The condition score is the first gate
The term is issued against a measured band, so a roof cannot be issued cover its score does not support. On Good, Fortify Elite carries 20 years plus 5 years of hail; the same build on Fair carries a shorter term without the hail line.
That is not a technicality to be argued after the fact: the band is measured, written into the estimate and carried into the registration.
Registration is the second
The terms must be registered within 30 days of the treatment. We register it after the work is done, which means in normal practice you are not chasing a deadline, but the window is part of the terms and worth knowing.
If you ever need the registration record, it is the document that proves the term and the band, which is exactly what a buyer or an insurer will ask for.
The exclusions are the third
The cover names what it is responsible for, and everything else sits outside it. General roof wear, storm damage, and a surface that was already failing when it was assessed are the published exclusions, and the full list comes with your estimate.
Water pathways the treatment never covered follow the same logic: flashing, vents and valleys are repairs, not treated-surface claims.
- General wear of the roof over time
- Storm damage, beyond the specific hail line on Fortify Elite in the Good band
- A surface that was already failing at the assessment
- Water entering at flashing, vents, valleys or other interruptions
- Work on the roof by someone else after treatment
How to keep the cover intact
Have the roof measured and scored rather than quoted over the phone. Keep the estimate and the registered documents together. Fix leaks when they appear rather than letting water work on the roof for a season.
And if work is being done on the roof afterwards, tell the person doing it that the surface is treated, so a repair does not turn into a re-roof of the slope.
The habit that protects it
Keep the paperwork in one place and report problems early. Most of the situations that end a claim badly start with a leak that was left for a season, not with a clause nobody read.