Proper Procedures?

brzelt

Howdy Roofers,


Quick question on who is supposed to do what in regard to hail/wind damage.

A lot of the roofs in my neighborhood were replaced a couple of years ago due to weather. I held off with other projects needing more attention (plus a high deductible to boot). The lightning bolt to the A/C didn't help either...


Anyhow, I am wanting to see if my roof qualifies as storm damage. My insurance company says to get a few roofers to get their opinion. I suppose I thought they would just send out someone to look at it. Is that normal? You guys give a report or something then the insurance looks at it?

Since the replacements in my neighborhood, we have had significant storms of which the last one left me with tabs of shingles in my driveway. This has become priority one.

The last thing I want to do is waste a contractors time when it should be insurance company time spent.


Thanks for any insight.

Bruce

MJW

You are exactly right, just with the words in the wrong order....

Insurance adjusters try to get Contractor to do their job for them as much as they can. It costs the insurance company to send out an adjuster, so they usually try to get someone else to verify damage before they come out. Hire a Contractor that you are comfortable with and have them come take a look. If you get a claim, give him the job.

JMO, but I really don't understand the reasoning in the 2-3 bid thing. It just wastes Contractor's time. There is enough info out there with referrals and such to choose a Contractor that is right for you.

It's bad enough that the public takes advantage of the free estimate thing, let alone the insurance companies.

If nothing else, have the Contractor write up a bill for estimating. I have heard that insurance companies will pay for estimates.

I'm sure others here will have even more insight for you.

dougger222

Find a reputable contractor to come out and look at the roof. If they say there's damage contact your agent to file a claim.

Very rarely do I get the call from the home owner after the adjuster has already been there and it's approved. In most of these cases the home owner goes about it alone and then tries to find the lowest bid to pocket the most money.

The problem with having an adjuster come out without knowing whats going on up there is they often times dismiss any damages and hope you don't put up a stink.

For example yesterday the adjuster appoligized to the home owner for the independant who said no damage when there was damage to the whole roof and two sides of the siding.

In most cases it's best to have a contractor on a roof with an adjuster, that is if there's damage of course!

I also agree getting more than one reputable roofing contractor to look at the roof right now is a waste of time. If there's damage and if it's approved then you could go about getting estimates and meeting with up to three roofing contractors. Of course you could get more than three but three seems to be the most common.

Good luck!!!

Slyfox

I agree with you only needing to call one roofer now, if you ask around I'm sure you'll find a family member, friend, co-worker, etc., who has used a roofer in the past that they could recommend.

I disagree with hiring that roofer to install the roof,
have the roofer give you an estimate while he/she is there to do the inspection and get additional estimates fro other roofers once the insurance company approves your claim.

When I do these types of inspections I charge 'price varies on home style and location' and deduct it from the cost of the job if you end up hiring me to install the roof.

__________________

brzelt

Thanks for the help and ideas.