Our HO 00 03 05 01 insured recently had one portion of his roof blown away. The home is older, with several different slopes to the roof. The damage was, fortunately, confined to one slope.
The insurer says that it will re-roof only the slope that was damaged. If they do that, the new shingles will obviously not match the ones that remain. We believe that, if necessary, the insurer owes to re-roof the entire house.
What do you think?
Massachusetts Subscriber
The homeowners policy promises to replace losses to the dwelling with materials of like kind and quality. Replacement means new for old. The promise made by the homeowners policy is an unfettered, unlimited promise to replace within the policy limits. When part of a roof suffers a loss, the new shingles must match the old shingles. If they don't match, then replacement has not occurred.
In the case you describe, it wasn't the slope of the roof that suffered the loss—it was the roof itself. If the shingles on the various parts of the roof don't match, then the insurer has not provided replacement. If they can't match the existing shingles, all of the shingles must be replaced.
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