It hailed at your house yesterday. You know because there was still some hail in your yard and piled up below your downspouts. Some of the leaves were stripped from the trees. The question is, was the hail large enough to have caused costly damage? There are five good reasons you should call a qualified roofing company to inspect your home before initiating an insurance claim.
- Just because it hailed doesn’t mean that it was damaging hail. Generally, until hail stones are at least a half-inch in diameter or larger they don’t really damage much. Keep in mind that the components of your home are designed and manufactured to withstand normal wear and tear. Insurance companies keep track of the number of times a claim is opened even if there is no damage or the damage doesn’t come up to the level of your deductible. The fewer claims you have the more likely your premiums will not increase and the more agreeable your insurance company will be when there actually is a substantial claim.
- Maybe the hail was large and damaging causing widespread and substantial damage to not only your roof but also to the gutters and downspouts, several screens and possibly some windows. It’s possible that the siding has been damaged or the paint has been chipped. A thorough inspection by a concerned roofing company will identify all the damage in a complete report accompanied by photos of the damage. A professional roofer will help you with the details of initiating the claim.
- Call the insurance claim department directly, don’t call your insurance agent. Your agent may be a delightful person, but they may care more about keeping the number of claims by their policy holders down more than about the damage to your property. When you speak with the claim representative to arrange for the adjuster’s inspection be sure to tell them that you’re roofing contractor must be there for the adjuster’s inspection.
- A conscience contractor will be happy to meet the insurance adjuster at the property when they do their inspection of your property. Because they have already done a thorough inspection the roofer will be familiar with the damage and act as your advocate when dealing with the adjuster. Having a professional represent your best interests holds the insurance company’s feet to the fire to be thorough and fair in their assessment of the damage and allowances for replacement or repair. While the roofing contractor may not do the window, screen and fence repairs they will make sure that they are properly represented in the claim estimate.
Once the claim estimate has been completed by the adjuster and or the insurance company and submitted to you, your contractor will help you decipher the claim and make sure that everything that should have be included is included in the claim estimate.
Leave A Comment