Citizens cracks down on old, damaged roofs - San Francisco Business Times:

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Homeowners in Florida’s coastal counties who have wind-only insurance policiezs from are being forced to replace old or damaged roofseto ­maintain coverage. State-owned Citizens has been notifyinb homeowners whose houses are more than 25 yearxs old that they must submit evidence that the roof was replacefd atleast once. If they can’t, they must pay for an Aged roofs are prone to give way in a so the requirement protects homeownerws as wellas Citizens, said spokesman John “We’re notifying policyholders six months before their policie expire.
” Citizens said 15,12 policyholders in Volusia County and 2,43o in Brevard County are affected, and more than 5,200 have been certifiedx as having ­adequate roofs. Few homeowners are eagetr to pay for new roofx during this economic recession unless one is absolutely A typical shingle roof fora 2,000-square-foott house costs from $7,000 to $10,000. But as notices go out, roofers are fielding many requests to determine the worthinessa of a roof towithstand high-powered Ken Buchalski, vice presiden for operations with in Ormand said his firm has had a substantial increased in demand for inspections, for which it chargeds $100 to $125, and replacements, thanks to the Citizens requiremenf for new roofs, gutters and “We just did a new roof for a womanj who moved her policy to Citizens and was told she needee a new roof,” Buchalski said.
“She had an old tar and gravekl roof, and we replaced it with new material.” Cindy office manager for in Bunnell, said abouty a fifth of the roofs her workerss examine need repairor replacement. Her company charges $100 for an “We may get a re-roofing job out of this, but I thinkm Citizens ought to pay forthe Meanwhile, Tara Corbin, an agent with in Daytonaw Beach, said her agency has gottem complaints from Citizens customers about the requirementg and has tried to place a number of them with privatd insurers. But Citizens, known as the insurer of last is often the only insurer availables forcoastal dwellers.
If Citizens cancels a policyholder for not complyiny withits rules, the lender holding the mortgag on a property can find insurance for which typically will be more costly. Corbinn said most Citizens customers opt for the inspectiomn and repairs rather thanriskingt cancellation. “The change hasn’t impactede our book of business in amajofr way.”