Working with an insurance company can be a nightmare, especially if you don’t have someone armed with experience on your side. While some insurance companies will provide the help you need, others will try to fight every claim and pay out as little as possible.

Hometown Roofing and Restoration can work with you to ensure your insurance company provides all of the benefits they are required to with your policy, and help you avoid settling for less than you are entitled to. We will also provide prompt estimates and timelines to both you and your insurance company, and guarantee the price of our work so you’re not surprised with a bill after the work is complete.

Steps to Filing an Insurance Claim

1. Get Your Roof Inspected

First, we come do a free no obligation inspection of your roof to confirm and document the damage. We will take plenty of photographs in order to “build a case” for proper repairs of your roof. We are software-equipped to survey your home remotely and even examine high-resolution imagery with features like Eagleview aerial imagery.

2. Make Temporary Fixes, Then Start the Filing a Claim

We can begin temporary repairs to your home, if needed, in order to protect from further damage. It is always a good step to get us to do a preliminary inspection because it will also validate what the insurance adjuster finds. We will submit paperwork to your insurance provider on your behalf, and work with the adjuster.

3. Schedule Visit by an Insurance Adjuster

Once we confirm the damage, contact your insurance company. Within a few days, the adjuster should come out to your property. Let us know when the adjuster is scheduled to visit your property to do the inspection. We want to meet you and the adjuster at that time. It is very important that we are present to point out areas of damage and concern.

4. Take Notes. Ask Questions!

While the adjuster is with you, take down a few notes, including the adjuster’s name, the date and time of the visit, and the claim number. This makes it more convenient and faster for you and the insurance company to communicate details about your claim moving forward. Also, don’t be afraid to ask a few questions…

• “Is the damage described covered under the terms of my policy?”
• “How long do I have to file a claim?”
• “How long will it take to process the claim?”
• “Do I need to obtain estimates for repairs?”

5. Understand All the Details of the Job.

After the adjuster inspects your property, the insurance company will approve whatever roof work is needed while we work with the insurance company to be sure the scope of work is understood by all.

6. Insurance Repair Estimate.

The insurance company will issue a repair estimate and the funds which will be needed to cover the repairs or roof replacement.

7. The Job Begins…

We will set the time-frame for work to begin and will order the materials necessary. These materials will arrive at your property prior to the start of the project. We will be responsible for completing the work according to the agreed-upon schedule we set with you and the insurance company.

8. How Payments Work.

If you hold a mortgage on your home, the insurance company’s settlement check will usually be made out to you and the mortgage lender. Mortgage lenders therefore have equal rights to the insurance check. They do this in order to ensure that the necessary repairs are made to the property. After all, your mortgage company has a financial interest in your home. Therefore, the mortgage company or bank will have to endorse the check. Lenders generally put the money in an escrow account and pay for the repairs as the work is completed.

9. What About Extra Expenses?

Next, we will invoice your insurer for any additional supplemental funds owed for the work we completed on your behalf. You will receive these funds from your insurance company and they will be paid by you to us.

10. Your Mortgage Company Takes a Look.

It’s possible that your mortgage company will come to inspect the work after it’s done.

Final Things to Note…

Roofing contractors only have influence over the assessment and cost estimate of damages. They do not have any say-so in insurance policy matters. If there is a gripe over the insurance coverage, it’s a matter that the adjuster and us will need to work through.

Overall, we, as well as your insurance company, want your new roof to be the highest quality it can be and the insurance coverage should reflect that. The last thing the insurance company wants is to pay out another claim next time there’s a severe weather event. The same goes for us, who promise to stand behind their workmanship.

Incidentally, if you own your home and no longer carry a mortgage balance, you might have elected to forego homeowners’ insurance. Nevertheless, if your roof was damaged due to a catastrophe, you might still be able to file a claim by registering for Federal Disaster Relief at DisasterAssistance.gov. Federal assistance can help with temporary housing, home repairs, and other disaster-related expenses.

