Homeowner guides · Insurance
Florida’s Roof-Age Insurance Rule: What Fla. Stat. § 627.7011 Actually Says
A plain-language guide to Florida’s roof-age limits on refusing or nonrenewing a homeowners policy, including the 15-year rule, the paid inspection path, and how roof age is calculated.
Last updated November 10, 2026 (America/New_York). All blog posts. Educational guide, not a bid, a specification, or insurance advice.
Direct answer
On homeowners’ insurance policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022, Fla. Stat. § 627.7011(5) limits refusals that are based solely on roof age. An insurer may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew a homeowner’s policy insuring a residential structure with a roof that is less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof. For a roof that is at least 15 years old, the insurer must allow a homeowner to have a roof inspection performed by an authorized inspector, at the homeowner’s expense, before requiring replacement of the roof as a condition of issuing or renewing the policy. The insurer may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew solely because of roof age if that inspection indicates the roof has five years or more of useful life remaining.
This is not a rule that every 15-year-old roof must be replaced, and it is not a promise that an older roof will be insured. Subsection (6)(c) still allows an insurer to reject or nonrenew because the structure does not meet underwriting criteria, or for other lawful reasons, including condition. The statute also does not apply to policies that are not “homeowners’ policies” as commonly understood, or to mobile-home policies. Ask your agent how your company applies it. This page is not insurance advice.
The 15-year line, and the paid inspection path after that
The “less than 15 years” protection is narrow: the insurer may not refuse solely because of age. Condition, claims history, and other underwriting criteria can still be in play. Once the roof is at least 15 years old, you have a statutory path to pay for an inspection by an “authorized inspector” before the company can require a replacement as a condition of issuing or renewing. If that inspection says there are at least five years of useful life left, the insurer may not refuse solely because of age.
An “authorized inspector” under § 627.7011(5)(a) is an inspector approved by the insurer who is a home inspector licensed under § 468.8314; a building code inspector certified under § 468.607; a general, building, or residential contractor licensed under § 489.111, or a roofing contractor; a professional engineer licensed under § 471.015; a professional architect licensed under § 481.213; or any other individual or entity the insurer recognizes as qualified to complete a general inspection of a residential structure insured with a homeowner’s policy. “Approved by the insurer” matters; ask the company whom it will accept before you pay for a report it will not read.
How the statute calculates roof age
Section 627.7011(5)(d) says a roof’s age is calculated using the last date on which 100 percent of the roof’s surface area was built or replaced in accordance with the building code in effect at that time, or the initial date of a partial roof replacement when subsequent partial builds or replacements were completed that resulted in 100 percent of the surface area being built or replaced. A patch, a coating, or a repair of part of the roof does not automatically reset the clock. A staged series of replacements that eventually covers the entire roof may, if it meets that definition.
This is one reason to keep permits and final inspections. A city or county permit file is often better evidence of a full replacement date than a memory or a contractor’s invoice without a permit. See our Port St. Lucie roof permits guide.
What the rest of § 627.7011 is about
The roof-age subsection sits inside a larger statute about replacement-cost and law-and-ordinance coverage. Insurers must offer those coverages in the manner the statute describes; unless they obtain a written refusal, a policy covering the dwelling is deemed to include law-and-ordinance coverage limited to 25 percent of the dwelling limit. The statute also requires bold notices about law-and-ordinance coverage and, where flood is not included, about the need for separate flood insurance. Payment timing on a replacement-cost dwelling loss — actual cash value first, remainder as work is performed, with a special rule when a roof deductible applies — is in subsection (3). Those rules are explained in our hurricane-claim guide.
Subsection (6) is the limitation clause people skip. It does not apply to non-homeowners policies or mobile-home policies, it does not stop lawful underwriting for reasons other than age alone, and it does not stop an insurer from limiting replacement-cost liability to the lowest of the policy limit, the reasonable cost to repair, or the reasonable cost to replace, or from exercising a contractual right to repair.
Useful life, condition, and what a report cannot do
“Five years of useful life remaining” is a professional judgment, not a warranty that the roof will go five more years without a storm. Heat, installation quality, and a later hurricane can change the picture. InterNACHI’s Florida life chart is a planning guideline, not a substitute for an inspector’s report on your roof. If an inspection finds the roof is worn out, leaking, or unattached, the age rule does not require the insurer to ignore that condition.
A wind-mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802) is a different document, used for credits under § 627.711; it is not automatically the § 627.7011(5) useful-life inspection. Our wind-mitigation guide explains that form. If you are considering a replacement, use roof replacement for quotes and the how to hire checklist.
Putting the rule next to a real permit file
If you are close to a renewal and the company is asking about roof age, start with documents: the original permit, the final inspection, invoices that show a full tear-off, and photographs. If only part of the roof was replaced after a prior storm, the statutory age may still run from the last date when the entire surface met the test in subsection (5)(d). A hallway conversation with a previous owner is weak evidence next to a city permit.
When you schedule a useful-life inspection, ask the insurer, in writing, whether the inspector you want is on its authorized list and what form the company wants back. Pay the inspector yourself, keep the report, and send it the way the company directs. If the report says the roof is worn out, the age rule will not force a renewal; you will be in a replacement conversation instead. If the report supports at least five years of remaining useful life, keep a copy with the policy. A later storm can still change the condition, and a later underwriting decision can still be about that condition rather than about age alone.
Matching service pages
This article is educational. For quotes, use the service pages, which are the commercial pages for this site:
Related roof types
Related guides
- Florida Wind-Mitigation Inspections: The Uniform Form, Credits, and Limits
- Filing a Roof Insurance Claim After Hurricane Damage in Florida
- How Long Does a Roof Last in Florida? InterNACHI’s Chart, and What It Doesn’t Mean
Questions
01.Does Florida law require me to replace my roof at 15 years?+–
No. Section 627.7011(5) limits an insurer’s ability to refuse a homeowners policy solely because of roof age. It does not order every owner to reroof at year 15.
02.If my roof is 20 years old but still in good shape, can I be nonrenewed for age alone?+–
The statute says the insurer must allow a paid inspection by an authorized inspector and may not refuse solely because of age if that inspection shows at least five years of useful life remaining. The company may still underwrite for condition or other lawful reasons.
03.Does a roof coating reset the roof’s age?+–
Usually not. Age is calculated from a 100 percent replacement to the then-current code, or from staged work that resulted in 100 percent of the surface being built or replaced. A coating is typically not a 100 percent replacement. Ask your insurer; this is not a coverage opinion.
04.Who pays for the useful-life inspection?+–
The statute says the inspection is at the homeowner’s expense. Confirm that the inspector is one the insurer will accept.
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 627.7011 (2025), Homeowners’ policies; offer of replacement cost coverage and law and ordinance coverage
- Fla. Stat. § 627.701(10), separate roof deductibles on personal lines residential policies
- InterNACHI, Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Florida Homes (roofing table)
- City of Port St. Lucie Building Department, Building Permits: Applications, Fees and Checklists
- Florida Department of Financial Services, Mitigation Notices, Inspections and Forms
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, license search
Back to the blog. Also see how to hire a roofer and the Florida roof types hub.