Minnesota homeowners are frequently affected by storm damage caused by hail and strong winds, which may require repairing or replacement of roof shingles, siding, and other damaged portions of the home. Such storm damage is generally covered by your homeowner’s property insurance policy.

When working with your contractor to determine the scope of necessary repairs, you may find that the storm damage is concentrated on one or two sides of the home, leaving other areas undamaged. This does not present a problem when the same style and color of roof shingles, siding, and other materials are available to use as replacements for the repair work, because this allows a generally uniform appearance to be maintained for the home—even when you are repairing only some areas. However, when a reasonably similar style and color of replacement materials is not available, it raises the question whether your insurance company is required to pay for complete replacement of roof shingles, siding, etc. in order to avoid a “patchwork” appearance where the repairs do not match the original materials.

Fortunately for homeowners, the Minnesota Supreme Court has addressed this question, holding that — in the absence of an express exclusion for matching — a property insurance policy included coverage for full replacement of the original roofing and siding materials when the available replacement materials did not reasonably match the original appearance of the home. See Cedar Bluff Townhome Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co., 857 N.W.2d 290 (Minn. 2014). Our team has been active in using this ruling in favor of homeowners and homeowners’ associations, resulting in successful negotiations and (when necessary) successful litigation establishing coverage for complete replacement of non-matching roofing and siding. We have also successfully argued for the expansion of “matching” coverage to include complete replacement of non-matching windows and frames.

If your home or homeowners’ association is affected by storm damage or hail, you should understand the extent of coverage provided by your policy.  The team at Greenstein Sellers has significant experience in assistance with hail claims, storm damage and coverage disputes with insurance companies and would be happy to help you explore your options.