Finally, be on the lookout for scams following any natural catastrophe. It’s hard to believe that some people seek to take advantage of homeowners during difficult times, but it happens.

If you live in Texas, then you’ve probably heard the saying, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.” Our weather can change quickly and quite drastically, often producing severe storms including tornados and hail. In fact, according to State Farm, Texas ranks as the state with highest hail losses in the country. If you live in Texas, chances are you’ve been through at least one of these hail storms yourselves. After the hail stones stop falling and the ice has melted, then the clean-up begins. However, many homeowners are often left wondering, ‘What do I do next?’

One of the top concerns we hear from homeowners that have hail damage, is that if they file a claim, their insurance company will raise their rates, or worse drop them. We understand why homeowners often feel that way. After all, if you have an auto accident or get a speeding ticket, the insurance company can and does raise your rates. So, can your homeowners insurance company raise your rates due to a hail claim? The answer is yes and no.

In the example of the auto accident, the rate increase comes down to a question of fault. Assuming it is not your fault and the other driver has valid insurance, you are not penalized for a payout on the cost to restore your vehicle back to its pre-accident condition. The same applies to your home! Unless you’ve figured out a way to channel your inner Marvel character and command the weather, storm damage, including wind and hail, is beyond your control. While the phrase “Act of God” is not used by insurance companies to define a specific type of coverage, it is used to describe damage that happens suddenly, is beyond your control and is also unpreventable. For example, old or faulty electrical wiring that started a fire would be considered human error and therefore could have been preventable.

If you have the correct coverage, you can still file a valid claim, but your premiums will most likely increase. However, if lightening were to strike and catch your house on fire, this would be considered an “Act of God” and would not qualify as a reason for a premium hike. In fact, in the state of Texas, insurance companies legally cannot raise your rates or penalize you based on what is deemed an “Act of God.” Therefore, a homeowner should not have any fear when filing a claim for storm damage. This is why you pay premiums in the first place!

The “yes” portion of the answer to this question is that while your insurance company cannot raise your individual premiums because of your individual claim, they can and quite often do, raise premiums in a geographic region after storm damage due to many collective claims. Simply put, what that this means is that whether you file a claim or not, your insurance premiums will increase because the rest of your neighbors did. Therefore, there is no reason that everyone around you should have their properties restored to pre-storm conditions while your property deteriorates.

If you are still hesitant to call your insurance company or just want a second opinion, most reputable roofing companies will give you a free and honest assessment of your roof and whether or not the damage warrants filing a claim.

In late February, a winter storm hit Texas causing freezing temperatures. In some regions, power outages occurred ahead of the winter storm. For other regions, power outages occured as a result of the winter storm. For homeowners and renters, insurance coverage for damage to homes and property depends on what originated the damage: the freeze or the power outage.

Will my insurance cover damage due to the winter storm?

That depends on what occurred first — the freeze or the power outage by the power company.

Damage to your home or personal property must be a result of a named peril, or covered event, for homeowners and renters insurance to cover the damage. 

Most homeowners and renters insurance policies are named peril policies, meaning you’re only covered for perils that are explicitly named in your policies. Named peril coverage includes 16 perils, such as fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, and freezing.

An open (all) peril policy covers just about anything that might happen including named perils, unless your policy specifically notes that it’s not covered. Open peril policies offer more coverage than a named peril policy. For example, if water damage is from a burst pipe, it could fall under the perils “sudden, accidental, cracking or tearing” or “freezing” or “windstorm,” according to Steve Wilson, senior underwriting manager at Hippo Insurance. 

In Texas, some areas were first hit by the freezing weather that caused pipe bursts and water damage before the power outage. In that instance, it’s more than likely your claim would be covered under a named peril. For other parts of Texas, the power company outage happened before the freeze. Unfortunately, that may not be covered, because standard homeowners insurance only covers named perils — unless you purchased additional riders for sewer lines, electrical outage, or you have an open peril policy that doesn’t exclude it.

Credit: Ronda Lee from www.businessinsider.com