Flat roof insurance is a specialized form of household insurance explicitly designed to cover homes with a flat roof. It typically offers all the same types of coverage as more standard home insurance policies, such as damage from fire or burglary. It may also provide additional features like personal liability and stolen item protection.
However, it can be expensive if your home has an angled or sloped roof. This type of structure is deemed more difficult to protect with traditional watchman services like those employed for conventional roofs.
Flat roofs tend to be found on commercial properties where there is no alternative but for them to be utterly resistant against water reaching their surface. Often necessitating waterproof membranes, modular and shingled roofs tend to be more common in homes as they blend in more easily with the surroundings and create a cozier appearance.
As such, flat roof insurance is only vital if your home has one of these structures, so you will need to understand first what kind of roof you have before purchasing any policy for protecting it.
A homeowner may want to purchase specialized flat roof insurance due to their structure not receiving coverage from standard home insurance policies for having specific problems associated with it.
A flat roof can be made from various materials, including asphalt shingles, rubber membranes, metal sheets, etc. There are multiple types of cover available for their specific needs.
What are the Types of Flat Roof?
A flat roof can be made from metal, wood, concrete, or asphalt, but the most common material is felt paper that is then waterproofed with another layer of bitumen shingles or plastic coatings.
The most common type is built-up roofing – which consists of several layers of felt paper and bitumen sealer. This material has been proven to last for many years without leaking (if maintained properly). However, they are susceptible to wear and tear damage due to heavy winds.
If you want something more durable than this building material, IRPC offers a better solution with lightweight panels. These tiles are temperature-resistant, making them an excellent choice for roofing in cold and hot climates alike.
If you’re getting insurance quotes online and they ask: “What percentage of your home is a flat roof?” what does that mean? It’s essential to understand the difference between a low-sloped roof and a flat roof if you want to get accurate information from your insurer.
Kinds of Roof that Needs Flat Roof Insurance
A home’s roof can be made from many different materials, all of which require specialist cover provided by flat roof insurance. The most common roof type that needs flat roof insurance is the rubber membrane, often used for commercial purposes. It requires less maintenance than other roofs and can better cope with extreme weather conditions like heavy precipitation.
Asphalt shingles are also commonly required to be insured by homeowners because they come in many different styles (e.g., three-tab, architectural). Their installation is not necessarily simple, so extra protection against leakage may be necessary to provide peace of mind.
Other types of roofs that need flat roof insurance include metal sheet roofing systems (interlocking panels), concrete tiles (specially shaped pieces of concrete), slate tiles, etc. Please note these are simply some examples; the type of flat roof for your home will need to be assessed in detail by a qualified insurance professional.
Working Out What Percentage of Your Roof is Flat Before You Get Flat Roof Home Insurance
Before you can even consider purchasing flat roof insurance for your home, the first step should be determining how much of your rooftop is considered ‘flat.’ This means it has no angle towards the ground whatsoever and may require further protection than what your average policy provides due to its more complicated structure.
To work this out, start by locating where your ridgeline runs on the property (where two sloping roofs meet at their highest point), then measure using an online tool or ruler how high that ridge rises above the surrounding land.
This is essential information that you will need to provide the insurance company before they can go ahead and quote you on any policies, so don’t forget it.
Reason Why a Flat Roof is More Expensive to Insure?
Flat roofs are generally considered more dangerous than traditional rooftop structures because they are more likely to be affected by adverse weather conditions like rain or snowfall due to their non-traditional design.
This means that even though they may still have standard home insurance policy cover, an additional specialist flat roof insurance product may be required for them to remain protected from the full spectrum of potential problems. So this needs to be taken into account when budgeting.
Factors Affecting the Price of Your Flat Roof Insurance
The coverage provided by flat roof insurance will be directly related to the price you pay for your policy. For example, a simple rubber membrane may only cost a few hundred dollars per year. In contrast, a more complicated metal sheet system may require extra protection from additional cover types so that the policy price will reflect this accordingly.
The best way to get an accurate quote is to talk with a specialist insurer who understands all of the potential issues about your home’s specific type of flat roof.
Get the Right Flat Roof Insurance Cover for Your Home
So now you know how much it costs to insure against potential damage due to heavy precipitation or other weather conditions affecting your traditional or modified non-traditional rooftop structure.
One of the most important things you can do to protect your home and valuables is to ensure that the roofer who installed the roof does a periodic inspection of it.
If they flag up any problems with leaks or potential damage, call your insurance provider before it causes more severe issues down the line.
Conclusion
Knowing what type of roof you need for your flat roof insurance is just one part of keeping all aspects of your property ‘covered.’ Making sure that qualified specialist regularly checks them is also essential to ensure that no problems are lurking beneath the surface.
If you feel like you have not received an accurate quote on any policy for this type of rooftop structure, talk to a different company that can process your case on an individual basis rather than being tied down by a one-size-fits-all flat roof insurance policy.