Myths and Facts about Hail Damage Insurance Claims
75Myths about Hail Damage
Myth: I looked at my roof and didn't see any problems, or my roofer inspectioned it and there are no problems.
Fact: Roofing systems must be physically inspected by some one who has training and experiance to determine if there is actual hail damage. Insurance companies send their adjusters too special training so they can properly identify hail damage to property, unfortunately there is not much ongoing training for the roofing or home inspection industries.
Myth: I'm not missing any shingles so I must not have damage.
Fact: Missing shingles are related to wind damage claims and can happen during a hail storm if the winds are high enough. However hail damage is insidious in nature and may not physically cause leakage for years after a hail storm.
Myth: I only have 1 year to file my insurance claim.
Fact: Many insurance companies do have a one year time limit and some even less, however due to the nature of hail damage they may pay claims past the deadline. This usually happens if a hail storm is widespread geographically.
Myth: My roof is new so it's covered by the manufacturer's warranty, home builder, or contractor.
Fact: Manufacturer's specifically name hail as an exclusion to their product warranty, so do home builders and roofing contractors. Newer roofs can actually be more susceptible to hail damage versus older roofs due to the time it takes a new roof to cure from exposure to the elements.
Myth: I was told my roof has minimal or very little damage and therefor I don't need to file a claim.
Fact: If your roof has any damage what-so-ever you have a valid insurance claim and should file with your insurance company. Damage might not cause your roof to leak for years. This is why it's important to have a qualified person inspect your roof.
Myth: My insurance company will cancel my policy if I file a claim.
Fact: Most states prohibit insurance companies from cancelling policies for filing claims arising from severe weather related events. Check with your state however and your policy language as well.
Myth: If I don't file my claim, my insurance company won't raise my rates.
Fact: After a disaster, insurance companies may raise every one's rates. By not filing your claim, your personal rate increase is paying for every one else's damage except yours.
How to Detirmine Hail Damage to Your Home's Roof
I recently wrote an article on Helium about this topic so please read it to learn more.
Hail Damage!!!
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There are a lot of great points here,
but I'm not sure I agree with real-time search being discarded.
I agree that it's not verey relevant,
but isn't the point of it to show what people are currently saying about a topic,
I had a hail storm about a year ago and have had 5 or more roof leaks and called the insurance company and have nothing but problems (travelers)!!!!!!!!!!
Good info, no matter what form it is written in. In fact, I personally prefer this format vs essay.
Hayes, great article on the myths vs facts of roof hail damage.
Side Note: If you suspect plagiarism of your content, check out copyscape.com. It's a service that we use, but are NOT affiliated with, to see if and who is copying content and republishing it without authorization.
Cheers
whats your opinion on letting the contractor you`ve been working with know how much money your getting from your insurance company for the claim, should i feel obligated in telling them?
Carl,
We just had Travelers come inspect our roof today for hail damage and they turned us down too. The adjuster said our damage is "due to weathering" and the "lack of turbine vents" so the roof can breathe properly. Our roof is 15 years old and has 2 layers already, but the adjuster would not work with us to get our roof fixed.
By the way, I can't tell with a 704 area code where you are...but we live in Missouri and just had a huge hail storm the 18th of Sept. Travelers just won't budge...
Companies in my area are asking homeowners if they can inspect their siding and roof after the May, 2010 hail storm. Yes, nearly a year late, but many people seem to be filing claims and replacing siding and roof.
This article helps me with understand roof damage. So far, I’ve only allowed one company to look for damage and was told and shown that there is damage to the siding. The inspector would not go on the roof, as he said then the insurance adjuster might claim that did the damage. This inspector says his company files the claim for me and then meets the insurance adjust at the property to show him the damage and go on the roof with him.
One part I still do not understand completely is whether or not to have the repair company file the claim. I think I will do that, because I would not be as good explaining the damage, as would the company inspector.
Also, I do not have enough information from the repair company about their contract, references and license/insurance.
