My Insurer Denied My Roof Claim for Wear and Tear. What Can I Do?

You can challenge it. A wear-and-tear denial is your insurer’s conclusion about what caused the damage, and in Michigan, the insurer has the burden of proving that an exclusion applies. Get the reasons and the evidence in writing, get your own inspection, prove when the storm hit, and track the one-year deadline to sue, which pauses only while your claim is pending.

Our property damage claims attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent Michigan homeowners in property insurance disputes. Call (734) 469-4994 for a free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.

What to Do After a Wear-and-Tear Denial: Step by Step

1. Ask for the denial basis in writing. Request a letter quoting the exact policy provisions the insurer relied on, and a complete certified copy of your policy, including the declarations page and every endorsement.
2. Get the adjuster’s report, any engineer’s report, and the photos. Ask in writing for every inspection report, photograph, and test result in the claim file about your roof. If an engineer concluded the damage was old, you want to see what was examined and whether anyone tested the shingles for hail or wind damage.
3. Get an independent inspection. A licensed roofing contractor or forensic engineer you choose can document what the first inspection missed or described differently: fractured or bruised shingles, granule loss in a hail pattern, creased or lifted tabs, dents in vents and gutters. Ask for a written, dated report with photographs.
4. Prove the storm date. Your claim rests on a specific event. Useful proof includes the NOAA Storm Events Database (which logs significant hail and wind events by county and date), local weather reports, your own dated photos, and neighbors who filed claims after the same storm.
5. Ask for a re-inspection. Send your report to the insurer with a written request to re-inspect with your contractor or engineer present.
6. Consider appraisal if the fight is about the amount. If your insurer agrees some storm damage is covered but you disagree on how much, either side can demand appraisal in writing (MCL 500.2833(1)(m)). Appraisal is not the tool for a flat coverage denial, as explained below.
7. File a complaint with DIFS. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services takes claim-handling complaints at michigan.gov/DIFScomplaints or 877-999-6442, and asks that you try to resolve the dispute with your insurer first. A complaint creates a regulatory record, but DIFS does not act as your lawyer, and a complaint does not pause the deadline to sue.
8. Calendar the deadline to sue. You generally must file suit within one year after the loss, or within a longer period if your policy allows. The clock is paused from the time you notified the insurer of the loss until it formally denies liability (MCL 500.2833(1)(q)). Count from the storm date, and do not assume a request for reconsideration pauses it again.
9. Talk to a lawyer well before that date. Causation evidence takes time to gather, and whether a particular letter was a “formal” denial can itself be disputed.

What Does “Wear and Tear” Mean in a Homeowners Policy?

Many homeowners policies exclude loss caused by “wear and tear,” “deterioration,” “latent defect,” or similar wording. The exclusion targets damage from age and ordinary use: shingles curled and stripped of granules by years of sun, dried-out sealant, rusted flashing.

That exclusion does not say an old roof has no coverage. Wear and tear describes the roof’s condition; the windstorm or hailstorm is the covered peril. If hail fractured your 15-year-old shingles, the hail caused the damage even though the shingles weren’t new. The real question is what caused the specific damage you are claiming.

Your own policy wording controls, including any roof-specific endorsement that adds rules for older roofs or cosmetic damage. Michigan courts enforce clear policy language as written (Rory, 473 Mich 457 (2005)) and read genuinely ambiguous provisions against the insurer.

Who Has to Prove What?

You have to show that your loss falls within the coverage: a policy in force, a covered storm, and damage to your roof from it. If your insurer relies on an exclusion such as wear and tear, the insurer must prove that the exclusion applies. The Michigan Supreme Court stated that division plainly: the insured proves coverage, “while the insurer must prove that an exclusion to coverage is applicable” (Heniser, 449 Mich 155 (1995)). Heniser was a fire loss decided on other grounds, but the burden statement is the Court’s.

What if Age and the Storm Both Played a Part?

Concurrent causation. Some policies say an excluded cause bars coverage “regardless of any other cause or event contributing concurrently or in any sequence.” Whether your policy has that wording, and whether it reaches the exclusion your insurer cited, depends on the exact text; in many forms, wear and tear sits in a section without it.

Ensuing loss. Many exclusions carve out a covered loss that follows from the excluded cause. A policy might exclude deterioration but still cover water damage to your ceilings when a storm drives rain through a weakened roof. Wording varies, so read yours.

When both causes are present, your aim is to separate them. A good independent report says which damage came from the storm, which came from age, and why.

An Old Roof Can Still Be Covered, but the Payment May Be Smaller

Michigan requires property policies to cover at least the actual cash value of the property at the time of loss (MCL 500.2833(1)(a)). Actual cash value usually means replacement cost minus depreciation, and an older roof carries more depreciation.

If you have replacement cost coverage, many policies release the withheld depreciation only after the work is completed, often within a stated time. Check that condition in your policy. A dispute over how much depreciation applies is usually about the amount of loss; a dispute over whether the storm caused the damage is about coverage.

