Understanding A Roof Insurance Claim
I’m approved but I’m not…
Recently a homeowner reached out to me about some missing shingles on his roof. We came out and inspected his roof and come to find he has severe wind damage and active water intrusion. I can tell the damage recently happened, there was no signs of aged damage and the water intrusion was new for the homeowner. Common sense kicks in and we advice the homeowner to file a claim. fast forward a week later and the adjuster is not on time and shows up 4 hours later after we left and the homeowner was not home anymore. we did not get the opportunity to show him all the damage we found and where all the water was getting into the home. The desk adjuster gets his report and approves the skylight flashing. well, you can’t replace skylight flashing without manipulating shingles around the area (remove and re-install). the issue is the shingles are old and brittle and will not detach from the decking without tearing and creasing. In order to perform this repair correctly and up to code, we have to replace the entire roof along with underlayment and shingles. we submit a fair, detailed supplement estimate. simple, right? Wrong.
We are sending out another inspector…
The insurance company decides to send out a second inspector. why? simple. to look for ways to deny the supplement. What else could it be? We sent in pictures and video of the shingle condition and it clearly supports are position that the shingles are not in any condition to be removed and reinstalled. If the insurance company approved a repair that will cause further damage to your roof, that repair is not possible and the insurance company must widen their scope. the biggest mistake a homeowner can make, is trusting their insurance carrier to do the right thing. They are only looking for ways to save money. Make sure you read your policy and consult with a expert who can give you the best advise on how your claim should be Handled.
Like, Kind & Quality…
If your policy has “Like, Kind & quality” written in it. the insurance carrier has the obligation to cover your loss with “like, kind & Quality” which means if your loss is $30,000 in value, they cant replace it with a $15,000 value. They must cover your loss with the same quality materials damaged. Some policies have a “matching exclusion” which means they do not have to match your material perfect. That does not give the carrier the right to not uphold “like, kind and quality” those are 2 very different things and often the carrier will try to hide behind the matching exclusion on your policy. Let’s say your siding is damaged and your material is discontinued. Often, there is a close match and you can still achieve a code complaint repair while the materials do not match correctly. If your material is discontinued and there is not even a close runner up to where you can install and still achieve a code complaint repair, then the insurance company would owe for a full siding replacement to achieve “Like, kind and Quality” in my opinion.
What to do?…
Hire the right contractor. Don’t stop fighting for what is right. Insurance companies are banking that you are just going to go away. They want you to think they know everything about every repair and what is code complaint and what is not. They are wrong most of the time and again just looking for the cheapest way out. if you follow national news, you will see there are all kinds of court hearings against big insurance companies for not paying out fairly. A recent report stated that State Farm performed illegal activities on more than half of their claims. You might have to take your claim to the top but don’t stop fighting for what is right. Do not perform some half janky repair on your home because the insurance company told you the scope of work is correct. Hire an expert with insurance claim knowledge and someone you can trust.
