Kissimmee storm damage, missing shingles, and the “older roof” insurance ISSUE!

Jan 22

In Kissimmee and across Osceola County, storm season doesn’t always announce itself with a hurricane name and a weeks-long forecast track. Sometimes it’s an afternoon line of severe thunderstorms—fast-moving, loud, and strong enough to turn a solid roof into a scattered trail of shingle tabs in the yard.

Central Florida storms regularly bring wind gusts around the range that can lift and peel asphalt shingles, especially where adhesive seals have weakened with age. Local coverage of severe storms in the region has documented warnings and reports of damaging winds and hail across Osceola County, with gusts reported up to about 60 mph during outbreaks in 2025.

And that’s where a lot of Kissimmee homeowners get trapped: the damage is real, but it’s not always dramatic—and if the roof is older, insurance scrutiny tends to rise right when you need help most.

📞 Call us today to schedule your FREE drone inspection: 407-922-3296 🌐 FREE ROOFING ESTIMATE - toprankfreequote.com

Why “just a few missing shingles” can become a big problem

A handful of missing shingles can be more than cosmetic:

Water intrusion can start small (wind-driven rain slipping under exposed underlayment, around flashing, or at lifted edges) and only show up later as staining or a soft spot in the decking.
Adjacent shingles can be compromised by the same gust that removed the first row—creased, unsealed, or loosened—making the next storm’s damage worse.
Repairs can trigger code questions: in some cases, the scope of repair isn’t just about what’s missing today, but how much of a roof area/section is being worked on within a 12-month period under Florida’s building code framework.

The core fight: storm damage vs. “wear and tear”

When a claim gets contentious, it often turns on a single argument: was the shingle loss caused by a specific wind event, or was it the end-stage failure of an aging roof?

Insurers commonly look for signs they can label as deterioration—brittleness, granule loss, heat aging, prior repairs, or long-term maintenance issues—rather than a sudden storm-related uplift. A big recent industry controversy has been the rise of subjective “brittleness tests” and the broader debate over what actually proves wind damage on older shingles.

This is why two neighbors can live through the same storm and get two very different claim outcomes: the roof’s condition before the storm becomes part of the story the adjuster believes.

How roof age affects insurance in Florida (and what the law actually says)

Florida law does not let insurers do whatever they want based solely on roof age—at least not in the simplistic way it’s often described at neighborhood cookouts.

Here are the key pieces homeowners in Kissimmee should know:

Roofs under 15 years old

An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old.

Roofs 15 years or older

If a roof is 15 years or older, the insurer must allow the homeowner to get an inspection by an authorized inspector before requiring replacement for issuance/renewal. And if that inspection indicates the roof has 5 years or more of useful life, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of age.

That said, “solely because of age” is the critical phrase. In practice, carriers can still take action based on condition, underwriting guidelines, and documented deterioration—especially after a claim.

The “denied because it’s old” pattern—how it happens

Homeowners often describe the denial as “they denied it because my roof is old.” What the paperwork may say is something like:

Damage is consistent with wear/tear, deterioration, or improper maintenance (excluded causes in many policies).
No storm-created opening (insurer disputes that wind created the pathway for water).
Insufficient evidence tying damage to the reported date of loss.
Late notice (waiting months can be costly).

Florida’s claim notice deadline is also tighter than many people realize: a property claim is generally barred unless notice is given within 1 year after the date of loss (with separate timing for supplemental claims).

So even if a homeowner didn’t see the missing shingles right away, the clock can still matter—especially when storms stack up across a season.

The building-code wrinkle that can change the scope and price

Repairs aren’t just a negotiation with an insurer; they’re also constrained by code rules and permitting realities.

Florida’s building code has long included a concept commonly referred to as the “25% rule” for roof repairs within a 12-month period (with legislative modifications over time). In plain terms, once repairs cross certain thresholds, broader replacement requirements can come into play for a roof area/section to conform to code.

This matters because insurance disputes often come down to repair vs. replace:

If a carrier says “repair,” but matching shingles aren’t available or code pushes a larger scope, the homeowner can get stuck in the middle.
If a carrier says “wear and tear,” the homeowner may be staring at a full reroof out-of-pocket.

📞 Call us today to schedule your FREE drone inspection: 407-922-3296 🌐 FREE ROOFING ESTIMATE - toprankfreequote.com