FAQ
After a large hail storm, State to state storm chase roofers come out of the woodworks. These roofers tend to be motivated by commission vs caring for what good for the customer and will say about anything to close a sale. Don’t fall for their tricks. It’s always best to choose an established, local company with an office in the city to perform any roofing work. This will ensure your contractor isn’t going to disappear if problems arise later. Read online reviews, ask for recommendations, and do research before choosing a company. It’s also a good idea to find a company with a strong warranty to guarantee the work and a contractor that doesn’t require a down payment before any work has commenced.
SB38 explicitly states that it is illegal for a roofing contractor to pay, waive or rebate a homeowner’s insurance deductible. This also includes advertising such offers. If you are to see a roofing company offering an insurance deductible rebate, beware. This is an illegal practice and both you and the roofing company can face legal trouble. The bill goes on to state that if a roofing company waives a deductible, the insurance company is not obligated to consider the roofer’s quote.
In a hailstorm, most hail that hits your roof and house may be too small to cause any damage. However, a percentage of the hail may be large or irregularly shaped, which can cause severe damage that may not be readily apparent and may not start to leak for some time. It’s best to have your roof inspected by a state licensed roofing con-tractor to determine if you need to file an insurance claim and have an insurance adjuster assess the total amount of hail damage incurred.
Yes. Most all home owner policies cover full replacement value. The first check the insurance company gives you is the Actual Cash Value (ACV) what the roof is worth today with it’s useful remaining life. The money that was withheld is call the depreciation and will be paid to you when the work is completed or most times upon the submission of a signed contract with a licensed contractor for the work specified in the insurance adjuster’s summary report.
There are two reasons that the insurance companies hold some money back. The first reason is to make sure that you get the work done. Past experience has shown them that, if they give the customer all the money up front, many people end up spending it on something else. The second reason is that they wish to make sure that you pay your full deductible. The insurance companies reason that, if you are given all the money to begin with, many people would naturally try to find a contractor who would perform the job for the dollar amount in hand. By holding a retainage amount, they can adjust the amount of the final payout based on the roofing contractor’s invoice, thus assuring that the customer does pay the deductible.
When most people look at their insurance paperwork they are confused, because they think the insurance company deducted their deductible from the money the insurance company has sent them. However, the deductible is the amount that the homeowner is responsible for paying directly to the contractor. The insurance company subtracts the homeowners deductible amount on the paperwork from the total amount the insurance company allows for the claim, since the homeowner will pay their deductible directly to the contractor. The balance after subtracting what the homeowner will pay directly to the contractor as a deductible, is the total amount the insurance company will actually pay for the claim.
It is always prudent to get more than one estimate. However, when insurance is paying for the work, the dollar amount of the estimate is not very important as long as it is equal to or less than the insurance company estimate. In all such cases, with HRI Roofing and Construction LLC, at the most you will only be paying your deductible, and we work with your insurance to cover the rest. Therefore, your decision should be based on going with the contractor that you feel most comfortable with and whom you feel will perform the best job.
Usually this is because of something the insurance adjuster missed in the scope of work to be completed. We can almost always work something out with the insurance company. We will submit what is called a “supplement” with documentation in the form of pictures, measurements and paperwork. The insurance company will review the supplement and upon approval, send a check for the additional monies needed to make the repairs.