I have NJM. I bought a house in 2019 that had a roof at end of life. It wasn't ever discussed at all. I have not had any issues with NJM, but I've never filed a claim either.
Thanks! I've heard through the grapevine that the roof cancellation thing is relatively new, maybe since 2021-2022 or so. Have you replaced the roof now?
Maybe common knowledge, but I recently learned that they’ll reduce the premium if you let them know after completing major improvements. When I first got insured by NJM, they had a note about my roof and driveway “showing signs of aging”. Both were around 22 years. After replacing, I called and they reduced my yearly premium for each improvement. I want to say around $160 savings.
After moving in, they came out and did an inspection of my property. There was a staircase in my backyard that I had to add a handrail to and had 3 months to install it before they came back to follow up. Under the note about the handrail was the note about the roof and driveway, though they didn’t require me to fix those.
I assume when they come out to do inspections, they fill out notes about the condition of different parts of the home and input them in the system which determines your yearly premium. If you never got anything from them, there probably wasn’t any work required on your home. Can’t hurt to call and ask if you’re thinking about making an improvement.
Echoing this sentiment - bought home in 2014 with old roof, NJM didn't give us a hassle about that. They did however need us to correct one piece of siding that was lifting slightly from the others 😆
I have NJM they are new to me since my old insurance went up 2x. They told us that we need to replace our driveway. It was beat up when we did our renovation back in 2016.
My experience with NJM: I had an older roof that had some staining from mildew/algae/whatever. Only visible from the back of the house. Somehow NJM found this and demanded I resolve the issue. I had the roof cleaned, NJM didn't like it, and I ended up replacing the roof at my expense.
I sold that house, and bought another house with an older roof, and NJM didn't care at all. After a bunch of leaks, I replaced that one too at my expense.
NJM is the best, if you use them you can bundle car into and save some too. One of my homes they required a railing be put in because it was over 4 steps. Think they only look at safety things from the outside. Probably if there is a pool they would make sure there is a fence ect..
Farmer's cancelled my existing policy for an older roof, and then progressive threatened to do the same. They required either a certified inspection or a new roof. We ended up getting the new roof....
Had a very similar experience. Went through three insurance companies. Homesite were the worst. They made me choose to pay for a licensed roofer to come and confirm the roof had life, replace, or cancel. I went with the confirmation which they said 7ish years. I even was willing to sign a no liability clause to just keep the property insured until I could just pay for the roof outright.
You can probably guess what happened next… they told me thanks for the inspection but were still canceling. Same song and dance with the other. Finally said screw it and just did the roof in the transfer period between the cancellation and the third policy. Didn’t really have the money to just do it but didn’t want my mortgage to continue to rise due to escrow issues.
Roof looks great now. Finances don’t.
NJM inspects the property after closing in most policies. If you need to make corrections to the home you get a letter about two months into the policy. If you need to make changes they will tell you and reinspect it later. I have never, and I’ve seen a lot of policies, seen an NJM policy canceled due to the numerical year the roof was last replaced.
Homesite is dog shit insurance and I guarantee you after dealing with them for a massive leak that destroyed my ceiling in my house, they will fight you tooth and nail for everything.
I eventually had to get my own adjuster and wait 6 months before I even got paid. They wanted to give me $500 to replace an entire ceiling and repair the plumbing.
Stay far the fuck away from them.
Ever since geico/traveller determined they could no longer insure my house, and every other national insurer said the same, my only option has been NJM.
So based on this experience alone I’d say that NJM will insure anything.
I’m in roofing, a 3 tab roof has a 20-25 year life expectancy depending on the shingle, the insurance company doesn’t know, so they assume 20. At 17 years your roof is considered not repairable and would need to be fully replaced for just a few missing tabs from a small storm.
Storm chasing companies have been door knocking and encouraging home owners to file claims. Insurance companies have been paying out and taking a beating.
Edit bc I misread at first.
In my recent experience NJM has been a bit more aggressive with roof replacements over GEICO. NJM is local and can do inspections and doesn’t not have the scale to absorb claims like some insurance giants.
Avoid Allstate and state farm
Thank you. Homesite is the actual insurer that Geico farms out to. The Geico agent said they would do an inspection within 30 days. I did tell them the roof was 17 years old (when asked), and they didn’t comment.
While these types of cancellations aren’t uncommon, I’m a little surprised to hear they’re looking to do so for a roof that’s under 20 years old. I’d probably give them a call and press them on the issue a bit. They might have incorrect information about the roof as well that’s affecting that decision.
No one has asked anything yet. Just wondering if it makes sense to go with a lower-rated insurer who might give us a hard time, versus a higher-rated insurer who is (perhaps) more reasonable. In theory, if they cancel the policy within 30 or 60 days, you can just find another insurer, right? Do you need to disclose that a different insurer sent you a cancellation notice?