I would like someone to do the work, however, since it seems to be need, if I can afford the cost.
georgew6
Let the company man go to bat for you but do not sign anything from them. They are expert at using the system to get money from the Insurance Co's. Make sure to get 3 other bids and check their bbb rating. The co man will tell you that they eat the deductible it is bs the insurance company will take it out of the check they issue and hold back some so that you will get the job done. Depending on where you live and size of home will determine how much they pay out oh and age of roof. I have a 2100 sqf home in north Texas and they covered the cost of a new roof. 10500 in hand 2700 in reserve. Thats with getting Duration 30 yr shingles wind 130/10 yr algae . Hope this helps
To comment on the GeorgeW6' Questions, it is important to receive information from the contractor to do the repair work, such as valid business license, references of work done in the past, and a construction process to repair your damage. Often times they want you to give them permission to work with your insurance company and adjuster to help alleviate the damage as soon as possible. These types of contractors are specialists in storm chasing and structural/ cosmetic repair. They know how to work with the insurance companies to maximize the most repair possible and to ensure that only the proper work is executed under contract. The documents they will have you sign are Subject-To agreements. The contract is valid subject-to the insurance company providing funds to fix your home. These types of contractors work hard to obtain the living they do and often times employ experts in the fields of engineering and architecture to obtain the work. Think of it as these individuals help employ construction workers that might otherwise be unemployed, straining the already volatile unemployment insurance system. To the engineers and architects or older construction workers, this is more of a service to the community than a means of making money or god forbid, a living. Let them help you! A catastrophic insurance claim, including hail damage to your roof, siding, gutters, windows or any other part of your home is a valid insurance claim. It is illegal for insurance companies to raise your premiums because of a catastrophic claim. They may raise your deductible some, but if you are a good client like most people are to their insurance companies, how often are you really ever going to make a claim to repair your home? Seldom if ever. Be a trooper and help out those who could use the work irregardless of how much or little damage you have. This keeps people employed, paying bills, food on the table, clothes for the family and of course insurance payments for the construction workers home, cars, boats, etc. The money just cycles around in circles back to the insurance companies (maybe not yours) and everyone else like it should.
Hope this helps you better understand what is going on.
yes, there is good guys out there just trying to pay there bills and feed there kids.i say check refs.
Our area experienced a major hail storm. A Nationwide adjuster determined there were damages to my shingled roof and to my tarracotta roof. They gave me enough money to replace the shinged roof on my garage and a porch. As for the tarracotta the adjuster said the damage was on 100 to 120 square feet. I have that portion of the roof leaking. When i tried to get a roofer to replace the 100 sqft of tile, nobody wanted to. The roofers could not guarantee thier patch work. Nationwide told me to get an estimate on the roof. The lowest estimate was $48,000. When Nationwide got the estamate they sent thier own roofer to my house. They also agreed there was hail damage. The an expert tile roofer was sent to my home. He also agreed. Finally Nationwide sent a forensic engineer to inspect the roof, He decided there was no damage. Meanwhile I have installed a tarp and my daughter is woken up with water dripping on her at times. I have a document which states " damage to tarracotta roof from hail damage" from a Nationwide adjuster. It seems to me once they received the expensive estimate, Nationwide changed their mind. I do have legal help at this point.
I would like to say that I had other companies come out, specifically because the original company said that there definitely was damage to the siding. Every one of the companies that came to look said there was no damage to the siding. Since a neighbor did get all his siding replaced by the same company that wanted to deal with my insurance company, I tried to contact them again. That became complicated. Apparently there is one umbrella company that lets others use there name. Two that I managed to contact did not seem to be the company originally looking for my business. Now I forget if they ever came out to look at the house, but I never got new siding or roof put on. Sorry if this is not completely understandable. Everything about the situation was like this.
I filed a claim for hail damage on my roof. I have Country Financial insurance. The adjuster said it really was not hail damage but the age of my roof. My adjuster turn it over to a consultant. I have an appointment today with the consultant and a roofer. The consultant asked the age of the roof twice. I have dents in my vents and lost a lot of grit this past year in my gutters. Do i have hail damage ?
Age has nothing to do with it. Hire a certified hail damage inspector.
Re: Photo #5, labeled, "The Perfect Hail Hit"
I wholeheartedly disagree with this caption for this particular photo! The "center" of the "hail hit" shows the granules still intact, while the surrounding area has missing granules. Gentlemen, what we see here is classic pigeon poop - nothing more, nothing less; very prevalent in last year's Phoenix storm. Apparently, the acidic nature of bird droppings tends to "etch out" the granuled area, and many, many times will leave a center "island" of intact granules, as shown here.
contrary to the pigeon poop theory, according to Haag Engineering, photo number 5 is a perfect hail hit. The center of the hit has the granules smashed into the mat and the impact caused peripheral granules to be knocked off. Usually, the center mass is not so large. Also, the age and condition of the shingle has an effect on how the hail affects the mat.
