On Property Insurance Claim Tips Blog

Q. My insurance company’s adjuster is saying that they don't pay for "cosmetic damage". After many conversations with him and the contractor, he finally admitted some hail damage but estimated almost exactly the amount of my deductible, $1,000. The contractor I hired is very reputable and had all kinds of chalk marks on my roof which the adjuster dismissed as "cosmetic." I tried to get my agent involved and he said the same thing about cosmetic damage. I really don't want to let this go. There are about 20 houses in my neighborhood getting work done due to the golf ball sized hail damage. Please let me know if I have any options.

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With the extensive wind and damage caused by the Nashville tornadoes, we are seeing policyholders rushing to get damages assessed. Both insurance company adjusters and many inexperienced contractors are eyeballing roof damage and recommending partial repairs based on simple visual inspection. This is going to cause terrible problems in the future as flying debris can damage the membrane of roofs and set people up for severe water damage in the future. In disaster situations some adjusters simply do not spend enough time assessing policyholder’s damage or taking into effect the increased cost of materials and repairs.

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A historic deep freeze is gripping the US with sub-zero temperatures and even more serious wind chill factors. With it will come unprecedented frozen pipe bursts, iced dams and roof collapses that will cause extensive property damage and loss to personal property or business inventory.  As for homeowners, if you discover a leak, turn your water off, call in a reputable plumber, inform your insurance company of the damage and get their agreement to fix and pay for the damage before hiring a reputable clean-up company.    

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If you are in the market for a new roof because of Hurricane Irma, you may want to consider a metal roof.  From my observation as a public adjuster handling a wide variety of insurance claims, metal roofs are becoming more popular all over the country. I’d like to share this article about hurricane resistant metal sheeting roofs published by an engineering firm in the Caribbean that may be of interest to you or your clients. I have seen these roofs hold up very well, if installed as detailed in this article. In the case of St. Maarten which had sustained winds of 183 mph with gusts over 200 mph, the metal roof stayed on,  where other types such as asphalt shingles and/or clay/cement tiles for the most part blew off in part or total. 

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As property owners with insurance claims resulting from Hurricane Irma start to receive settlement offers from their insurance company, our public insurance adjusters continue to field calls and questions from people still struggling through the insurance claims process. One question that frequently comes up involves how much roof damage there must be for the entire roof to be replaced.

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Due to the widespread and extensive wind damage caused by Hurricane Irma, one thing we are seeing is that in their rush to get damages assessed, both insurance company adjusters and many inexperienced contractors are eyeballing roof damage and recommending partial repairs based on simple visual inspection. And I don’t want to even address those trying to inspect roofs with drones. This is going to cause terrible problems in the future as flying debris can damage the membrane of roofs and set people up for severe water damage in the future. Adjusters simply are not spending enough time assessing policyholder’s damage or taking into affect the increased cost of materials and repairs given the state of conditions. When the adjuster comes calling, please make sure inspectors physically get onto the roof and inspect for damage. While your roof may not look damaged, a closer inspection might reveal that it needs replacing rather than patching.

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Thank you to our Orlando Public Adjuster Brad Barrett for answering the following question:

Q. I had damage to my roof during a storm. Shingles blown off as well as some hail. Insurance told me to get 3 estimates which I did and then sent their adjuster out and he wrote me a check.  The 3 estimates said I had wind and hail damage and so did the check from carrier but the estimates said I needed the whole roof replaced and the carrier said I only needed the 1 corner repaired where shingles blew off. What should I do?

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As we transition into Spring, hail storms will cause severe property damage to roofs, siding, screen enclosures and any other structure within its path. As public adjusters, we consistently see insurance company claim adjusters minimizing the damage and trying to do patch work. This can lead to real differences of opinion between the policyholder and their insurance carrier as this denied hailstorm insurance claim at a church seen in the video below. While every claim is different and must be taken on its own merits based on the policy, our advice is to always enlist contractors and public adjusters who know the nuances of these claims and can negotiate fair settlements. Hail damage can be easy to miss and come back to haunt you. 

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“At least it’s snowing.” This was in an email message I received from the manager of my client’s hotel in Kentucky. Hard to believe that given this winter’s bitter weather, ice and snow that a property management team would be glad it is snowing again! The back story on this is that all the buildup in ice and snow caused major damage to the roof at this destination resort. When the weather warmed up, things started to melt, then it started to rain and water poured into the interior causing damage to the resort from the damaged roof. Another cold front then turned the rain back into snow and this client is now grateful for the snow as the water intrusion has temporarily stopped. Read More