The Walters Agency Podcast

Shingles vs. Metal: Making Smart Roofing Choices for Your Home

• Timothy Walters • Episode 4

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What Are The Most Important Factors To Consider While Shopping For Roof Insurance?

Your roof is your home's first line of defense against nature's fury, but do you know if your insurance policy truly has you covered? Timothy Walters of The Walters Agency tackles the critical differences between replacement value and actual cash value coverage that could mean thousands of dollars out of your pocket after a storm.

"They don't make shingles like they used to," Timothy explains, debunking the myth of the 30-year roof as he's witnessed newer roofs degrading faster than those installed decades ago. This eye-opening discussion reveals why metal roofs have become the preferred choice for both insurers and savvy homeowners seeking long-term protection and value.

The conversation takes an interesting turn when discussing roof design and materials, with practical advice about when to file an insurance claim versus handling repairs yourself. Timothy shares expert insights gathered from nearly 15 years in the industry, helping homeowners make informed decisions about one of their property's most significant investments.

Ready to find the right coverage for your home, business or family? Call or text for a free 20-minute consultation with The Walters Agency, where insurance meets peace of mind.

To learn more about The Walters Agency visit:
https://www.brightway.com/agencies/tn/knoxville/0237/team
The Walters Agency
7009 Asheville Hwy
Knoxville, TN 37924
423-417-2070

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Walters Agency podcast, where insurance meets peace of mind. Hosted by licensed insurance agent and owner, timothy Walters, we're here to help families, homeowners and small business owners throughout East Tennessee protect what matters most Our mission creating win-win-win solutions for insurance. Let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

Before the next big storm hits. Do you know if your roof is really covered or if your policy could leave you footing the bill? Timothy Walters shares what every homeowner should understand before choosing roof insurance. Welcome back everybody. Skip Mauney, co-host, slash producer, here in the studio with Timothy Walters, licensed insurance agent and owner of the Walters agency. Timothy, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

Going pretty good buddy, how are you doing?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing just fine. Doing just fine on this. It's colder than I like. It's at least the sun's out. That's a positive right.

Speaker 3:

I had to freak out the jacket this morning.

Speaker 2:

That's right. That's right. At least we don't have a hurricane or a storm that might rip our roof off. When we had Helene come through last year, I did lose a bunch of shingles on my house and I'm now learning the value of roof insurance and I've got a big polish of new shingles in my driveway getting ready to get put on. So, very interested. What are the most important factors to consider when you're shopping for roof insurance? What should I have done to begin with?

Speaker 3:

Well, you know, your roof insurance, of course, is typically going to be bound up with your homeowner's insurance. It is important to know whether or not the roof is covered at replacement value or depreciated value actual cash value. That's something you can ask your agent. It should also be marked on your policy or the quotes that you're getting from the agent for the homeowner's insurance. The difference between the two is replacement value basically says that the insurance company, if you do suffer a loss on the roof, they're going to repair or replace the roof without accounting for the age of the roof If you have actual cash value, depreciated coverage, then they're going to depreciate the value of the roofing materials based on how old it is, based on how old it is.

Speaker 3:

So you know, if you have a shingle roof that was replaced 10 years ago and you have an actual cash value and appreciated endorsement on the policy, then they're going to devalue by 10 years. And if you have a 30 year roof no such thing that basically devalues it by a third. Right? That's an easy calculation you can make. Then you got your deductible. Of course Some companies will talk about oh, they pay full cost of the labor. Well, yeah, they will, but the insurance is all about the material, so replacement value. On the other hand, if you have a 10 year old roof and a hail storm comes along and rips it or a hurricane lifts it off of your house or whatever, then the only thing you're really paying out of pocket is going to be the deductible, which is a big difference. So that's important. The other thing that I advise people to consider when they're looking at houses or they're looking to replace their roof, regardless of whether the insurance is paying for it or not, is the roof material. You and I talked about this off camera a while back.

Speaker 3:

They don't make shingles like they used to. I've noticed this the last 20 years or so. The quality of shingles has gone way down. They degrade a lot faster, it seems. I see roofs that were I know were placed 10 years ago. They look like they're 15 or 20 years old, you know, with all the gravel being lost and all that kind of thing. And then you see roofs that were actually replaced 20 years ago that almost look the same or in better shape than the newer ones. It's crazy.

Speaker 3:

So I've been advising people to consider metal roofs. If they're properly installed, they're good investments. They're great for insurance ratings. Insurance companies love a good metal roof and they have really interesting designs. Now Some of them even come out looking like they are shingles with patterns in there, cause it's kind of neat. Seen some of those lately. So that's important.

Speaker 3:

You know the material and of course, higher quality shingles can also make a difference. But the last thing is definitely and this kind of goes back to it, but just the top of the roof, like some people are going to know what I'm talking about. Some people aren't Like the difference between a gable roof and a hip roof, for instance. The design of roofs can actually make a difference on how well they stand up to, say, winds. Some types of roof design are made to stand up to wind damage better, so all that can be taken into account.

