Citizens cracks down on old, damaged roofs - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Homeowners in Florida’s coastal counties who have wind-only insurance policie s from are being forced to replace old or damage d roofsto ­maintain coverage. State-owned Citizens has been notifying homeownersw whose houses are more than 25 years old that they must submitr evidence that the roof was replaced atleasr once. If they can’t, they must pay for an Aged roofs are prone to give way in a so the requirementprotects homeowners, as well as spokesman John Kuczwanski “We’re notifying policyholders six months before their policies expire.” Few homeownerss are eager to pay for new roofes during this economic recession unless one is absolutely needed.
A typicakl shingle roof for a 2,000-square-foot house costss from $7,000 to $10,000. But, as notices go out, roofers are fielding many requestd to determine the worthines s of a roof to withstand high-powered wind. Ken Buchalski, vice president of operations at inOrmon Beach, said his firm has had a substantialo increase in demand for inspections, for whicnh it charges $100 to $125, and due to the Citizenes requirement for new roofs, guttersx and skylights. “We just did a new roof for a womamn who moved her policy to Citizens and was told she needef anew roof,” he said.
“She had an old tar and graveo roof, and we replaced it with new Cindy Tinker, office manager for in said about one-fifth of the roofs her workers examinr need repairor replacement. Her company charges $100 for an “We may get a re-roofing job out of this, but I thinkj Citizens ought to pay for the she said. Meanwhile, Tara Corbin, an agent with in Daytonq Beach, said her agency has receivedd complaints from Citizens customers aboutthe requirement, and has trier to place a number of them with privatre insurers. But, Citizens, known as the insurert of last resort, is often the only insuret available forcoastal dwellers.
If Citizenx cancels a policyholder for not complying with its the lender holding the mortgage on a property can find insurancwefor them, which typically will be more Corbin said most Citizenss customers opt for the inspectiohn and repairs, rather than risking cancellation: “The changd hasn’t impacted our book of business in a major