Before you start
The things to take away.
- A roof payment schedule replaces depreciation arithmetic with a table: a percentage of replacement cost paid by roof age and material, from 100% on a new roof down to a small fraction past twenty years.
- Insurers add it at renewal, often once a shingle roof passes seven to ten years. It is listed on the declarations page as an endorsement and it is easy to miss.
- A cosmetic damage exclusion on a metal roof means dents that do not affect function are not covered. It is the price of the lower premium a metal roof can earn.
- The older the shingle roof, the smaller the share that is insured. Replacing before the storm, or replacing with a roof that ages differently, is the way out of the schedule.
- Ask your agent one question: at my roof's age, what percentage does this policy pay?
Why insurers wrote the schedule.
Texas has more hail claims than any other state, and most of them are roofs. For years the answer was a higher premium and a bigger percentage deductible. The newer answer is to insure the roof for less as it ages: an endorsement that settles roof losses at actual cash value, or a payment schedule that fixes the share by age. Both shift the cost of an old roof from the insurer to the owner, and both arrive quietly at renewal.
None of this is illegal or unusual. It is simply a change in what you are buying, and the only defense is to know what the page says before the hail does.
How a roof payment schedule works.
Instead of an adjuster calculating depreciation on the day of the loss, the policy carries a table. Down one side is the age of the roof; across the top, the material. Each cell is the percentage of the replacement cost the insurer will pay for a wind or hail loss to the roof surface. The deductible comes off as usual, and there is no second payment for held-back depreciation, because the schedule has already settled the number.
The schedule usually applies only to wind and hail, only to the roof covering (not the decking or the interior), and often only to roofs above a certain age when the policy was written. Each insurer's table is its own; the shape below is typical, not universal.
A schedule, worked through.
Take a $12,000 shingle roof, a 2% deductible on a $300,000 dwelling limit ($6,000), and a schedule of the shape many Texas carriers use.
| Roof age (asphalt shingle) | Share paid (typical schedule) | Insurer's figure on a $12,000 roof | Minus $6,000 deductible: insurer pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 years | 100% | $12,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| 6–10 years | 80% | $9,600 | $3,600 | $8,400 |
| 11–15 years | 60% | $7,200 | $1,200 | $10,800 |
| 16–20 years | 40% | $4,800 | $0 | $12,000 |
| 21 years and older | 20% | $2,400 | $0 | $12,000 |
Read the last two rows twice. Past sixteen years, on this schedule with this deductible, the policy pays nothing toward the roof at all. The homeowner is still paying a premium for roof coverage that the arithmetic has already emptied. The percentages in your own policy may be kinder or harsher; the shape is the point.
An asphalt roof in Texas lasts 15 to 30 years. A payment schedule can make it uninsured, in effect, for the last third of its life, which is also the third in which it is most likely to be damaged.
The other roof-specific limits.
A payment schedule is one of a family. The declarations page lists each endorsement by form number and title; these are the ones that name the roof.
- Actual cash value roof endorsement. Roof losses settled at depreciated value while the rest of the house stays on replacement cost. The actual cash value guide works the numbers.
- Roof age limits. Some carriers will not write replacement cost on a shingle roof older than a set age, or will not write the policy at all without a roof inspection or a replacement.
- Matching. Whether the insurer must replace undamaged slopes so the roof matches is a matter of policy wording and Texas case law; some policies now say in terms that they will not pay for matching.
- Cosmetic damage exclusion. Usually attached to metal roofs. Covered next.
- Percentage wind and hail deductible. Not an endorsement on the roof as such, but the number that decides whether any of the above ever pays. The deductible guide covers it.
Metal roofs and the cosmetic damage exclusion.
Metal roofs earn insurance discounts because hail rarely makes them leak. The trade some insurers ask for is a cosmetic damage exclusion: a dent that does not let water in is not a covered loss. Standing seam takes hail differently from shingle; very large stones can dent a panel without harming it, and under this endorsement that dent is yours to live with or pay for.
Two honest notes. First, stone-coated steel, the panel behind the Forever Roof, carries a stone granule finish that hides the marks smooth metal would show, which is one reason it suits hail country. Second, a cosmetic exclusion is not the same as no coverage: functional damage, a leak, a torn panel, a failed fastener, is still a claim. Ask your agent whether the exclusion is on your policy and what it says about function.
What to check, and what to do.
- Find the endorsements on your declarations page. Anything with "roof", "roof surfacing", "payment schedule", "actual cash value" or "cosmetic" in the title is the one to read.
- Ask your agent the dollar question: "At my roof's age and material, what does this policy pay on a total hail loss, after the deductible?" A good agent answers in a sentence.
- Know the roof's real age and condition. Insurers use the age on their records, which is sometimes the age of the house. A dated, photographed Roof Grade is evidence of a newer roof, and of a roof that has life left.
- Plan the replacement on your terms. A shingle roof at fourteen years on a schedule is heading for the rows where the policy stops paying. Replacing it before the storm, with a Class 4 shingle that earns a discount at the next renewal or a metal roof that starts the clock again on a longer expected life, is often the cheaper decade.
- Shop the endorsement, not just the premium. Two quotes can differ more in the roof endorsement than in the price.
Where does your roof sit on the schedule?
The free Roof Grade puts the roof's age, condition and remaining life in writing, with photographs your agent can read.
Frequently asked
Is a roof payment schedule the same as actual cash value?
Same idea, different arithmetic. Actual cash value has the adjuster calculate depreciation on the day; a payment schedule fixes the share in a table by age and material. Both settle the roof for less as it ages and neither pays held-back depreciation afterward.
Can I refuse the endorsement?
Sometimes, for a higher premium or with a newer roof; sometimes the carrier will not write the policy without it. Ask, and compare other carriers' roof terms, not just their prices.
Does the schedule apply to leaks and interior damage?
Usually it applies to the roof covering only, for wind and hail. Interior damage and decking are typically settled under the main policy terms. Your endorsement's wording governs; read it.
Does a new roof reset the schedule?
Yes: a replacement starts the age at zero, and a metal roof is usually assigned a longer life and a different column. Tell your insurer the day the roof is finished and send the invoice and the Class 4 certificate if you have one.
Can Mammoth negotiate the schedule with my insurer?
No. Texas law does not let a contractor act as a public adjuster on a claim it repairs, and we would not want to. We document the roof; the policy is between you, your agent and your insurer.
Sources and notes
- Texas Department of Insurance, "Home insurance policies: replacement cost or actual cash value" (depreciation by roof age) — tdi.texas.gov
- Roof payment schedule endorsements as described by Texas independent insurance agencies, e.g. Ryan Everet Insurance, "What is a roof payment schedule?" — texasautohome.com; Gilded Oak Insurance, "Roof payment schedule in Texas" — gildedoakinsurance.com. The percentages in the worked example are the typical shape these agencies describe, not any one carrier's table.
- Texas Insurance Code §4102.163 (contractors and public adjusting) — statutes.capitol.texas.gov
Homeowner education from a roofing contractor, not insurance advice. Endorsement wording differs by carrier and year; your declarations page and your agent are the authority for your own policy.