Speaker 3:

It's all good things to look at and if you have a good insurance agent or a good roofing specialist, if you're looking to get your roof repaired or replaced, they can give you a lot of good details on what might be a good, effective investment. If you're just replacing a roof or looking at it to buy a house with a particular type of roof, or if you've had an insurance claim and you're saying, hey, how can I lower my insurance rates? Or how can I make sure that I'm being as cost effective as possible with the roof material and design and all that kind of thing, Well, you mentioned metal roofs.

Speaker 2:

Are there certain materials that are considered riskier than others?

Speaker 3:

Well, I mean most metal roofs these days, the last 20 years or so, are pretty well standardized in most cases. You know, you have your painted ribbed roofing materials, some like commercial buildings. You might see some heavier duty gauge steels for, like commercial buildings, aluminum of course can be used, you know. But most of the ones you see on residential houses are pretty well standardized these days from what I can tell just from observation, what I see in my line of work. Now let's put a little disclaimer here. I am not a roofing guy, I'm not in construction. Do not call me to put a roof on a house. I will not be able to do that for you. But like I said in almost 15 years of being in this business, from what I've seen for metal roofs, they are pretty well standardized in most cases for residential properties you can put them on as overlays.

Speaker 3:

If you have an existing shingle roof, you can actually have them installed over, which, in some serious issues with the shingle roof, that's actually not a bad way to do. It Gives you a little bit extra layer of protection and insulation. Or they can be installed just as a metal roof, with nothing under it. Usually what I see. People are getting them overlaid over the existing chamber roofs, though.

Speaker 2:

And if it's?

Speaker 3:

done correctly. There's no issue with that. You want to make sure you have a licensed and bonded contractor to do that.

Speaker 2:

Well, I wish we had done this episode about three months ago, because I would be going with a metal roof man. Unfortunately, I've got two pallets of shingles out in my driveway, but honestly, I hey man, what 10, 15 years, you get you another one. Yeah, sounds good. Something you said earlier caught my attention. You said there is no such thing as a 30-year roof. Can you explain that a little more?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm going to have roofing guys come after me on that, I think, but it's just my way of saying it. Nothing lasts forever. You can have a brand new roof placed on your house and a tornado could come by tomorrow and tear it off.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 3:

Right. But you know what I'm really talking about is the degradation of shingle roofs especially. Any physical material is going to degrade over time. Shingle roofs especially are prone towards just the constant loss of gravel and the integrity of the shingles. They're more prone to be lifted off in a heavy windstorm. You know, after a windstorm a lot of people walk around their house and they see the gravel from the shingles all over the place, or maybe even actual shingles that have been lifted off.

Speaker 3:

And honestly, unless there's like a huge amount of like, unless it lifts, you know, a lot of shingles off, that's really not something you necessarily want to file an insurance claim for. You can just go out and get some spare shingles, go out there and put them on. Or my dad and I used to put tar out over patches on our roof, you know, when I was younger. But you know, like I said, it's just that they are more prone to degradation. So I always kind of get a kick, especially these days when I hear the advertisers oh, this is a 30-year roof and I'm like, yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 3:

Maybe, depending on the weather conditions and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, I do and I do again. I'm not a roofing guy. I'm just kind of speaking off my own experience in this business and as a human being who lives in houses with roofs on them. But I do think the quality of the shingles by and large seems to have gone down and they do seem to degrade a little bit faster than they used to.

Speaker 2:

I would agree with that, but I think I told you.

Speaker 3:

My unprofessional professional opinion.

Speaker 2:

Mine's totally unprofessional, but from experience, the last house that I owned in North Carolina. The roof was put on in 2005, I think, and when I left in 2019, and it was in incredible shape. I had the inspector said your roof's in great, great shape to be as old as it is Moved into this house. This roof is only about 12 years old and every time there's a storm I pick up at least 10 shingles off the ground. So I hear you. I think you're right.

Speaker 3:

And I don't think it again. I think it's to the material, not necessarily to the guys putting it on. I mean, there's some great roofers out there. I think this is the material that they're able to buy Again, because you know there's inflations killing everybody. You know everybody's wanting everything cheaper. Well, yeah, that's great, but at a certain point cheaper means lower quality. You know that's the world we live in. Absolutely and the most common rooftops we see around here are definitely shingle and no.

Speaker 2:

I don't see many shake roofs. I used to live in California and there's a lot of shake roofs. Are you familiar with those? They're like shingles but they're made out of wood.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, no, I've seen a few over the years. Come back when I started my career with State Farm, we had to go out and do inspections on every house that we rode ourselves, and I saw a few. You don't see many of them around here, though.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever seen one until I moved to California. Honestly, never seen a swamp cooler either, which is an alternative to air conditioning, but anyway, we could talk about this for a long time. Maybe we can touch on roofs again in another episode.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, I know, Like I said, there's a lot to talk about, especially with the market the way it is.

Speaker 2:

So Absolutely Well, we'll do it.

Speaker 3:

And I'm an insurance nerd, so we'll do it again sometime.

Speaker 2:

All right, man Tim appreciate it and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap on this episode of the Walters Agency Podcast. Ready to find the right coverage for your home, business or family? Call or text 423-417-2070 for a free 20-minute consultation. Until next time, stay covered, stay protected and keep winning with the Walters Agency.