by Guest » Wed Oct 03, 2007 02:38 am
Hail can cause severe damage to your roof. If you have hail damage protection for your home you can rely on the insurance company to get your roof fixed. You don't have to worry about the rain wetting the inside of your home or the snow falling on your head with hail damage coverage.
Is your roof impact-resistant?
To know whether your roof is impact resistant or not, you can use the Underwriters Laboratories' measuring stick. This test would involve dropping various steel balls of different sizes from a certain height that stimulates the similar force as felt by free falling hailstorms on the roof. There are 4 impact-level designations that help make a comparison between the products. Roof coverings that earn Class 4 rating means that it is the most resistant while a Class 1 rating means that it is the least resistant.
This is by far the best method to determine the strength of the roof. However, it is not perfect and has better results for certain types of coverings than others.
This is by far the best method to determine the strength of the roof. However, it is not perfect and has better results for certain types of coverings than others.
What kind of roof covering should you have?
By suggestion you should have the best roof covering to be able to protect yourself and your home from hail damages to your roof. However, it also depends on your taste and finances what kind of roof you would like to have. Here are a few types of roof coverings that you may choose from:
- Asphalt - This is found in most homes and can be strengthened with fiberglass or organic materials.
- Fibreglass - This lasts for up to 20 years and has fire rating of Class A.
- Metal - These last up to 40 years and are also light weight and usually have a Class A or B fire rating. The one disadvantage of metal coverings is that unlike other shingles it does not ease back into shape.
- Tile - Although it is quite popular with many, their performance during hailstorms depends on the types. Concrete tiles last long (more than 20 years) while clay tiles may break easily. Slate tiles are heavy. If you are using them then you must make sure that the structure of your home is able to support the weight.
- Modified asphalt - This includes SBS which is a rubber types compound or APP which is a plasticizer. These have high durability during hailstorms.
- Slate - This covering is quite expensive and can last for up to 100 years. You will need skilled people to install slate on your roof. This means it will add to the already expensive slate and raise the cost further. Slate is also quite heavy and not all homes may be able to support the weight. Check with an architect or a design professional to see if it will fit your home.
What to do if hail damages your roof?
Once you have detected hail damages inform your insurance company who will either send an adjuster to determine the cost of your loss or simply give you the money you deserve in such claims to get your damage repaired. If your insurance company pays you the repairing cost, you can select your own repairing shop and get your damages repaired. You may look around and get quotes from more than 2 shops and based on your common sense and what the repairing shop offers, may get your damages fixed. Once the insurance company has given you the money they owe you in claims, it is your money entirely. However, you must remember that if your house is again immediately damaged by hail, the insurance company will not pay you once more.
Related Readings:
- Hail damage fraud
- About hail damage repair
- Hail damage to your home
- Insurance cancellation during hail damage
Hello! My Minnesota neighborhood was hit about two months ago with a huge hail storm. We met with our insurance adjuster and filed a roof damage insurance claim to have our roof replaced. No work has been done on our home yet, and we're currently looking for a roofing company to do the job.
My issue: We were told by a contractor today that if the total claim amount that we're paid [check from our insurance co] EXCEEDS the amount we pay to repair the damage and we keep the difference, then we're committing insurance fraud.
Is this a correct statement, or is this contractor trying to scare me into giving him the full amount of the claim, regardless of the actual repair costs? Is there harm in having contractors bid the job, work the bids against each other, then put the excess into a different home project? I'd appreciate any comments!
Thanks in advance!
My issue: We were told by a contractor today that if the total claim amount that we're paid [check from our insurance co] EXCEEDS the amount we pay to repair the damage and we keep the difference, then we're committing insurance fraud.
Is this a correct statement, or is this contractor trying to scare me into giving him the full amount of the claim, regardless of the actual repair costs? Is there harm in having contractors bid the job, work the bids against each other, then put the excess into a different home project? I'd appreciate any comments!
Thanks in advance!
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 07:19 pm Post Subject: HERE'S THE SCOOP
A great majority of homeowners will get their money and shop for the lowest priced unethical company to install their roof and then put the extra money in the bank. Then they complain about contractors and give all the contractors a bad name!! When in actuality, if you shopped for the good, reputable company and paid them the full funds meant for the repairs you would be satisfied with the work. Of course some of you would still feel ripped-off because you couldn't keep the extra cash.
In answer to your question above, if the insurance paid you all of your money up front and held no depreciaion, then you can put that money in the bank, hire a cheap contractor and keep the extra cash if there is any, even though it is unethical.
If your insurance paid you a portion of your money up front, withholding the depreciaion until the work is completed and you billed them for the entire amount in order to pocket the cash you are committing two seperate instances of fraud. 1. forgery and falsification of documentation to a insurance carrier and 2. Theft, knowingly taking money that is not yours. Your insurance company owes you only what is takes to make repairs to your property as it was prior to the loss.
If you had gotten your check and then sent the actual bill from the contractor you chose to your insurance company, they would send you a bill for the amount they overpaid you. If your contractors bill was more than their total estimate and you paid your deductible then the insurance company would pay you more money.
SORRY!! Think about what you are doing before you do it. Do you really think the insurance goes around paying thousands of dollars more than the project will take so that homeowners like yourself can make money?
Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 09:18 am Post Subject:
You are right ADJCAT…..when the claimant presents inflated or false bills to the insurer to extract more as claim; that's a fraud…..and the insurers have more than one ways to prevent that. But what happened with jazzhands is different. Here the contractor is twisting the truth in order to get the whole amount from the claim, which is also unethical.