I spent last winter in Phoenix and saw a ton of crap from birds...I saw adjusters circle it as hail many times, until they learned to recognize it.
@Tom Young, with all due respect you don't know you are talking about. Photo #5 depicts a hail hit from the Indianapolis storm in 2006. If you look closely you can see that the mat is nice an black, a clear indication of recent granule loss. I took that photo with an adjuster while we inspected the roof together so yeah, I don't know what you are trying to prove but you can buzz off pal!
@Dr.Roof, this hail was about 3 inches that caused that hit. Thanks for the back up on that. Mr. Young can piss off! LOL
Very good peice, please read thru some of the Condominium Insurance Law Blogs as well, you will find your info is right on target
Is it ethical to claim hail damage on a twenty tear old shingle roof that has fifteen year shingles on it? Many homeowners in my area have received new roofs at 10-20% of the total cost on these roofs. This seems like insurance fraud to me. I mean the homes were ALL built at the same time and shingled by the same guys with the same shingles. My home had a brand new roof and sustained NO damage whike they are all gettiing new roofs for little or no cost. The only people I see making claims are the ones with the twenty year old roofs. Your thoughts?
Thank you.
RD knows what he's talking about, more to follow when I get home, typing this on my smartphone on a roof, Googled "why you don't need bids for your roof claim" cause I'm dealing with a homeowner with brain damage from all of the webs misinformation.
I don't believe there actually is any residential asphalt roofing product that has only a 15 year warrant. I could be wrong but I've been in this business far longer then 20 years and never came across a product like this.
File the claim because 1, you need it to be on record, 2, they can just say no.
BTW, do you live in TN?
You should show the contractor your paperwork. Many times I've found gross errors in the adjusters paperwork and had I not pointed this out to my home owner they might have though I was trying to cheat the them and the insurance company.
The pricing isn't anything secret and most professional insurance restoration contractors use the same software that the insurance industry uses.
A large disparity between your contractors estimate and your insurance estimate can be due to omissions in line items and incorrectly measured areas.
So yes, let your contractor see your paperwork.
Yesterday, almost a year after my initial posting of a question on here, the hail damage chasers visited my neighborhood. I give them that designation because, to my knowledge, there hasn't been any hail here for more than a year, but the same group is soliciting neighbors and myself to allow an inspect ion of our aluminum siding to see if it has hail damage. I refused, as did one neighbor that I know of, but now I see a sign up a few blocks away showing that a company is doing something or other regarding hail damage. Usually these signs prominent display HAIL DAMAGE and then information about a company to contact.
Take a flash light and go out after its dark and shine it down the siding as if you were looking down a pool stick to see how straight it is. If there's any hail damage it will cast shadows on the dents like a negative.
Ask yourself if your insurance policy language has anything about moral issues. Then decide if you should or shouldn't file a claim.
Another way to check for hail damage to siding is to use sidewalk chalk. Lay it flat and swipe it across the panels. If there is hail damage it will show as dimples in the panels. Don't worry you can wash off the chalk with your waterhose.
Just to check in with possibilities on photo #5. I am a roofing contractor, and I have seen similar hits like that. Only once, did an adjuster tell me that that kind of damage can be caused by a bird, but it is NOT poop. Birds sometimes peck at granules and eat them to help their digestive tract. I know that sounds unusual, but it is true. Photo 5 ALMOST looks exactly like that, except that the damage a bird will cause is usually crescent shaped in nature.. rarely a nice circle form as is shown in the photo. I have to agree, this photo is more than likely caused by hail. Just a tidbit of information I thought you guys might like to read about.
Attention: Debate on the photos being hail damage isn't open for discussion.
THEY ARE REAL PHOTOS OF REAL HAIL DAMAGE PERIOD!
If you reply here saying anything to the contrary I will report your reply as SPAM and delete it.
