Anytime there is hail or high
wind you should have your roof inspected by an experienced contractor. Hail can damage your roof without any
visual signs from the ground. Ordinarily,
hail has to be the size of golf balls before it actually breaks through your
shingles. However, if it is driven by
high winds, or if it hails for longer than just a minute, you may suffer damage
to your roof through bruises that crack and weaken the shingles reducing the
life expectancy of your roof. The
combination of heat, cold and rain will gradually cause you to lose the
granules that keep the sun from wearing out your roof prematurely in those
spots. If you have seven or more bruises
in each 10 x 10 area of your roof, your roof will need to be completely
replaced. It is nearly impossible to
determine if you have hail damage from the ground. If you do not want to call your insurance
company to report a claim, we will inspect your roof for damage free of
charge. If we find damage, we will leave
you a written assessment and estimate the cost of repairs so that you can
notify your insurance company. Your
insurance adjuster will count the number of bruises on your roof to determine
if he thinks your roof is totaled. It
is possible for your adjuster to miss the damage to your roof. We will be happy to point out the hail damage
to your adjuster for you.
The Insurance
In order to settle any claim,
whether it be roof, fire, flood or automobile damage, your adjusters are
trained to estimate the full cost to repair the damage that he has
assessed. Don’t forget, most
discrepancies occur when an adjuster has not assessed the same amount of damage
as the contractors, or when the contractor’s opinion on the repair process
differs from the adjuster’s. He will
use guide books, market surveys, and past claims as a basis for the
estimate. If his estimate is less than the
estimates of all the contractors, you can pick your contractor and have him get
the necessary funds approved for your repair.
Your insurance company will approve and pay the remaining funds, and any
depreciation money that has been withheld from your claim, after your repairs
have been completed.
Our company handles hundreds of insurance claims
every year and we will be glad to work with your adjuster. We can repair any work that your adjuster has
assessed for a price that is agreeable to both them and us.
My Adjuster
Said
“No Damage”
Your roof may have been the
only one on the block that did not receive enough damage to justify replacing
the roof. However, it is very easy to
miss. Your adjuster and insurance
company want you to have a new roof if you need one. All you have to do is call your adjuster or
agent requesting a meeting with your contractor so that we can show him our
assessment of damage and work out the price of the repair. “WE DIDN’T GET ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER OUR
REPAIRS!” Your agent and our
adjuster are swamped with calls from people every day with the same
problem. Most of the time your
adjustment is fine, you just need someone to explain the depreciation (hold
back) part of the claim to your, or to discover and additional cost could have
been missed. If you have replacement
cost insurance, your will receive additional funds from your insurance company
after you provide your agent or claims office the final invoices for the damage
repairs.
Commonly Missed Roofing
Items: Square
footage, additional layers tear off expense, pitch charges, detached garages
and storage sheds, gutters, wood shingles rotten under composition roof,
temporary repairs, etc.
