If you own a home in Fort Myers, Cape Coral or anywhere in Lee County, you have probably had a harder conversation with your insurer about your roof than homeowners elsewhere in the state. Since Ian came through in September 2022, roof age and roof condition have driven an enormous number of non-renewals and coverage fights in Southwest Florida.
What most homeowners do not realize is that Florida law gives you specific, written protections here. Knowing them changes how that conversation goes.
What the law actually says about roof age
Section 627.7011 of the Florida Statutes sets out three things worth committing to memory.
- Under 15 years, age alone is not a reason. An insurer may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew a homeowner’s policy on a residential structure with a roof less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof.
- You have a right to an inspection first. Where a roof is older, an insurer must allow the homeowner to have a roof inspection performed by an authorized inspector, at the homeowner’s expense, before requiring the roof to be replaced.
- Five years of life defeats an age-only refusal. An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age if an inspection by an authorized inspector indicates the roof has five years or more of useful life remaining.
Read those carefully and you will notice the recurring phrase: solely because of the age of the roof. The protection is against age being used as the only reason. An insurer can still act on documented condition — actual damage, failed components, an unrepaired defect. Age by itself is a different matter.
A correction worth making
You may have seen articles this year describing new 2026 protections under House Bill 815 — a bill that would have further restricted insurers on roof age, required them to treat low-slope and steep-slope roofs differently, and guaranteed an inspection before a required replacement.
That bill did not become law. HB 815 died in the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee in March 2026, as did its companion Senate bill. If you are relying on protections you read about in one of those articles, you are relying on something that does not exist. The statute above is what is actually in force.
Why this bites harder in Lee County
Two things stack up here. First, a very large number of Southwest Florida roofs were replaced in the same narrow window after Ian, which means a lot of the housing stock will cross insurance thresholds at roughly the same time. Second, roofs that were repaired rather than replaced in that period were often repaired under enormous time pressure, with whatever materials and labor were available.
The result is a lot of roofs whose paperwork and whose actual condition do not match particularly well. If you bought a Lee County home after 2022, this is worth checking rather than assuming.
What to do before your renewal date
- Find out how old your roof actually is. The permit record with Lee County or the City of Cape Coral will tell you, even if the seller’s disclosure was vague.
- Keep the documentation. Permit, final inspection, invoice, and photographs. This is the evidence that settles arguments later.
- If you are near 15 years, get the inspection early. An inspection showing five or more years of remaining life is the thing that protects you. Getting it after a non-renewal notice is a worse position than getting it before.
- Fix small defects before an inspector finds them. Lifted shingles, failed boots and damaged flashing are cheap to correct and expensive to have written up.
A word on who inspects
The statute refers to an authorized inspector. That is a defined category, not simply anyone willing to climb a ladder. Before you pay for an inspection you intend to rely on with an insurer, confirm the inspector qualifies for that purpose — a report from someone who does not will not do the job you need it to do.
We are roofers, not insurance agents or lawyers. This is general information about Florida law, not advice about your policy. For what your specific policy covers and what your options are, talk to your agent or an attorney who handles property insurance.
Titanium Roofing Experts is a Florida state-certified roofing contractor, license CCC1336607. We work across Fort Myers and Southwest Florida as well as Sarasota and Tampa. If you want your roof looked at properly before your renewal comes up, request a free inspection or see our Fort Myers service area.