Short answer: Often yes, if the roof damage is a covered event (like storm or hail damage) and your solar panels have to come off to complete the repair — but coverage depends on your specific policy, so it’s worth confirming with your insurer before work starts.
If your roof is damaged by a covered event and you have solar panels installed, your homeowners insurance claim may need to account for the cost of removing the panels, replacing the roof underneath, and reinstalling the system afterward — not just the roofing work itself.
What typically determines coverage
- Cause of damage. Storm, hail, wind, and falling debris are commonly covered perils. Gradual wear or lack of maintenance typically isn’t.
- Whether panels must come off to complete the repair. If the roofer can’t safely access or replace the roofing material with panels in place, removal becomes part of the covered repair scope in many policies.
- Your specific policy language. Solar-specific riders or endorsements vary by insurer — some policies cover panels as part of the dwelling, others require a separate rider.
What the process usually looks like
- File your insurance claim for the roof damage first, and get the adjuster’s assessment.
- Get a roofing/solar contractor who can quote both the roof repair and the panel removal/reinstallation together — this avoids gaps between separate roofing and solar companies over who’s responsible for what.
- Confirm with your insurer whether the removal/reinstall cost is included in your claim payout or billed separately.
How SunSent handles this
Because we do both roofing and solar in-house, we can put panel removal, reinstallation and the roof work in one written scope, which some homeowners find helpful when talking with their insurer. Your insurer decides what is covered. We can provide written documentation of the roof and panel work, and questions about coverage are best answered by your insurer.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Ideally one team handles both, so you aren’t coordinating two companies. SunSent’s in-house teams do this directly.
Ask whoever does the work whether their process preserves your warranty, and get the answer in writing before work starts.
It depends on system size and roof complexity — get a project-specific timeline rather than assuming a standard duration.
It depends on why the roof is being replaced. If it’s a covered insurance claim (storm or hail damage), the removal/reinstall cost is often included in the claim, as described above. If it’s a roof replacement you’re choosing to do on your own (aging roof, upgrade, not an insurance claim), that cost typically falls to you as the homeowner, since it’s outside a covered event. Either way, get this in writing before work starts. It’s a common point of confusion between homeowners, roofers and solar companies.