We are in the process of doing some home reno work, and our buddy whose an architect suggested we start with our roof and work our way down. So after receiving many personal referrals for roofing companies (that I then compared to Angie's List) we started having them come out. The first one only had a few reviews on Angie's List that varied from very great, to very poor. This "storm chaser" company came in saying they could get us a new roof, new gutters, soffit, fascia, and siding all thru our insurance company due to hail damage that he clearly saw. He wanted me to sign on the spot and I said no way. He said he needed me to in order to talk to my insurance company, and I said I would make myself available if that should be needed. We then proceeded to get many other roofers out who weren't confident about hail damage on the roof, although it was seen on the siding. This past Friday our claims adjuster came out, and I had the top choice roofer (who had 50 or so reviews on Angie's List, most of which were very positive) meet me the claims adjuster at the house. Our claims adjuster did find damage to the roof, all 4 sides of siding, and a few downspouts. He also mentioned a credit to remove the gutters and gutter guard and have them re-installed (we are going to re-use the gutters but not the guard). We are anxiously awaiting what the final amount will be, especially since we have a sizeable deductible (almost 3K).
My question is regarding whether or not this claim will either get us dropped by the insurance company (USAA) or whether we will have something noted on our home that will make it difficult to sell if/when we decide to do that (which we won't want to after doing all this work on our house)? The claims adjuster did comment on some companies submitting the claim as 2, (ie hail and vandalism) and that he didn't think our insurance company would do that. BUT my sister's husband did sign a contract with a storm chasing siding company and that's exactly what happened! Filed as 2 claims, and dropped immediately. So now I'm getting nervous...
"If your roof has any damage what-so-ever you have a valid insurance claim and should file with your insurance company".
I strongley disagree. As an independant agent who has just experienced one of the worst hail storms in years in Louisville, I have some knowledge on this. The first thing you should do is have your roof looked at by an experienced contractor and get an estimate of the damages. And I assure you , this won't be random guy who knocks on your door. THEN assess the estimate vs. your deductible amount and decide whether to file a claim. This isn't the type of property market where you want to be turning in any roof claims under $1K minimum. Pay it out of pocket and save in the long run.
Everyone thinks they should get automatically turn in a claim for the most minor of damage.
Nate C. is wrong. As an independent agent it is nice to see you are trying to protect your loss ratio.
I am a recently retired insurance restoration professional for almost 20 years and everything in this article is spot on. The author can't commit to pricing or how much this costs the insurance industry since the prices widely vary depending on where you live. I live in North Carolina where we just had a significant hail event and we see the hail damage chasers from out of town like crazy.
These are the things to do:
1. If you had a significant hail event, turn in a claim.
2. Call a local restoration firm to also inspect the damage and give you an estimate (don't try the three estimates thing...at this point it is useless...most restoration companies and insurance companies are using the same estimating program, except Farm Bureau and if you have them head for the hills cause you are getting screwed).
3. Compare the restoration estimate against the insurance estimate and see if the insurance company is trying to short change you, or if the restoration company is significantly less expensive.
Nate C,
Of course you can disagree but if you read most policies it states coverage for direct physical damage. It does not however states that there are thresholds for degrees of damage.
So within the policy language there is no such thing as minimal damage or severe damage. Damage is damage and as such its covered, PERIOD. Like it or not.
Also lets note that if a claim is filed and it is denied that's ok. However 4 or 5 years down the road is a completely different story.
Hail damaged roofs sometimes don't exhibit visible damage right away and thus a claim is denied, then year down the road they begin to leak. This causes additional and expensive interior leaking and damage. I actually had a customer just like this. The adjuster had denied the claim 4 year prior but because a claim was actually filed, I had it re-opened. They had to replace the whole roof to include all the rotten decking, and all the repair work for 6 rooms in the house.
So in the end a claim that should have only cost the carrier 4-5k ended up costing 12k plus overhead and profit.
I stand by my words..
If you have ANY damage whatsoever..File the claim.
For some reason the reply button didn't display so please see my response above.
Quote: "Everyone thinks they should get automatically turn in a claim for the most minor of damage."
That's horse crap and you are just encouraging people to not exercise their rights under the terms and conditions of the policy.
@ Wondering,
I would NEVER approve submitting a second claim as vandalism. That does expose you to the risk of having your insurance dropped.
In most states, and you'll need to check with your state. An insurance company can not cancel your insurance due to a weather related event. Again, check with your states insurance commission.
In regards to it being noted in your "file".
The insurance industry keeps a database that's called CLUE. Think of it as the CARFAX but for insurance claims.
This database is available to all carriers and they can view the claim history on any home before deciding to offer coverages. Don't let this scare you into not filing a claim though.
I have a question regarding storm damage to our vinyl siding. In June of 2010 we got hail damage to our roof and home. Our roof was fixed that summer, our siding, however, is still not fixed. Our contractor has copies of our claim and proof that our siding is no longer available. Our insurance doesn't want to pay for new siding. There are definate cracks in the siding of our home, that both the insurance adjuster and our contractor said are from hail. I am worried about further damage from rain and snow from the last 2 years. Do this sound like something we need to hire an attorney for?
