Storm & Hail Damage Insurance Claims FAQs
Q.)
My insurance company said my roof just needs to be
repaired, but I think (or other roofing companies
have told me) that it needs to be replaced. What can
I do?
A.) Many times, especially after a major
catastrophe such as a tornado or a hail storm,
insurance companies will hire independent adjusters
to help them with the overload of claims they
receive. These independent adjusters are working on
a contractual basis for the company and many times
do not have a lot of experience in roofing. It is
quite possible that your insurance adjuster did not
know enough about your specific roof system to make
an educated decision on what it will take to bring
your roof back to the same condition it was in
before the storm. Many times adjusters will simply
count the number of broken or missing roofing
components, and pay for these specific areas to be
repaired – but they fail to take into account all
the problems that are not obviously visible such as
loose tiles or shingles that have become unsealed.
It may be worth your while to have an experienced
roofer examine your roof to see if your adjuster has
overlooked anything. If the roofer does find damage
that was missed on your first inspection, you can
file for a re-inspection and have the roofer meet
your new adjuster to show them exactly what was
overlooked the first time.
Q.) My insurance company said that I needed a new
roof, but didn’t pay me enough money to have it
done. How can I afford to have it replaced?
A.) Insurance companies have all their
adjusters write their claims with software developed
specifically for storm claims. There are several
popular software companies they can choose from –
but they all have one thing in common: adjusters
download price lists for the area they are working
in and these prices are what they use to determine
how much your repairs are worth. Because insurance
companies do not want homeowners to make money on
their claims (because this is not the point of
insurance), they will err on the side of caution.
Once the homeowner finds a contractor they wish to
use, they can send in the contract showing the
actual cost of the repairs and any items that were
missed on the first inspection. If the contractors
estimate is within reason and the items they claim
need repairs really do, then the insurance company
will pay the difference in cost, minus the
deductible, of course. This process is called
“Filing a Supplement”. You are not stuck with the
amount the insurance company paid you – it is just
an estimate. You are owed what it costs to put your
home back the way it was before the storm.
Q.) My insurance company told me to get 3
different estimates and submit them for my claim.
Why?
A.) Just like the rest of us, insurance
companies are in the business to make money. When
you submit 3 different estimates, guess which one
the insurance company will pay? The lowest one, of
course. You do not have to submit 3 different
estimates if you know which contractor you are going
to use. You as a homeowner have the right to choose
whichever contractor you want, and they as an
insurance company have an obligation to pay what
that contractor is charging (within reason). If you
do submit 3 different estimates, and the insurance
company pays the lowest one, you are now pretty much
stuck with using that company, because you would
have to pay out of pocket to use any of the other
contractors since they were all charging more money.
Because you submitted the estimates, you were
leaving the decision to the insurance company, and
it is now a lot harder, if not impossible, to get
them to pay any more money should you decide on a
different contractor who is charging more money.
Q.) I got several different estimates to replace
my roof and they were all different. Why not just go
with the lowest one?
A.) When you get an estimate that is much
lower than the rest, be careful! There may be a
reason they can afford to charge so little – maybe
they don’t have all the overhead the other companies
do for things like insurance and license fees.
Before you make any decisions, you have to know how
to read the estimates you have been given and make
sure you are comparing “apples for apples”. You need
to be able to decide if all the estimates are
offering you the same quality of materials and
workmanship. One estimate might propose re-roofing
your house with 25-year shingles, and the other,
which is just a little higher, might be for 40-year
shingles. So on first glance, you might think the
lower estimate is a good deal, when really, the
higher estimate is giving you more for your money.
Another example: a lower estimate proposes to
replace your tile roof - in 6 to 10 months. The
higher estimate proposes to replace your tile roof
in 6 to 8 days. You cannot just consider the price
of the estimates – you have to consider all the
variables. Most importantly, you have to consider
the company. It is always better to pay more for a
contractor with experience, then save a few dollars
by hiring somebody with none. You’ll thank yourself
in the long run.
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