As a roofing contractor, understanding how roof insurance claims work will enable you to foster stronger relationships with insurers, effectively serve your clients, and avoid delays.
Homeowners insurance usually provides protection against roof damage caused by severe storms, including wind and hailstorms.
How much your insurance provider gives you for roof damage will depend on whether or not they provide actual cash value or replacement cost coverage.
What Happens When You File a Claim?
Every homeowner purchases home and contents insurance to protect themselves and their possessions from potential damage, with the hope that they never need it. Unfortunately, accidents do happen and when damage does occur, an insurance company has an intricate claims-filing and repairs-making procedure in place that must be followed to file claims and make repairs. While this may seem complex and daunting at first, understanding its steps and what they involve will enable you to be better prepared if disaster strikes.
At the outset of any process is reviewing your homeowners policy – particularly dwelling coverage – to ascertain exactly what is and isn’t covered. Hiring an expert may also help explain its terms fully to you; now is also an opportune moment to assess your deductible amount as well as decide between replacement cost or actual cash value coverage options.
An adjuster will then come out to inspect the roof and assess any necessary repairs. Now is a good time to document all damage with photos and videos as fully as possible; be sure to back these files up in a cloud account or USB drive for future reference should any disputes arise with your insurer later on down the line. Keeping records can prove useful if there’s ever an argument over coverage with them later on down the road.
Keep in mind that your insurance company could deny your claim due to preexisting conditions, negligence or lack of maintenance – so it is imperative that your home and roof undergo regular cleaning, repair and inspections to protect themselves against unexpected storm damage and prevent your insurance company from rejecting them outright. Failing to do this could result in your claim being denied when something unexpected comes along and damages it unexpectedly.
At times when working with insurance adjusters or roofing contractors can differ on scope and price of work needed to be completed, it may be prudent to secure an independent estimate from either. If disagreements become significant between them and you, consider hiring a public adjuster who will survey the property, develop their estimate, and negotiate on your behalf with insurance providers on your behalf.
What Happens After Your Claim is Approved?
Many homeowners invest in insurance to protect their home, roof and belongings against damage; however, when disaster strikes and you need to file an insurance claim there can be many confusing and stressful steps involved with dealing with an insurance provider.
Process can take time as insurance companies must assess damage and provide a payout to cover repairs or roof replacement. Delays could arise from various factors including workload, adjuster availability and weather. Once approved by insurance, check will be issued covering services minus your homeowner’s deductible amount.
Review your insurance adjuster’s report carefully to ensure it covers all aspects of the damage to your roof. Sometimes the insurer may send out another adjuster to reassess and provide an independent opinion. Alternatively, hiring a public adjuster who will work in your best interest to assess damages and ensure you receive an equitable settlement is also recommended.
If your claim is accepted, a roofing contractor will schedule an appointment to begin repair or replacement work. To keep communication flowing with them throughout this process and be aware of any problems they encounter; additionally it’s a good idea to obtain all relevant documentation such as photos, written reports or any other pertinent data regarding inspections for future reference.
Filing an insurance claim for roof damage can have a dramatic impact on your homeowners’ insurance premium in the future. Your premium may increase depending on several factors, including how severe and frequent the damage was; some types of claims, like water damage from flooding can be avoided through regular maintenance measures and preventive measures; but others, like wind or hail damage can’t. Filing multiple claims within a short time may prompt your insurer to increase or even discontinue coverage altogether.
What Happens If Your Claim Is Denied?
Your roof damage depends on its severity and whether or not you have actual cash value or replacement cost coverage from your insurer; they may approve or deny your claim accordingly. If approved, they will send the funds necessary to replace or repair it minus any deductible costs; otherwise they must appeal the decision and file an appeal form in order to receive any benefits that they owe you.
Before filing a claim, it’s essential that you review your policy thoroughly. In particular, consider your dwelling coverage to determine whether it has actual cash value or replacement cost protection and also check to see whether there is a separate wind and hail deductible or whether this coverage is included within your dwelling policy.
If your home insurance provider determines that the damage to your roof does not qualify as sufficient damage for an official claim, additional evidence such as expert reports and medical bills should be submitted in order to increase your chances of an appeal and higher payout.
At an inspection with your insurance adjuster, it’s advisable to bring along a roofing contractor to help identify the scope of damage and thus make it easier for both of you to agree on an accurate price for repairs or replacement. Furthermore, take notes during this process; if any questions or concerns arise be sure to voice them to them so you can record an answer from them.
Once your roof has been repaired or replaced, provide proof to your insurance company and they will make payment to cover its cost minus your deductible amount.
Be patient during this entire process! Remaining persistent in proving your case will demonstrate to the insurance company that you’re serious about getting it resolved and paid. Resubmit or file an appeal as necessary until reaching an acceptable settlement, but don’t give up!
What Happens If Your Claim Is Accepted?
Once your insurance adjuster inspects the roof damage, he or she will provide an estimate for its repair or replacement – this estimate includes both your deductible and coverage limits – so you can hire a contractor and pay them with money from your claim check to repair or replace it.
Before filing a claim, it’s essential that you capture images and videos of roof damage. Doing this will allow you to document exactly what is wrong with your roof while providing support for any arguments you might make during the claims process. Consider taking photos from various angles before saving them to hard drives or cloud storage accounts as future reference.
If your claim is approved, your insurance company will send a check covering the cost of repairs or replacement, less any applicable deductible. From there you can hire a contractor or use this money yourself for materials and labor purchases.
Note, however, that filing too many claims may increase your insurance rates as each claim filed with the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange database will remain on record for up to seven years.
If the insurance adjuster disagrees with your claim, seek another inspection from another adjuster or hire an independent roof expert if your first adjuster denied damage that you believe exists.
As part of your claims process, be sure to read carefully through any denial letter your insurance company sends you and pay special attention to its language. Insurance companies often deny roof insurance claims for reasons such as not complying with policy terms, structural damage being covered under another policy or filing too late – though if they deny yours for another reason be prepared to fight back; legal avenues exist should this prove necessary but can become costly with attorney fees and court costs involved.
