Residents at the Ocean Parks condo association had every reason to think they were covered — a roof inspection's finding of more than a collective century of usable life on their 15 roofs would seem an assurance the property would remain insurable.

Aging roofs have increasingly become a reason for property insurers either to cancel or not renew policies as technology presents more tools for keeping tabs on property conditions. But now the association is looking at having to replace the roofs of 13 multifamily buildings and other structures in the next eight months at an estimated cost of $4.5 million. That's if they want to maintain a policy from what is likely the only company in the state that will insure them for the full replacement value, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., their agent told them on Sept. 3. Facing a crowd of about two dozen residents and others on Zoom, the association’s insurance agent, Andrew Massie, told them the life on their condo roofs was ending sooner than their policy had shown.

Ocean Parks condominiums in Jupiter

 

The policy had shown 187 years of remaining usable life left on the roofs of the 13 residential buildings and two other buildings at the 328-condo association. But this year's policy renewal showed that life had vanished.

 

“I know this is going to be frustrating,” Massie said, recalling a back-and-forth with someone in the underwriting department at Citizens. “She literally said it was a mistake.”

That’s cold comfort for the condo owners here who have been saving for roof replacements on another schedule entirely.

“We had an independent inspection that indicated our roofs are in ‘good’ condition with a remaining useful life of eight years,” said David Reid, 62, who has been living at Ocean Parks for nine years.

Florida property insurers’ closer scrutiny

More than 1.5 million property insurance policies have been canceled in Florida in the first half of 2025, according to data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. And most often, the reason the policy was canceled has to do with the condition of the roof, says Robert Norberg, president of Arden Insurance Associates in Lantana. Figuring in the equation: Florida's vulnerability to roof-ripping hurricane winds.

“That’s because a problem with the roof has the highest claims potential,” Norberg said.

The frequency of policy cancellations has been dropping since the state’s insurance market teetered on the brink of collapse in 2022, according to state data. But insurers are not easing up on tightened underwriting guidelines and checking up on the condition of the insured property, insurance agents report.

Better surveillance, data collection and other technological leaps are helping insurance companies decrease the liability on their books, pushing policyholders either into repairs or replacement sooner than later. Most agents say this scrutiny started in 2018 and it’s only getting more advanced.

“Typically, the age and condition of a roof is a key element of how insurers determine risk and whether or not the property meets the company’s underwriting standards for coverage,” said Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations for the insurance industry-funded Insurance Information Institute.

“A roof is considered the first line of defense from the impacts of severe weather events, especially windstorms. Insurers in Florida and across the country have enhanced their exterior inspections of homes and are using aerial imagery to create very comprehensive AI-generated inspection reports that help company underwriters make coverage decisions,” he said.

It makes sense to Brian Murphy, co-owner of The Murphy Agency, a Brightway affiliate, in Palm Beach Gardens.

“If you have a house needing repair that’s next to one that’s well-maintained, which one is more like to have a loss?” Murphy asked rhetorically as he noted that overhanging trees, surfaces in need of pressure washing and broken-down cars in the yard, are potential red flags for insurers in addition to data in municipal office data showing the most recent roofing permit at the property pulled 15 years ago or more.

Florida homeowners have some protection under the law

In 2022, as part of a package of changes to laws regulating insurers, the Florida Legislature agreed to prohibit insurers from deciding not to renew policies based on the age of the roof alone.

The law allows for homeowners to stop the insurer from yanking their coverage because their roof was installed 15 years ago or more. Under the law, a nonrenewal or cancellation due to a roof can be forestalled with an inspection attesting to the roof having five more years of usable life.

Still, insurers are still canceling or not renewing policies based on roof age, according to what Mike Silvers, director of Technical Services at Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association Inc. is hearing from roofing contractors and policyholders.

“The insurers seem to be under the impression that every roof beyond a certain age has deficiencies, but that is not necessarily so.” Silvers said.

Also, many policyholders may not know that they can forestall an insurance nonrenewal if they get a qualified inspector to attest that a 15-year-old roof still has at least five years of life left, Silvers said.

Premium prices for older roofs climbing

Linda Bobillo’s 18-year-old clay tile roof hasn't caused her insurance policy to be canceled or not renewed, but its age has increased her premiums exponentially, the 49-year-old physical therapist from Coral Springs says she understands.

She’s watched her annual premium climb from $4,500 in 2016 to the current $15,000 despite having a roof made of what’s considered some of the longest-lasting roofing material there is: Clay tile typically lasts between 25 and 50 years in Florida. State regulators have said concrete or metal should be preferred for Florida’s conditions.

“I could understand if I had a normal (asphalt) shingle roof,” she said.

Trying to get a new policy, Bobillo said her agent told her that three out of the four companies her agent contacted did not want to quote a premium due to the age of the roof.

“I feel like, as South Floridians, we are stuck,” Bobillo said. “They are offering to do policies that exclude the roof, which, to me, is insane. Do you think the mortgage holder is going to allow me to get that kind of a policy?”

Condo roofs aren't protected by law

At Ocean Parks, most of the flat roofs are made of tar and gravel. In June 2024, state regulators allowed Citizens to update their rules that cover condos such as the Jupiter association along the west side of State Road A1A. The rules give Citizens the right to decide not to renew a condo policy, despite an inspection report showing the roofs have remaining useful life.

That condo policies would be governed by different rules than homeowners’ insurance policies doesn’t make sense to Reid, who works in the tech industry.

“No one seems to be able to tell me how a condo which is zoned residential is treated differently,” he said.

Michael Peltier, spokesperson for Citizens, said the decision on Ocean Parks was not made because of the age of the roofs alone. The condition and the age of some of the buildings precipitated the nonrenewal of the association's policy, he said.

"If any of the units' roofs did not have a useful life of 15 years, the policy would be nonrenewed," Peltier said.