Your roof is being underwritten from the sky
Ten years ago a roof was a line on the application. Now it has its own rule at most carriers, a photo taken from above, and its own settlement terms. If your renewal came with a roof exclusion, a higher premium or a letter, this is what changed and what to do about it, in the order that works.
Most homeowners carriers now underwrite the roof separately: a maximum age for shingle roofs (commonly 15–20 years), aerial and satellite imagery checked at renewal, and either a surcharge, a roof paid on actual cash value, a conditional renewal or a non-renewal when the roof fails the rule. In New York a conditional renewal or non-renewal needs 45–60 days' written notice with the reason stated. The practical defence is to know your roof's real age, document it, fix anything an image would flag before the renewal date, and shop carriers whose roof rules you fit.
What the carrier can see
Carriers buy aerial and satellite imagery of insured properties and run it through software at renewal. What it flags, reliably: the roof's apparent condition (patching, staining, missing shingles, tarps), debris and overhanging trees, pools and trampolines, outbuildings that aren't on the policy, and changes since the last image (a new deck, a solar array). What it estimates, less reliably: the roof's age, which it infers from wear and from permit records. Wrong age estimates are common, and they're the ones worth contesting.
What they do with it
- A surcharge at renewal, sometimes without saying why. Ask; the reason is on file.
- A conditional renewal: the policy renews only with a roof exclusion, an actual-cash-value roof settlement, a higher wind/hail deductible or a required repair. In New York this needs the same 45–60 day written notice with the reason as a non-renewal.
- An inspection request. Take it seriously and fix the visible items first.
- A non-renewal. See the non-renewal guide for the clock and the order to work in.
Ninety days before renewal
- Find the roof's real date. The closing documents, the previous owner's receipt, the town permit, the roofer's invoice. Write it down with the source.
- Walk the property as a camera would. Tarps, debris, dead limbs over the roof, peeling trim, an unfenced pool, a trampoline in the open. Fix the cheap ones; photograph everything after.
- Check the declarations page for the roof settlement terms. Replacement cost, ACV, or a payment schedule by age. If you don't know, send it to me.
- If the roof is near the limit, get an inspection letter. A licensed roofer's one-page statement of condition and remaining life costs little and is accepted by several carriers in place of the age rule.
- Shop before the notice, not after. Carriers' roof limits differ by five years or more, and a quote from a carrier that accepts your roof is the strongest position to be in when the renewal letter arrives.
If the imagery is wrong
Ask the carrier for the image and the date it was taken. Send your own dated photos, the permit or invoice, and the inspection letter if you have one. Carriers correct records more often than people expect, because the alternative is losing a paying customer over a satellite's guess. If a conditional renewal or non-renewal rests on a factual error and the carrier won't move, the Department of Financial Services takes complaints about renewals directly.
Carrier roof rules and imagery practices vary and change; this describes the general pattern in 2026 and New York's notice rules, not any one carrier's underwriting. Read your own renewal documents and call before the date.
- Insurance Law §3425, cancellation and renewal of personal lines policies (NY Senate) — notice and reason requirements for conditional renewal and non-renewal
- Help for homeowners and renters (NY DFS)
- File a complaint about an insurer (NY DFS)
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Can an insurer really cancel me because of an aerial photo?
It can non-renew or conditionally renew at the end of the term for a property-condition reason, with 45–60 days' written notice stating that reason, and only at the end of the three-year required policy period unless the condition is one it could have cancelled for. A photo showing a tarp, a sagging roofline or debris is a property-condition reason. The answer is to fix what the photo shows and send your own photos back.
What is a roof paid on actual cash value, and why does it matter?
Replacement cost pays what a new roof costs; actual cash value pays that minus depreciation for age. On a 17-year-old shingle roof, the depreciation can be more than half. Carriers increasingly renew older roofs on ACV, sometimes by a schedule in the policy. Check your declarations for a roof surfacing payment schedule or an ACV roof endorsement; it's the single most expensive change to miss.
My roof is older than the carrier's limit but in good condition. Does that help?
Sometimes. A licensed roofer's inspection letter stating remaining life, or documentation that the roof was replaced later than the carrier's records show, changes the answer at some carriers and not at others. The carriers I represent each have their own rules; that's usually where the fix is.
Should I replace the roof before renewal?
If it's at or past the carrier's limit and in fair condition, a replacement often pays for itself in premium and settlement terms over a few years, and it moves you back into the standard market. If it's in good condition with life left, an inspection letter and shopping carriers is the cheaper first step. I'll run both numbers.
Roof questions, before renewal
Send me your renewal date and, if you have it, the roof's replacement date or a photo. I'll tell you which carriers' roof rules you fit, what an inspection letter would change, and whether to act now or at renewal.