Does Home Insurance Cover Roof Damage from Heavy Snow?

Michigan snow is no joke and can bring unexpected damages and issues. What happens if these damages effect your home? 

Damage to the roof of your house (a collapse or partial damage) caused by the weight of ice, snow, or sleet would likely be covered by your insurance. In addition, if there is damage to personal property inside of the home due to the roof being damaged, the personal property would likely be covered. 

Falling objects is a covered peril, so if heavy snow knocks down limbs or branches and damages the roof, coverage will likely apply. 

Ice damming is typically covered on most (but not all) policy forms. Ice damming is a situation where snow on the roof starts to melt from the heat inside the home, but then re-freezes causing a buildup of ice along the roof edge. These buildups can cause significant roof leaks from water backing up behind the ice dam and getting underneath the roof surface. These can cause roof damage and damage to interior walls. Ice damming is not covered on Broad Form coverage but is on Special Form coverage. 

Broad and Special Form are two different types of “coverages” that one can choose for a Homeowners policy. Broad Form covers very specific perils/losses, but special form covers open perils/many types of losses.

If you have any questions on your insurance policy and what is covered for you, please reach out to our agency.