No. HB 815
Filed under Insurance.
Roofing Requirements for Property Insurance; Prohibits insurer from refusing to issue or renew property insurance policy, rather than homeowner's policy, insuring residential structure that has a roof less than specified age solely because the roof's age; requires insurer to differentiate between low-slope & steep-slope roofs in its offer for coverage under certain circumstances; requires insurer to allow property owner to have roof inspection performed on steep-slope roof by authorized inspector before requiring that roof be replaced; prohibits insurer from refusing to issue or renew property insurance policy under certain circumstances.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThese roof-age protections, which used to cover only homeowners' policies, now extend to property insurance policies generally, and the list of inspectors whose sign-off triggers them grows to include Registered Roof Consultants and Roof Observers certified by the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants.
For a roof 15 years or older, insurers must now classify it as low-slope or steep-slope in their coverage offers and follow a different rule for each type.
A steep-slope roof keeps the existing protections: the owner may get a pre-replacement inspection at their own expense, and the insurer cannot refuse or nonrenew based on age if that inspection shows 5 years or more of useful life remaining.
A low-slope roof is protected instead if an inspector finds it could be restored to that same 5-year threshold through a roof coating system, a standard the text does not pair with an explicit right to a pre-replacement inspection.
AIThe roof-age rules in this subsection, which used to protect only a 'homeowner's' policy, now protect a 'property insurance' policy instead, and a new exception in subsection (6) confirms this subsection's protections are not limited back down to homeowners' policies only.
AIFor a roof 15 years or older, an insurer must now distinguish a low-slope roof, with a pitch of 2 inches or less, from a steep-slope roof, with a pitch of more than 2 inches, in its coverage offer.
AIBefore requiring a steep-slope roof's replacement, the insurer must let the owner get an inspection at their own expense, and cannot refuse to issue or renew the policy solely for roof age if that inspection shows 5 years or more of useful life remaining.
AIFor a low-slope roof, the insurer cannot refuse to issue or renew a policy solely for roof age if an inspector determines the roof could be restored to 5 years or more of useful life by applying a roof coating system.
AIThe definition of who may perform a qualifying roof inspection now includes a Registered Roof Consultant and a Registered Roof Observer, both certified by the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants, alongside the previously listed contractors, engineers, and architects.