The policy holder can choose any contractor to do the fixings. And if she chooses to fix it at a lower price, she is allowed to do that.
Do you really think the insurance goes around paying thousands of dollars more than the project will take so that homeowners like yourself can make money?
Certainly not, and the other posters have also agreed upon this. And it is very unlikely that she'll be left with any extra cash because the carrier will not write the check blindly.
Regards,
Juanita
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 11:42 am Post Subject: Post Shifted...
Hi Okie girl,
Welcome to the forums! Your post has been shifted to the following thread,
http://www.ampminsure.org/claims/about4434.html
Thanks,
Lakemen
Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 04:04 pm Post Subject: committing insurance fraud
In response to jazzhands question:
In cases of Replacement Cost Insurance (HO-B), You usually get part of your settlement up front and the balance when reciepts for work are submitted.
You have to send in actual receipts. If they don't add up to your adjusters estimate, then the insurance co. will change the amount you will be paid to match your receipts less your deductible.
Many people don't understand that your adjusters estimate will be changed to match your actual expenses minus your deductible.
It is insurance fraud to misrepresent your claim in any way. You have to give the insurance the actual receipts from the company that preforms the work.
Now if it is the case that your first check is for the actual cash value (thats replacement cost minus depretiation) of your loss and you can negoiate to have the work done for less or even save money by doing it your self. That ok because it's like being paid for damage to your car. If you don't mind the way your car looks, you can keep the money and not make the repairs.
Your first check (usually for acv) is for the amount of damage your home sustained minus your deductible. You always have to pay the deductible. You can spend this check any way you want. The consequence is, if you don't repair/replace the covered items your insurability in the future may be at risk.
I would never make a statement like your roofer did, but he's not all wrong.
I think you should always deal with a knowledgeable roofer. One that's experienced with managing insurance claims. You must commit to paying your deductible. You may not have much out of pocket expense because you might not replace all of the items on your claim. Often times customer are paid for things like gutters but elect not to replace them. You may be able to use that money toward your deductible.
I hope this information helps, good luck with your roof. If I can be of any assistance email me.
Tide Roofing Co
tide.roofing[at]gmail.com
system edited-link deactivated
Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 04:08 pm Post Subject: hail claim roof
In response to jazzhands question:
In cases of Replacement Cost Insurance (HO-B), You usually get part of your settlement up front and the balance when reciepts for work are submitted.
You have to send in actual receipts. If they don't add up to your adjusters estimate, then the insurance co. will change the amount you will be paid to match your receipts less your deductible.
Many people don't understand that your adjusters estimate will be changed to match your actual expenses minus your deductible.
It is insurance fraud to misrepresent your claim in any way. You have to give the insurance the actual receipts from the company that preforms the work.
Now if it is the case that your first check is for the actual cash value (thats replacement cost minus depretiation) of your loss and you can negoiate to have the work done for less or even save money by doing it your self. That ok because it's like being paid for damage to your car. If you don't mind the way your car looks, you can keep the money and not make the repairs.
Your first check (usually for acv) is for the amount of damage your home sustained minus your deductible. You always have to pay the deductible. You can spend this check any way you want. The consequence is, if you don't repair/replace the covered items your insurability in the future may be at risk.
I would never make a statement like your roofer did, but he's not all wrong.
I think you should always deal with a knowledgeable roofer. One that's experienced with managing insurance claims. You must commit to paying your deductible. You may not have much out of pocket expense because you might not replace all of the items on your claim. Often times customer are paid for things like gutters but elect not to replace them. You may be able to use that money toward your deductible.
I hope this information helps, good luck with your roof. If I can be of any assistance email me.
Tide Roofing Co
tide.roofing[at]gmail.com
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:16 pm Post Subject: money amounts!!!
What insurances companies do you all work for? I'm a contractor! The insurance co. Hardly ever willing give enough to pay to repair repair your homes. So how are you getting the money plus extra to keep! Every home owner and contractor in town is going to arbitration!
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 11:32 am Post Subject:
Wow bad,I think the question is what town do you live in? That's awful! Never ever ever in 23 years have I seen or heard of that....
Every home owner and contractor in town is going to arbitration!
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 06:35 pm Post Subject: insurance
I work for a co specializing in storm damage and I am surprised by how many people think they can pocket money by using a low bid. It is the Insurance Co.'s money that they are paying to a reputable co. to do the work, just as Texas Roofer said. Most people are getting a brand new roof for the cost of their deductable or less and yet they still want more, which of course is insurance fraud. Homeowners, stop trying to scam your insurance co. Find a reputable roofing co, check them out with the BBB, get your roof done and let them collect what they deserve, otherwise get up on the roof and do it all yourself.
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:54 am Post Subject:
Most people are getting a brand new roof for the cost of their deductable or less and yet they still want more, which of course is insurance fraud
tell me about it :roll: every single day...i see it with car claims as well...Find a reputable roofing co, check them out with the BBB, get your roof done and let them collect what they deserve, otherwise get up on the roof and do it all yourself.
Well said Bryan...BRAVO!Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 02:40 pm Post Subject:
It's like anything else...people trying to gain an advantage. If I have roof damage and I get a check from the insurance company for 8K, and I get three estimates - 6, 7500, 1000 - why not go for the 7500? I mean..sheesh...you are getting a "free" roof (well, not free because you paid your premiums but...).
People wonder why their rates are so high. It's party because other people are trying to commit fraud against the insurance companies.
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