Hurricane Sandy Damage Leads to Faulty Roof Repair and Insurance Price Hike

This case involves inadequate roofing, which caused the plaintiff’s premium to go up. Following Hurricane Sandy and the efforts of FEMA, the plaintiff had the defendant repair his roof using CertainTeed shingles, and he assured the plaintiff that the roofing would be, “as good as new.” When the insurer came to the house to renew the policy, it was revealed that the total cost to the insured would be greater than before the storm because the roof had been inadequately repaired (putting the house at increased risk). The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant because of the allegedly faulty repairs that the defendant made to his roof.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Is the increase in the plaintiff's premium due to the state of the roof?

2. Is it reasonable for the plaintiff to assume that his new roof, which he was told would be "as good as new" would not result in an increase in his homeowner's insurance premium?

Expert Witness Response E-002856

In many cases, especially following a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy, premiums may increase because of the apparent danger of the georgraphic area. In this case, however, the faulty repair of the roof seems to be the determining factor in the increased premium. Because of that, the different premium amounts, other damage to the house, the relationship with the insurance company, and other factors need to be analyzed to discover whether the increased premium is mostly due to the roof.