Nobody puts roofs on a top-ten list, but this is the thing killing more offers and repair negotiations than anything else I've seen lately.

Insurance companies used to cover your roof at replacement cost value (RCV). If a storm tears it off, they pay to put a new one on. A lot of companies have switched to prorating roofs based on age. That's actual cash value (ACV). They figure out how much of the roof's life is used up and only pay for what's left. One analysis of more than 2,000 insurance filings found that among the ten biggest home insurers, prorated roof schedules went from about 10% of policies in 2015 to about 60% in 2025. Six times more common in ten years.

Here's what that looks like in real money. A new roof costs $11,000, your roof loses $1,000 of value a year in the insurance company's eyes, and it's ten years old. A storm takes it. Under replacement cost, you pay your deductible. Under actual cash value, you pay your deductible plus the $10,000 of "used up" roof. Same storm. Same house. Wildly different check.

Kentucky is already paying up. Insurance.com puts Kentucky's average homeowners premium at $4,471 a year in 2026, up 10.6%, the eighth highest in the country.

Here's where it gets crazy in deals. On quite a few deals lately, nearly all of them when it comes to repair requests, mortgage companies are requiring new roofs. Even when it's a newer roof. A roof with plenty of life left gets flagged, and suddenly the buyer and seller are fighting over a five-figure line item nobody planned for.

So here's what I'd do, depending on who you are.

If you own: pull out your policy and find the declarations page. Look for whether your roof is covered at replacement cost or actual cash value. Words to watch for are "roof surfacing," "roof payment schedule" and "actual cash value." Ask your agent what it costs to switch to replacement cost, and compare that to a roof coming out of your own pocket.

If you're buying: get the roof's age early, and get your insurance quote before your inspection window closes, not three days before closing.

If you're selling: know your roof's age and condition before you list. If it's getting up there, you can price for it, offer a credit or replace it on your terms, instead of having it forced on you in a repair request.

If you're an investor: put the roof right next to the purchase price in your head. On a rental, one prorated roof claim can wipe out a year or two of cash flow.

Since I'm in Louisville, here's the market backdrop I pulled from our MLS for Jefferson County. Single-family inventory was 2,580 in September, up from 2,060 a year ago and 1,721 in February. Absorption (how many months it would take to sell everything on the market if nobody listed another house) is about 3 months for single-family, up from 2 in February. Around 6 is usually called balanced, so it's still a seller's market, but the gap is closing.

For duplexes through fourplexes, absorption is almost 10 months, up from under 5 in February. That's buyer territory, and it doubled in seven months. If you're looking at small multifamily, you have more leverage on price, repairs and terms than you've had in a long time.

Questions for the group: Are you seeing lenders require new roofs on roofs that still have life left? Have you switched any policies to replacement cost on the roof, and what did it cost you? And where are premiums headed in your market?