Florida homeowners have spent the past several years being told that a new roof is the price of admission for affordable insurance. Now the ticket just got more expensive. According to an August 10, 2026 WPTV report, insurance carriers writing business in Florida have quietly moved the goalposts on roof age: asphalt shingle roofs that used to draw scrutiny at 20 years are now being flagged at 15.

The practical effect for a homeowner is immediate and painful. A Vero Beach homeowner interviewed for the report described a premium approaching $9,000 with no better quote available anywhere, for one reason — her roof was about to turn 15. A Lantana insurance agent quoted in the piece explained that most carriers now want composition or asphalt shingle roofs to be 15 years or newer to qualify for the best rate, while tile and metal roofs are treated far more generously; metal, in particular, can be viewed favorably by some carriers for decades. The president of one Florida carrier put it bluntly: roof age is the single biggest driver of what a homeowner pays.

Here is what that reporting does not say, and what every Florida policyholder needs to understand: 15 years is an underwriting preference, not a legal expiration date. And it has nothing to do with whether your insurance company owes you money when a storm damages your roof.

What Florida law actually says about roof age

Section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes, sets real limits on how carriers may use roof age against a homeowner:

• An insurer may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew a homeowners policy solely because of roof age if the roof is less than 15 years old.
• For a roof that is at least 15 years old, the insurer must allow the homeowner to obtain a roof inspection by an authorized inspector — at the homeowner’s expense — before requiring roof replacement as a condition of issuing or renewing the policy.
• If that inspection shows the roof has five years or more of useful life remaining, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of the roof’s age.
• Roof age is measured from the last date on which 100 percent of the roof’s surface area was built or replaced under the building code then in effect.

That last point matters more than most homeowners realize. If you replaced your roof in stages, or if a prior owner did partial work, the age calculation is not always what an underwriter’s data vendor assumes. Pull your permits and your final inspection records. Aerial imagery databases and third-party property reports are frequently wrong, and an incorrect roof age in a carrier’s file is correctable — but only if you correct it.

Underwriting pressure is not the same thing as coverage

This is where Florida homeowners get hurt. The 15-year threshold governs whether a carrier wants to write your policy. It does not rewrite the policy you already have. If your roof is 17 years old and a covered windstorm tears shingles off it tomorrow, the age of that roof does not convert a covered loss into an uncovered one.

But carriers know that roof age is a persuasive-sounding excuse. In claim files across the state we see the same vocabulary over and over: wear and tear, deterioration, aged and brittle shingles, pre-existing damage, maintenance. An adjuster looks at a 16-year-old roof, applies a policy exclusion for ordinary aging, and closes the file — without meaningfully separating storm damage from age-related condition.

Florida’s concurrent cause doctrine, recognized by the Florida Supreme Court in Sebo v. American Home Assurance Co., is directly relevant. Under an all-risk policy, where a covered peril and an excluded or non-covered cause combine to produce a loss, coverage generally follows. An older roof is not a free pass for a carrier to deny a wind claim.

The provisions hiding on your declarations page

Post-reform Florida policies contain several roof-specific mechanisms that reduce what a carrier pays on an older roof. Read your declarations page before hurricane season, not after:

• Roof surface reimbursement schedules. Section 627.7011(3) permits carriers, under defined conditions, to offer policies that pay roof surface damage on a depreciated schedule rather than replacement cost. On a 15-year-old shingle roof, that schedule can cut a payment dramatically.
• Separate roof deductibles. Section 627.701(9) allows a separate roof deductible of up to 2 percent of Coverage A or 50 percent of the roof replacement cost, with statutory exceptions — including when the roof damage results from a covered peril that also caused damage to the primary structure requiring repair.
• Ordinance or law coverage. Florida’s 25 Percent Roof Rule under the Florida Building Code and section 553.844 can require far more work than the visible damage suggests. Adequate ordinance or law coverage is what pays for the difference.

What to do if your carrier flags your roof

1. Get the inspection. If your roof is 15 or older and the carrier is demanding replacement, exercise your statutory right to an inspection by an authorized inspector and submit it in writing. Five years of remaining useful life is the number that matters.
2. Use the notice period. Section 627.4133 generally requires 120 days’ advance written notice before nonrenewal of a personal lines residential policy. That is time to shop, inspect, and document — not time to panic-sign a replacement contract.
3. Do not replace a roof the carrier should be paying for. If a named storm, hurricane, hail, or windstorm damaged your roof, report the claim before you replace it. Once the roof is gone, so is your evidence.
4. Watch the deadlines. Under section 627.70132, notice of a new or reopened claim must be given within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months. These deadlines are unforgiving.
5. Document now. Dated photographs of your roof in good condition, permit records, and maintenance receipts are the cheapest insurance you will ever buy against a wear-and-tear denial.

If your roof claim was denied, underpaid, or closed without payment

Cohen Law Group represents Florida policyholders — never insurance companies — in first-party property insurance disputes statewide. If your carrier blamed your roof’s age for denying a storm claim, applied a depreciation schedule you never knew about, or is pressuring you to replace a roof it should be paying for, we will review your policy and your claim at no cost to you.

We work on a contingency-fee basis. You pay no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.

Call Cohen Law Group at (407) 478-4878 or visit itsaboutjustice.law to speak with our team.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Insurance policy language, coverage, and applicable law vary by policy and by circumstance, and statutes are subject to amendment. You should consult a licensed Florida attorney regarding the specific facts of your claim. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Cohen Law Group | 350 North Lake Destiny Road, Maitland, FL 32751 | Serving policyholders throughout Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Vero Beach, Sarasota, Naples, Fort Myers, Ocala, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Lakeland, Port St. Lucie, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola.

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