I was asked by and insurance adjuster to inspect a 20 year old cedar shake roof in Federal Way that had some wind damage. Typically, if installed correctly, a cedar shake roof will only suffer wind damage when it is worn out which should be a sign to the homeowner that you should replace your roof. I tend to find that the cedar ridge cap will be the first to blow off or get damaged in a wind storm. The staples that hold the two pieces of cedar together to form a ridge cap will deteriorate and allow the ridge cap to be vulnerable to wind damage. The cedar shakes themselves don’t tend to blow off unless they were not installed correctly in the first place.
Most insurance companies define wind damage to the roof as any missing or loose shingles caused by the wind. It does not matter if you maintain your roof or not at this point as there is no stipulation to how you maintain your roof. In other words if you don’t replace your roof when it should be replaced and a wind storm came and blew your roof off chances are your roof will be replaced for free, less your deductible. Technically not for free since you pay your insurance premiums.
After I inspected the roof I concluded, by definition of the insurance company, that the roof did indeed have wind damage. However since the roof was worn out repair would not be possible without destroying the roof just by walking on it.
No matter what type of roof you have there are limits to how long your roof will last. Replacing a roof before it is susceptible to damages from the forces of nature is the responsibility of the homeowner not the insurance company. When you make a claim on your insurance you premiums increase so in reality you are paying probably more than you would for your new roof if you would’ve just replaced it before it could become damaged. The next time the wind blows pick up the phone to call Regal Roofing & Contracting not your insurance company.