Appraisal or a Lawsuit?

In appraisal, each side picks an independent appraiser, the two pick an umpire, and a written agreement signed by two of the three sets the amount. Each side pays its own appraiser and splits the umpire’s cost (MCL 500.2833(1)(m)). Our insurance appraisal process page explains it in detail.

If the insurer has not admitted liability, the trial court decides coverage before ordering appraisal (Maksym, Docket No. 372827 (Mich Ct App, Feb. 24, 2026), published). A full wear-and-tear denial usually means coverage is not admitted. If your insurer paid part of the claim and denied the rest, the analysis can differ.

Interest, and What Michigan Law Does Not Allow

Twelve percent interest. Within 30 days after receiving your claim, your insurer must tell you in writing what it needs as satisfactory proof of loss (MCL 500.2006(3)). Benefits owed to you that are not paid on time carry simple interest at 12% per year from 60 days after the insurer received satisfactory proof of loss (MCL 500.2006(4)). For a policyholder, that interest does not depend on whether the claim was “reasonably in dispute,” a limit that applies only to third-party claimants (Nickola, 500 Mich 115 (2017)). See our underpaid and delayed insurance claims page.

No emotional-distress or punitive damages. A homeowners claim is a contract case. Michigan generally does not allow damages for emotional distress or exemplary (punitive) damages for an insurer’s breach of its policy (Kewin, 409 Mich 401 (1980)), and it does not recognize a separate bad-faith tort for a wrongly denied first-party claim. What you can recover is what the policy owed, plus statutory interest.

What Not to Do While the Claim Is Disputed

• Do not let a roofer tear off the roof before you document it. Once the old shingles are gone, so is the evidence. Protect the house with a tarp or emergency repair, keep the receipts, and keep samples of damaged shingles and metal. DIFS advises keeping damaged items until your insurer says you can discard them.
• Do not miss the suit deadline. Negotiation, re-inspection, a DIFS complaint, and an appraisal demand do not, by themselves, extend the one year once the insurer formally denies liability.
• Do not sign a release or “final” proof of loss that gives up disputed items. Have anything labeled release, full and final, or settlement reviewed if the amount is in dispute.
• Do not hand the claim to whoever knocks on the door. DIFS warns about door-to-door workers posing as adjusters or contractors after storms, and notes that the insurer’s adjuster should never ask you for payment.

See also our denied roof claims and storm, wind and hail damage claims pages.

Why Choose Vahdat Weisman Law?

A wear-and-tear denial is a causation dispute, decided on the policy’s exact wording, the insurer’s inspection file, an independent expert’s findings, and a timeline that keeps the one-year suit period intact. We start by getting those records and working out the tolling dates.

From our Livonia office, we represent injured people and their families throughout Michigan. Founding partners Kara E. Weisman and Jordan S. Vahdat have each been honored as Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Our attorneys are members of the State Bar of Michigan and active in the Michigan Association for Justice. We advance case costs, we work in English and Spanish, and we are available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

• My roof is 20 years old. Can my insurer deny the claim just because of age? Not by age alone. Age is a condition of the roof, not the cause of a storm loss, and your insurer must prove an exclusion applies. Age reduces an actual cash value payment through depreciation, and some policies include roof-specific endorsements worth reading.
• Can I demand appraisal after a wear-and-tear denial? You can submit the demand, but if the insurer hasn’t admitted any covered loss, a court generally decides coverage first (Maksym, Feb. 24, 2026). Appraisal fits best when some storm damage is accepted, and the fight is over how much.
• How long do I have to sue after my roof claim is denied? Usually one year after the loss, or longer if your policy says so, with the time paused from your notice of loss until the formal denial (MCL 500.2833(1)(q)). Count from the storm date and have the dates reviewed early.
• Can I sue my insurance company for bad faith? Not as a separate tort for a denied homeowners claim. Your case is for the benefits the policy owed, with 12% statutory interest if payment was untimely (MCL 500.2006(4)).

About the Author

Jordan S. Vahdat is a founding partner of Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia and handles negligence, premises liability, auto accident, and insurance dispute cases. He has been admitted to all Michigan state courts since 2014, practices in the Eastern District of Michigan, and has served as a case evaluator for the Washtenaw Circuit Trial Court and the 15th District Court since 2020. He is fluent in Spanish.

Talk to a Michigan Property Insurance Lawyer

If your roof claim was denied as wear and tear, call Vahdat Weisman Law at (734) 469-4994 or contact us online for a free consultation. Bring the denial letter, your policy, and any photos. Available 24/7, serving all of Michigan, with Spanish-speaking staff.

Dedicated to Justice. Devoted to You. Winning for Your Future.

Reviewed by Jordan S. Vahdat, Vahdat Weisman Law. Last reviewed October 2026.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.