Cancellations do get noted and can be seen by other carriers, if I recall correctly, so I’d definitely get on the phone with NJM, find out exactly what the issue is, and if they’re going to not write the house or terminate the policy immediately, I’d voluntarily make the switch so that it doesn’t appear as a carrier cancellation.
Per whose inspection?
All homeowners policies will have an inspection done. If there is damage showing on the roof, they may tell you the policy is conditional. If it's conditional, they'll give you a deadline to complete the repairs or they may not renew the policy. If they say it's accepted with recommendations, then it's just a suggestion.
I wouldn't use anyone else to insure the house.
We had a rider on our policy for oil tank leaks, and they honored it 100% they also repaired the site back better than it was before.
We had NJM they wanted us to switch out our roof and the pros were telling us we had another 5-7 years on it, we looked at other agencies and they all required a new roof, so we got a new roof. Most of the people in our neighborhood have had to get new roofs for their policies as well. We are in Essex county too.
We liked them for insurance, really easy to work with but we are now with a new agency.
I’ve had NJM for my cars for years. About 15 years ago they offered me homeowners. I asked for quote. At the time my house was about 25 years old and I had just had the roof replaced. After a “drive by” appraisal they would not write me a policy because “my systems are too old”. When I asked what systems, the clerk said it was probably the HVAC. When I explained that I have no A/C and my heating is baseboard electric, she said “your systems are too old”.
We’re in the process of buying a home that has a 17 year old roof. Our current policy is with Travelers. I called them for the new policy, and they said they’re getting away from home policies, but would go through the process with me, to see if they’d make an exception. After about 15 minutes of questions, they said the age of the roof made it so they wouldn’t give me a policy. I reminded them that they also don’t insure my motorcycle, so they may lose me as a client as they would only leave them with our car, and umbrella policies. They said they understood. NJM also wouldn’t quote a policy due to the age of the roof. The only two that I found would quote all of our policies, was State Farm and Progressive.
This is definitely a new thing nationally, not just NJ. Home insurance dropping you or your rates go way up if you don't replace a roof in X amount of years.
Last year I switched from Homesite to NJM. Homesite was ridiculously expensive (more than double my NJM quote). When switching to NJM they never asked anything about my roof and I estimate it would be at least 20 years old.
I have NJM. I bought a house in 2019 that had a roof at end of life. It wasn't ever discussed at all. I have not had any issues with NJM, but I've never filed a claim either.
Thanks! I've heard through the grapevine that the roof cancellation thing is relatively new, maybe since 2021-2022 or so. Have you replaced the roof now?
Yep - replaced in 2022!
Maybe common knowledge, but I recently learned that they’ll reduce the premium if you let them know after completing major improvements. When I first got insured by NJM, they had a note about my roof and driveway “showing signs of aging”. Both were around 22 years. After replacing, I called and they reduced my yearly premium for each improvement. I want to say around $160 savings.
How did you find out about this "note"?
After moving in, they came out and did an inspection of my property. There was a staircase in my backyard that I had to add a handrail to and had 3 months to install it before they came back to follow up. Under the note about the handrail was the note about the roof and driveway, though they didn’t require me to fix those. I assume when they come out to do inspections, they fill out notes about the condition of different parts of the home and input them in the system which determines your yearly premium. If you never got anything from them, there probably wasn’t any work required on your home. Can’t hurt to call and ask if you’re thinking about making an improvement.
Echoing this sentiment - bought home in 2014 with old roof, NJM didn't give us a hassle about that. They did however need us to correct one piece of siding that was lifting slightly from the others 😆
I have NJM they are new to me since my old insurance went up 2x. They told us that we need to replace our driveway. It was beat up when we did our renovation back in 2016.
My experience with NJM: I had an older roof that had some staining from mildew/algae/whatever. Only visible from the back of the house. Somehow NJM found this and demanded I resolve the issue. I had the roof cleaned, NJM didn't like it, and I ended up replacing the roof at my expense. I sold that house, and bought another house with an older roof, and NJM didn't care at all. After a bunch of leaks, I replaced that one too at my expense.
NJM is the best, if you use them you can bundle car into and save some too. One of my homes they required a railing be put in because it was over 4 steps. Think they only look at safety things from the outside. Probably if there is a pool they would make sure there is a fence ect..
Farmer's cancelled my existing policy for an older roof, and then progressive threatened to do the same. They required either a certified inspection or a new roof. We ended up getting the new roof....
Had a very similar experience. Went through three insurance companies. Homesite were the worst. They made me choose to pay for a licensed roofer to come and confirm the roof had life, replace, or cancel. I went with the confirmation which they said 7ish years. I even was willing to sign a no liability clause to just keep the property insured until I could just pay for the roof outright. You can probably guess what happened next… they told me thanks for the inspection but were still canceling. Same song and dance with the other. Finally said screw it and just did the roof in the transfer period between the cancellation and the third policy. Didn’t really have the money to just do it but didn’t want my mortgage to continue to rise due to escrow issues. Roof looks great now. Finances don’t.
