VIRGINIA HOMEOWNERS • NEW LAW EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE CARRIERS DEMANDING ROOF REPLACEMENT

Insurers are using aerial photos and roof age to tell homeowners: replace the roof or lose the policy, often on a 15-to-20-year-old roof that isn't leaking. Virginia just passed a law that limits this. Here's what it says, and how a free inspection, repairs, and a rejuvenation treatment can keep both your roof and your coverage.

GET A FREE WRITTEN ROOF ASSESSMENT

WHAT THE NEW LAW SAYS, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE

VIRGINIA LAW • 2026 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY, CHAPTER 657

Passed unanimously in 2026, effective January 1, 2027. Applies to owner-occupied homes with asphalt shingle roofs.

Under 15 years: age alone is not a reason

An insurer cannot refuse, cancel, or non-renew solely because of a roof's age if the roof is less than 15 years old.

Any age: 5 years of useful life is the test

If an authorized inspector reports five or more years of useful life remaining, the insurer cannot require replacement as a condition of coverage, regardless of the roof's age.

15 years or older: inspection comes first

Before requiring replacement, the insurer must allow an inspection by an authorized inspector. Specific damage can still be required to be repaired, but once it is, it can't be held against you.

Who can write the report: a licensed home inspector, a licensed contractor with a residential building classification, or a professional engineer. Roof Renew holds a Virginia Class A license with the Residential Building Contractor classification (No. 2705180049), so our written assessment meets the law's definition. Full text of the Act: Chapter 657 (HB 677).

TURN THE INSURER'S DEMAND INTO A DOCUMENTED ANSWER

HOW ROOF RENEW HELPS

1- Free Written Assessment

Satellite measurement, on-site photos, and a condition-based recommendation in writing. You get the report whether or not you hire us.

REQUEST A FREE ASSESSMENT

2 - Tune-up and repairs

What inspectors flag is usually small: nail pops, cracked pipe boots, lifted flashing. Every treatment includes a tune-up that fixes them, photographed before and after.

3 - Rejuvenation Treatment

Restores the flexibility aging shingles lose, so they bend instead of crack and shed. Independently tested; 5-year limited warranty per application. See the lab results.

Most roofs we look at can be saved. When one can't, we say so in writing and quote the replacement, because we do those too.

COMMON QUESTIONS

WHAT VIRGINIA HOMEOWNERS ASK US

It can't force you to hire a roofer, but it can make a new roof a condition of keeping the policy and non-renew at the end of the term. Virginia requires at least 30 days' written notice with the specific reason, and you have 10 days to ask the Bureau of Insurance to review it. Starting January 1, 2027, a new Virginia law limits when an insurer can do this over an asphalt shingle roof's age or condition.
Yes. Get the insurer's reason and any aerial images in writing, get an independent inspection with photos, fix what it finds, and ask for an extension while you do. Insurers often reconsider when a written inspection report and close-up photos contradict a satellite image.
That is the insurer's call and no roofer can promise it. What treatment and the included tune-up do is change what an inspector finds: repairs made, shingles that flex instead of crack, and a written report on remaining useful life. Five years or more of useful life is the test the new law uses.
Then we'll tell you so in writing and quote a replacement. Roof Renew replaces roofs too, so there is no reason for us to sell you a treatment that won't hold.