What Kind of Coverage Do I Get With the Malarkey Premium Warranty?

Are you counting on a premium roofing warranty to protect your investment, only to worry that a claim could be denied when you actually need it? Have you looked at Malarkey's premium warranty and wondered what it really covers, and what exclusions might leave you paying for repairs out of pocket?

Roofing warranties often sound simple on the surface, but the fine print can dramatically affect the protection you actually receive. At RoofSmart, we like to be honest with our customers about reading the fine print in warranties so that they know what kind of coverage they’re actually getting when they choose a shingle.

In this article, we'll break down what the Malarkey Premium Warranty covers, what it doesn't cover, how homeowners qualify for the highest level of protection, and the common mistakes that can void coverage altogether, so you can make a more informed roofing decision.

What's Covered vs Not Covered Under the Malarkey Premium Warranty

How do homeowners become eligible for the premium warranty?

Malarkey’s premium warranty offers the highest level of coverage to homeowners. Here are the qualifications to be eligible for their premium coverage:

• Hire a roofing contractor who is certified by Malarkey (Malarkey Premium Contractor)
• Install a Secure Choice Roof ™ (use at least four Malarkey accessories)

This is pretty similar to the requirements that other asphalt shingle manufacturers have for their premium warranties. A lot of them want you to use contractors that they’ve certified and a certain roof setup with several of their unique products.

What’s covered under the Malarkey premium warranty?

For a single-family home, Malarkey’s premium coverage offers lifetime coverage (this includes subsequent owners) with a non-prorated period of 50 years. In other words, as a homeowner, you would get full coverage for 50 years on:

• Repair or replacement costs for defective Malarkey products
• Installation of new replacement products

Coverage for tear-off and disposal of the defective shingles will be included “if necessary” (aka at Malarkey’s discretion). They also have a disclaimer stating that they might fulfill this warranty obligation by just providing replacement materials.

After 50 years, the prorated period begins. During this time, if any of your Malarkey products are found to be defective, you’ll only get coverage for 20% of the original value of the material.

A lot of warranties have disclaimers like that, which is why it’s so rare to even get coverage under a manufacturer’s warranty. Defective materials are rare, but getting decent coverage for them is even more rare (no matter who the manufacturer is).

What’s excluded under the Malarkey premium warranty?

Of course, no warranty is complete without some reminders of what is not covered. For example, in the Malarkey warranty, they state that any coverage for repair or replacement costs will not include the following:

• Non-Malarkey products
• Removal or replacement of additional items (like solar panels)

Basically, they don’t want to be obligated to replace items that they did not make or sell to you, which is pretty reasonable.

What can cause your Malarkey premium warranty to be voided?

Every manufacturer has specific rules that you absolutely must follow to maintain your eligibility for warranty coverage. This is something that not a lot of homeowners read carefully, so when they try to call in their warranty coverage, they get rejected.

A majority of what Malarkey includes in this list of exclusions is pretty standard and can be found in other asphalt shingle manufacturers’ warranties.

Here are some examples of what can void your Malarkey premium warranty:

• Improper ventilation
• Other defective materials that cause damage (like flashing)
• Storm damage
• Structural damage or defects on other parts of the home or roof that damage the roof
• Impact damage (ex. a fallen tree branch)
• Installing solar panels or altering the shingles in a similar way

Some exclusions that are unique to Malarkey’s warranty are:

• Traffic on the roof “for any reason” (including regular cleaning and maintenance)

• Foot traffic can damage the shingles, but it is interesting to void the warranty for any foot traffic when you are expected to perform maintenance on the roof. One thing that also voids your warranty is damage and staining from moss and algae, but it’s pretty difficult to clean these things off the roof without walking on it. In the Seattle area, we have so much moisture and shade that you’re basically guaranteed to grow algae or moss on your asphalt shingles at some point. So if you live in this area, you can likely expect your Malarkey warranty to be voided.

• Shedding of granules due to an excessive amount on the shingles

• To be honest, the wording of this is confusing because they are responsible for the amount of granules on the shingles, not you. But if you do anything to cause them to shed excessively, then you won’t get coverage for this. Due to this exclusion, it’s unclear to me how they would handle a situation where the defect on their new shingle caused it to lose too many granules after only a few years. Although shingle defects are rare, when they do happen, excessive granule loss after only a few years is a common one.

Both of these exclusions are tough to deal with and make it pretty likely that you won’t be able to get the coverage that you expected, even after signing up for the premium warranty. This is why it’s super important to read all of the fine print in a warranty, and pay careful attention to what is excluded from coverage and what can cause your warranty to be voided completely.

Common Reasons Roofing Warranty Claims Are Denied

How does the Malarkey premium warranty compare to other premium roofing warranties?

As you've seen, Malarkey's Premium Warranty offers solid protection for asphalt shingle roofs, including a lengthy non-prorated coverage period and labor protection when installed by a certified contractor. However, the real value of any warranty comes down to the details hidden in the fine print.

Coverage limits, exclusions, workmanship protection, transferability, and qualification requirements can vary significantly from one manufacturer to another. What appears to be the "best" warranty at first glance may not provide the protection you expect when you compare it side-by-side with competing options.

If you're investing in a new roof, it's worth understanding how Malarkey's premium coverage stacks up against the other major manufacturers before making your final decision.

Read our article “CertainTeed vs. GAF vs. Owens Corning: Premium Warranty Comparison” to see how the premium warranties from CertainTeed, GAF, and Owens Corning differ from Malarkey (and each other) in coverage, exclusions, workmanship protection, and long-term value so you can choose the warranty that best protects your investment.