Hi all,
We have had a single family homeowners insurance plan (HO3) for our townhouse since we purchased in 2016. We were told at the time that homeowners were required to purchase an HO3 policy, as the association's master policy did not cover the roofs and exterior walls.
Recently, however, the association has had to hire a lawyer to deal with a long drawn out warranty claim with the manufacturer who sold the HOA new shingles (new roof installed in 2015). Those shingles have since deteriorated WAY before the end of their useful life and are showing things like extensive granular loss and something about part of the roof melting and sticking to the underside. Due to the melting issue, HAZMAT will be required for proper removal. Please forgive me if I'm using the wrong terms - I do not completely understand the technical aspects.
Suffice it to say the issue was determined to not be due to faulty installation, but rather due to faulty shingles. This manufacturer has had several class action lawsuits (which we are not a part of) for this issue, unfortunately. And, also unfortunately, apparently the manufacturer has a history of dragging out warranty claims for years, like they are doing with us.
So, the lawyer hired is working on our claim with the manufacturer, but he also reviewed our HOA bylaws and made a surprising statement at our last meeting. He stated that with the way our bylaws are written, the HOA is actually responsible for any roof claims and should have a master policy that includes coverage for it. He said as it is now, if we have a roof claim, our individual HO3 policies will ask to see the bylaws, and when they see the language used, they will refuse to honor any roof claims.
Due to this new information from the lawyer, the HOA now plans to obtain a master policy that covers the roof and exterior building. HOWEVER, due to the current condition of the roof, they are unable to obtain insurance coverage. The HOA has been told they will only be eligible for coverage once the new roof is installed (which could be how long


Who knows! We are going on 4 years now. Ugh.)
Basically it sounds to me like right now all homeowners are uninsured for the roof no matter what kind of policy they have. If we have a roof claim, there will surely be a hefty special assessment.
So, here I am trying to figure out why I'm paying for an HO3 policy when it sounds like we should have an H06 policy. I'm contemplating contacting our insurance agent to see if we would be able to switch, but at the same time, am nervous that somehow our insurance might drop us altogether.
Would love to hear advice on how you would approach this situation if it were you. Thank you.