1: The roof is the most expensive maintenance item on a house.

Homeowners replace HVAC units and various major appliances, but the roof is a service item on the home.

There’s a service life on the roof. It HAS to be replaced (with the exception of a few roofs that last a lifetime).

If the roof’s damaged, it needs to be replaced. For an asphalt roofing system, it has a wear life that we expect to last for decades.

It has a lifespan.

So, if you as a homeowner have to write a $20,000 check to buy a new roof, you expect it to last about 30 years.

Well, if storms come through, the lifespan of the roof IS compromised.

Reason #2: The roof’s lifespan is compromised or shortened.

Now, no one can wave a magic wand and say, the roof’s lifespan will be shortened by 5, 7, or 10 years because of hail, wind, or storm damage.

But the truth is that when shingles are damaged, the matting is exposed to the UV rays. Over time, that can lead to granule loss, shingles deterioration, and dry rot.

When that happens, the manufacturer’s warranty is now void (if it was even still applicable) because of that fine print. So, that homeowner, who was expecting the roof to last 30 years, might now only have a roof that lasts 20 years.

That’s why insurance covers the roof. It’s your asset and your financial interests. And that’s why we pay for insurance in the first place.

So, if you wrote that $20,000 check for a new roof and you’re expecting to not have to write another one for 30 years, well, guess what?

You might have to write another one in 15 years because of that damage.

So, that’s why the insurance company covers it.

Reason #3: A damaged roof causes future problems if it isn’t fixed.

Roof problems are expensive enough.

But once roof problems creep their way into the home, things can get A LOT more expensive and more complicated.

No one wants that.

So, it’s in the insurance company’s best interest to cover the roof before that happens — and before they’re in a position where they may have to shell out more.

Short Recap: 3 Reasons Insurers Pay for Roofs

Now, we know the logic behind why insurance companies cover roof replacements.

And those reasons are that:

1. The roof is the most expensive maintenance item on the home.
2. The lifespan of the roof is shortened.
3. Damaged roofs can cause future problems that are more expensive.

A Word on Roofing Cost Price Hikes

There’s one last piece that I want to add related to roofs being the most expensive maintenance item on homes.

Generally speaking, there have been some pretty wild rate increases in the roofing industry — like up to 20% hikes quarterly.

In fact, the price of roofing is compounding at a higher rate than the S&P 500 over the last 50 years.

The rate increases are astounding.

So, let’s run a really simple projection, below, to highlight just how expensive these rate increases can be. Let’s assume a roof today costs $15,000 and that quarterly rate increases are 10%.

By the way, those quarterly rate increases are what we see from our suppliers over 5 years.

So, even if the homeowner has a claim and they don’t want to do anything about it right now, they will HAVE to pay about $15,000 MORE to replace that same roof if they wait even just 5 years.

This is a BIG deal.

And the insurance company KNOWS this. They know that:

• The roof is the most expensive maintenance item on a house.
• Roofing costs go up.
• You, the homeowner, have to spend more money to replace your roof out-of-pocket later.

All that means is that it’s going to cost you A TON more money to put off the new roof because the price is compounding.

Roofing Sales Script: How to Explain It All to Homeowners

How do we make all of this easier for homeowners to understand? I love using the car and truck analogy to explain it. Here’s how I do it:

Mr. Homeowner, imagine you buy yourself a brand-new Ford F150 for $45,000. You expect that vehicle to run it through its life.

And you’re going to think, “I’ll have this thing for the next 200k miles!”

Well, what if something happens? What if the vehicle’s stolen, driven really ragged, and then recovered?

Then, you’re going to say to yourself, “Hey, this truck’s only going to last me another 25k to 50k miles.”

And you were expecting 200k miles of service life when you bought your new truck. Now, suddenly, you find out it’s only going to last another 5 years.

So, aren’t you going to do something about it?

It’s up to you. And if you don’t do something about it, you’re going to end up buying a brand-new vehicle 5 to 10 years sooner than you expected.

That’s why people decide to pursue a roof claim with their insurance company — because the roof is the MOST expensive maintenance item and it WILL wear out if you choose not to do anything about it.

In fact, even with the small damage we found, the lifespan of the roof will be reduced.

That means you’ll be required at some point in time to replace it.

And if that’s not in a future insurance claim, that WILL be coming out of pocket, and the rate WILL go up tremendously.

Lastly, when there’s damage, no one — not you, not the insurance company, and not us —wants any future damage occurring in the home.

Now, worst case, if any of the areas we’ve identified on your roof do become problematic in the future and there is interior damage to the home, the insurance company will NOT cover it unless you’ve filed a claim.

So, if this happens 3 years from now, you’re kind of outside that opportunity to use your insurance.

ALL of that liability and financial responsibility will, then, fall on you.

Those are the reasons that many homeowners we serve decide to file a claim, even if the damage seems marginal or minor.

Those homeowners say to themselves:

Hey, you know what? I’ve been paying my premiums month over month, year over year.

And I am protecting a financial investment of mine. It is my right to use the insurance that I’ve been paying for.

So, there you have it.

I hope this helps you communicate clearly to homeowners, so that:

• You can lead them like a horse to water.
• You can educate homeowners on exactly why the insurance company covers the roof.
• You can help homeowners make an informed decision.

And feel free to use my story about the Ford F-150 — or reference the vehicle that they have in the driveway — as you break it all down.

Get More Roofing Sales Strategies, Tips & Videos

If you want more on overcoming objections, canvassing, pitching, or any other topic in roofing sales, check out my all-in-one sales training, sales strategy, and sales system, the Roofing Sales Success Formula & Complete Sales Strategy.

This exclusive program covers everything from knock to close, with packages for individual roofing sales reps and entire teams. Many roofing sales companies LOVE this program because it’s a consistent process to train everybody on a relatable sales system that WORKS and that’s a lightning-fast way to get results.

If you have questions, just call or text (303) 222-7133 for more info or a private demo.

You can also subscribe for the latest roofing sales training videos and/or get a copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library. It includes every roofing sales video I’ve ever done, organized by category, along with a bunch of tips, tricks, and more. It’s great for new people and seasoned veterans, and it’s updated all the time to help you and your team smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And don’t forget to check out my Marketing Battle Pack for instant access to 70+ pieces of my proven, turnkey roofing sales and marketing materials. It’s an entire suite, specially designed for sales teams, managers, and owners, providing:

It’s affordably priced and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. There’s also a playlist of instructional videos in there, explaining every single thing. So, you can watch the videos, and you’ll know exactly what to do.

Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the next blog.