Posts
1794
Joined
11/29/2011
Location
Ogden, UT
US
Edited Date/Time
5/9/2016 11:21am
I have never had to make any kind of claim against my homeowners insurance. I had some wind damage last week, lost some roof damage and made a claim.
I've received back what the insurance company wants to give me, i'm just waiting for the check.
One of the roofing company guys I spoke to wants to see the insurance report so, in his words "he can make sure they didn't miss anything". Sounds nice, but I don't think the roofer needs to know how much I'm getting back in insurance. It's not like they post what they charge on their web sites, so for all I know, he charges exactly what the insurance company paid me for the repairs required. It's what I would do.
Do you agree that it is a bad idea to show a roofer my insurance report?
No offense to any roofers here, but I've talked to 3 local guys and they all seem shady.
I've received back what the insurance company wants to give me, i'm just waiting for the check.
One of the roofing company guys I spoke to wants to see the insurance report so, in his words "he can make sure they didn't miss anything". Sounds nice, but I don't think the roofer needs to know how much I'm getting back in insurance. It's not like they post what they charge on their web sites, so for all I know, he charges exactly what the insurance company paid me for the repairs required. It's what I would do.
Do you agree that it is a bad idea to show a roofer my insurance report?
No offense to any roofers here, but I've talked to 3 local guys and they all seem shady.
Anyways, doesn't the insurance company have a few roofers they can recommend? Most insurance companies have preferred providers..
The Shop
Zoom in in the pic. Those are Clydesdales for perspective.
People come to me to get their car repaired properly and ask for an estimate. I provide a detailed estimate and they freak because I'm way more expensive than their insurance company who only touched on the surface(not allowed to write anything they "can't see"), allowed for Chinese aftermarket parts on their 6 month old car, wrote the estimate for labor rates 20 bucks per hour lower than the entire market area and allowed enough paint materials to do 40% of what needs refinished. They are counting on you to be a cheap ass and find someone to do it for what they allowed , or less, and not call them for a proper supplement. But guess what? Call them for a proper supplement for proper repairs and they pay the bill.
Many preferred providers are reputable local companies but you should do your own homework and make sure they are the reputable contractor that you want to deal with. It's your house and you are paying the note.
I said up front I've never dealt with this before so I don't know the ins and outs.
It's not personal.
Your house is a big investment, find a good roofer. Ask around and get actual word of mouth referrals. Insurance companies would not be in business if they overpayed claims. Make sure you get what they owe, nothing more, nothing less.
Show him the ins report.
Pit Row
He wants to make sure he's not leaving any money on the table.
Get three quotes from reputable roofing companies, and if they're more than your insurance quote, tell your insurance company they screwed up.
Never let any contractor know how much your budget is, because odds are, he'll take it all, given the opportunity..
This is where using a roofer with knowledge of the adjustment process is beneficial.
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Since you already have the estimate, you can say the estimate includes fixing xyz damage but I wouldn't show the numbers. Typically, if there is a good reason to go with a particular contractor the insurance will even pay more than their estimate to meet the contractor's bid but they will absolve themselves of any warranty after that. If you use a contractor off their list and there are problems, you can call the ins company to get the contractor to fix the problems.
If you feel confident in a company to do the repairs on your own, you can probably get a contractor to do the work for less than the insurance bid and put money in your pocket.
It's all about the risk of getting good work.
Considering where I live I'll get more opportunities to fix wind damage.
Kind of a little funny side story. I live in the mouth of a canyon, so we have a wind storm that causes damage about once a year. Sometimes I've been lucky, other times not. We had a storm as bad as this recent storm in 2011, and again 2 years ago but not as bad. I did lose a fence in that one. In both of those previous storms I also lost some shingles. It wasn't a lot so I patched it up myself. So when the insurance guy came out this time I wasn't sure if I should admit to patching it myself so I said I didn't do it, maybe the previous owner did. He then said, "well whoever did it didn't know what the hell they were doing". Touche. He probably knew I wasn't being honest but didn't want to call me a liar.
In my defense, those past storms were in November and it was freezing. Hammering nails with frozen hands doesn't mix. I have since looked at some You tube videos so if I patch the roof again it should look better.
The next door neighbor's son is a roofer and is getting me an estimate this week.
The roofer who was asking to see my insurance quote was probably storm chaser like Toolmaker described. I got his number from a flyer left on my door the day after the storm.
I had my roofer actually be there the same time as insurance inspector. They walked the roof together. All turned out well and I got a new roof and gutters.
I recently had an insurance adjustor at my house hoping to get a few bucks from insurance to replace my roof due to some storm damage over the summer. He went through the entire exterior of my dwelling and all outbuildings and gave me a report itemizing everything. Cut me a check right there. Explained depreciation and the purpose of their withholdings. Fine and dandy.
So, I took one of the claim checks I received to a local Wells Fargo Bank to have them notorize it as well, since they are my mortgage holder. I sat there forever and finally they gave me a disclaimer to sign saying I would fix the issues within 120 days. I told the banker it was impossible because of winter coming and she really didn't give a shit about anything. (I don't know if it was because they aren't a WF Mortgage branch. They said they didn't even have a Mortgage dept. locally?). Last night I read some fine print and it said Wells Fargo MIGHT have an inspector come and make sure repairs have been completed and I should call to have an inspection done.
My questions are do they really have an inspector come to make sure repairs have been done? Especially for at most 5000 dollars? The ACV (Actual cash value) check I received was a little over 5000 bucks. They gave me 1200 bucks ACV because of depreciation of my roof, but to have it re-roofed it would be in reality about 3400 bucks (I already had quotes). So, do the banks really check up to make sure these repairs were done? One other thing the adjustor said was an issue was my aluminum siding was 'damaged' on 3 sides of my house. I've been in and around construction for 20 years and the siding is fine, especially since the home is only a 150,000 dollar home anyways. I planned to use the remaining balance from the checks to replace stuff that actually needs to be replaced, i.e. single pane windows, repair sidewalk/front stoop, etc..
Should I be sweating bullets on this? I'm trying to get the house ready to sell and this is why I want to replace the roof and other things. I have no interest in replacing the siding though when it will not necessarily increase the price or value of the home. I'd rather focus efforts on things that are detrimental and need to be addressed. I'm half temped to send part of the check back and eliminate the headache all because of 2000 bucks ultimately.
Sorry this is so long and a little scattered brained. These are just some thoughts/questions I've been brain storming about. I really would appreciate any thoughts or comments. Thanks
I have paid homeowners insurance for 20+ years and this is my FIRST time I have ever filed a claim. I pay a shitload in premiums every month, on time, and have never missed a payment. I told the adjustor I only wanted the roof evaluated and he said he 'had to inspect the whole exterior of all dwellings/outbuildings' and he 'wanted to pay me for the damages'. This is the reason why I'm annoyed that I feel like I'm trapped now with the mortgage lender to replace stuff that needs no repair to begin with. It's not like I'm taking the money and going to Hawaii. I'm taking the money and actually investing it in more critical areas of the house. Areas that will actually preserve the house and add value instead of feeling the need to 'change nail color polish'.
It's like I initially said..............I'm half tempted after I get the roof done to just give the balance back to State Farm and say 'Thanks, but no thanks' and save the headache.
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