AVanasse,
I'm not a lawyer so I can't give you any legal advice. From what I can glean from your message is that you haven't been paid for existing damaged siding and if that is true then your insurance company should pay you.
Depending on the state you live in the laws can vary. Some states require insurance carriers to replace not only the damage siding but also the undamaged sides so you have a matching look. It sounds like you are attempting to get all sides replaced while the insurance company only wants to pay for the damaged sides?
Just want to relate my recent claim experience ...
We had a very localized storm here in GA hit 3 weeks ago, lasting 20-25 minutes -- dime sized hail stones that completely covered lawn and garden beds. Beds looked like they were covered with 1/4" of fresh snow afterwards. Large leafed plants (hydrangeas, etc) were thoroughly perforated.
Roof damage hadn't even occurred to me. (We suffered no leaks afterwards.) However, a "chaser" showed up at our doorstep this week. Because he was thoroughly professional and knowledgeable, I was persuaded to file an insurance claim on the spot (literally over his cell, on the door step) -- deciding that it was better to be safe than sorry, and if a claim was denied, I was no worse for it.
The roofer made an appointment for 2 days later with the adjuster from Travelers, who showed up with his own trained roof inspector. They spent about 2 hours inspecting the roof and then holed up in their respective trucks. When they returned to the house, it was with an approved claim for $13K for replacement of our 4600 sf roof, and an initial check for $8600 ($1000 deductible, and $3500 held temporarily for depreciation -- which would be paid out once the work was complete.
The Travelers adjustor was very friendly and supportive, and in response to my questions explained that there was sufficient damage that the roofing material was at risk for deterioration and it was definitely in the company's interest to approve the claim. Based upon all I've read of Traveler's in the past, I never expected a claims review to go so smoothly. He did explain that while the claim wouldn't result in adverse rate action in itself, that if there were sufficient claims in this area that might cause an increase at renewal.
I was very leery of dealing with a "storm chaser" roofer, but I have to grant him with both extending much needed proactive prompting, as well as apparently understanding exactly how to interact with my insurer for an effective result.
HDPorter,
I am glad you got the claim approved. Believe me it is RARE that an insurance company will pay when they don't owe.
In a way you are lucky the roofing salesmen showed up at your door, otherwise years down the road you could have been left with replacing that monster roof out of your own pocket!
If you have a claims adjuster go out and look at your property, do you have to move forward with the claim? I had my insurance go out and inspect my roof after the tornado weather from a fews weeks ago. They said the roof does not need to be replaced only a few shingles and I will only get $80 after my deductible. Do I have to move forward with the claim?
I would suggest using local contractors for any repair work. The reasons for this include local accountability, easy reference verification, and the ability to contact them directly after the project is completed.
Local accountability means that if a contractor does any underhanded or unethical deals they are then susceptible to negative advertisement against them making them 'pay' for their deeds in the long run.
You can contact people to reference their business practices from people who probably live within 20 mile of you as apposed to hundreds of miles or more.
You can easily see for yourself what the quality of work they do actually is by driving to a referenced project.
When dealing with licensing and insurance, not all states offer licensing for contractors and local authorities that license a contractor to work for you simply means that the contractor walked in to the local municipality building and filled out a document requesting permission to work in that city or township. They then promptly pay the required fee and are on their merry way, free to work under that jurisdiction for 1 year. Insurance is much more critical. It lessens your risk for ppl who work on your home. If they are injured or do damage to your home workman's comp pays for injuries and general liability pays for damage they accidentally do to your property. Otherwise, you can pay or your homeowner's insurance may step in.
I hope this is helpful. I am a local contractor in Saint Louis and this has been my experience in helping homeowners clean up messes caused by some (not all) storm chasing repair companies.
Have a wonderful day.
EYEAM4ANARCHY 3 years ago
It's pretty good informationally, but it would probably be better if you added some kind context to it; such as hail damages represents **% of insurance claims, costs $**/annually etc. If you really wanted to make it more hub friendly you could take all the info in it and rewrite it in an essay style without the myth/fact style.
Basically, something that works as a salesman's handout doesn't necessarily work the same for general distribution, because it's not such a targeted audience. You have to kinda let them know why they should want read it.