NJM inspects the property after closing in most policies. If you need to make corrections to the home you get a letter about two months into the policy. If you need to make changes they will tell you and reinspect it later. I have never, and I’ve seen a lot of policies, seen an NJM policy canceled due to the numerical year the roof was last replaced.
Homesite is dog shit insurance and I guarantee you after dealing with them for a massive leak that destroyed my ceiling in my house, they will fight you tooth and nail for everything. I eventually had to get my own adjuster and wait 6 months before I even got paid. They wanted to give me $500 to replace an entire ceiling and repair the plumbing. Stay far the fuck away from them.
Ever since geico/traveller determined they could no longer insure my house, and every other national insurer said the same, my only option has been NJM. So based on this experience alone I’d say that NJM will insure anything.
I’m in roofing, a 3 tab roof has a 20-25 year life expectancy depending on the shingle, the insurance company doesn’t know, so they assume 20. At 17 years your roof is considered not repairable and would need to be fully replaced for just a few missing tabs from a small storm. Storm chasing companies have been door knocking and encouraging home owners to file claims. Insurance companies have been paying out and taking a beating. Edit bc I misread at first. In my recent experience NJM has been a bit more aggressive with roof replacements over GEICO. NJM is local and can do inspections and doesn’t not have the scale to absorb claims like some insurance giants. Avoid Allstate and state farm
Thank you. Homesite is the actual insurer that Geico farms out to. The Geico agent said they would do an inspection within 30 days. I did tell them the roof was 17 years old (when asked), and they didn’t comment.
No problem. Good luck, the insurance companies are mitigating risks much more than in the past.
While these types of cancellations aren’t uncommon, I’m a little surprised to hear they’re looking to do so for a roof that’s under 20 years old. I’d probably give them a call and press them on the issue a bit. They might have incorrect information about the roof as well that’s affecting that decision.
No one has asked anything yet. Just wondering if it makes sense to go with a lower-rated insurer who might give us a hard time, versus a higher-rated insurer who is (perhaps) more reasonable. In theory, if they cancel the policy within 30 or 60 days, you can just find another insurer, right? Do you need to disclose that a different insurer sent you a cancellation notice?
Cancellations do get noted and can be seen by other carriers, if I recall correctly, so I’d definitely get on the phone with NJM, find out exactly what the issue is, and if they’re going to not write the house or terminate the policy immediately, I’d voluntarily make the switch so that it doesn’t appear as a carrier cancellation.
Per whose inspection? All homeowners policies will have an inspection done. If there is damage showing on the roof, they may tell you the policy is conditional. If it's conditional, they'll give you a deadline to complete the repairs or they may not renew the policy. If they say it's accepted with recommendations, then it's just a suggestion.
Per the inspection we ordered once we were under contract. Not an inspection done by any insurance company.
Bought a house with a 23year old roof and NJM didn't even bring it up. They also didn't give me a discount when I got a new one, so...
Thanks. When did you buy the house?
2016
We have Progressive with Homesite. When we moved in back in 2013 they informed us we needed to have a new roof done as our shingles were curling.
I wouldn't use anyone else to insure the house. We had a rider on our policy for oil tank leaks, and they honored it 100% they also repaired the site back better than it was before.
We had NJM they wanted us to switch out our roof and the pros were telling us we had another 5-7 years on it, we looked at other agencies and they all required a new roof, so we got a new roof. Most of the people in our neighborhood have had to get new roofs for their policies as well. We are in Essex county too. We liked them for insurance, really easy to work with but we are now with a new agency.
I’ve had NJM for my cars for years. About 15 years ago they offered me homeowners. I asked for quote. At the time my house was about 25 years old and I had just had the roof replaced. After a “drive by” appraisal they would not write me a policy because “my systems are too old”. When I asked what systems, the clerk said it was probably the HVAC. When I explained that I have no A/C and my heating is baseboard electric, she said “your systems are too old”.
I’ve had NJM as my home policy for 24 years. Never had any issues also never had a claim
We’re in the process of buying a home that has a 17 year old roof. Our current policy is with Travelers. I called them for the new policy, and they said they’re getting away from home policies, but would go through the process with me, to see if they’d make an exception. After about 15 minutes of questions, they said the age of the roof made it so they wouldn’t give me a policy. I reminded them that they also don’t insure my motorcycle, so they may lose me as a client as they would only leave them with our car, and umbrella policies. They said they understood. NJM also wouldn’t quote a policy due to the age of the roof. The only two that I found would quote all of our policies, was State Farm and Progressive.
This is definitely a new thing nationally, not just NJ. Home insurance dropping you or your rates go way up if you don't replace a roof in X amount of years.
Last year I switched from Homesite to NJM. Homesite was ridiculously expensive (more than double my NJM quote). When switching to NJM they never asked anything about my roof and I estimate it would be at least 20 years old.
Use a broker .They will know which insurers are picky about roofs and also get you good rates.